Shopping the Super Bowl

American football fans are gearing up for the Super Bowl this weekend. Not surprisingly, the NFL, the local organizing committee, and retailers across the Twin Cities—this year’s host site, U.S. Bank Stadium, is located in Minneapolis—are highlighting Super Bowl LII merchandise. Their activities provide a good illustration of what big-event licensing programs look like.

The largest official shop is adjacent to the annual interactive fan event, the Super Bowl Experience. The store encompasses two ballrooms-plus at the Minneapolis Convention Center and has 45 cashier stations for peak selling times. Some observations from the shop:

• By far the greatest proportion of floor space is devoted to Super Bowl LII-branded merchandise, rather than the team- and player-identified goods that drive NFL licensing year-round. Most of the items are in the purple, blue, and white/silver official hues of the event, but there are a few novelty items, such as a black Nike t-shirt featuring a cartoon-like illustration of Paul Bunyan, a mythical resident of the host region.
• Winter gear, including puffy jackets and vests and warm sweatshirts, is merchandised near the entrance, in part to drive impulse purchasing for fans not prepared for the weather surrounding this rare northern-climate Super Bowl. (The game itself is indoors.)
• For the most part, team-identified merchandise is limited to the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, the competitors in Sunday’s game. A display of mannequins wearing jerseys from each NFL team is located at the entrance, and there is a small display of t-shirts from all 32 clubs, much of it featuring a “there’s always next year” theme. The team that plays in the host stadium, the Minnesota Vikings, has very little additional presence in the shop, outside of a few locations (a small wall display of socks in the print-on-demand sock area, an endcap of t-shirts). Players from the team were making appearances, however.
• Apparel and accessories dominate the mix, supplemented by a corner featuring signed collectibles, some Swarovski-blinged items, one-of-a-kind helmets by pop artist and NFL licensee Charles Fazzino, a few displays of novelties and keepsakes (plush, shot glasses), and the like. Some licensees have branded areas within the store.

Meanwhile, a half dozen official Super Bowl satellite shops are scattered through downtown Minneapolis, at hotels, and at Mall of America. A check of one shows mostly Super Bowl LII-themed items, with a smattering of Eagles and Patriots gear and novelties. Official programs are also available.

The flagship Target store, located at corporate headquarters on Nicollet Mall, site of the Super Bowl Live free fan event organized by the host committee, features extensive displays of Super Bowl LII merchandise in front-of-store boutiques on both levels. (The skyway level on the second floor generates as much or more passing pedestrian traffic as the street level, especially in winter.)

The assortment is similarly apparel- and accessories-dominated, but there is more variety in non-apparel products than in the official stores. Many of the items—lounge pants, paper plates and napkins, board games, and such—seem to skew more toward local shoppers than visiting fans, although walls of Pats and Eagles jerseys are located nearby. Boutiques of products tied to the local pro sports teams are also featured, not far away from the in-store Super Bowl shops. A plush version of Target’s mascot Bullseye, not Super Bowl-identified but sporting a football, eyeblack, and a red jersey with the number “52,” is displayed prominently.

Elsewhere around town, retailers such as Dick’s carry Super Bowl merchandise, as do several retailers at Mall of America, from Lids to Vikings Locker Room. Many Super Bowl-related activities, such as fan experiences, live media broadcasts, and celebrity appearances, are being held at MOA in the week leading up to the game.

Aside from Super Bowl- and NFL-branded shopping opportunities, there are also several places to buy items inspired by or reminiscent of the “Bold North” theme of the event. The Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association shop offers official Bold North-identified merchandise, for example. And, two weeks before the game, Target debuted its range of North-branded sweaters, knitted hats, socks, and backpacks created in collaboration with local high-end specialty retailer Askov Finlayson.