Rutgers Athletics has a new presence behind the goal posts.
The university announced a partnership Tuesday with Visible, Verizon’s all-digital wireless service, that places the brand’s logo at the back of the end zone at SHI Stadium — a first-of-its-kind integration for the venue, secured in conjunction with Learfield.
Rutgers officials say the placement gives Visible a distinctive presence in the stadium and for national television audiences tuning into Rutgers football home games. Beyond the end zone signage, the brand will be woven throughout game day, with exposure on LED signage around the stadium and fan-facing activations on The Rutgers Boardwalk.
The partnership extends past game day, too. Visible will get opportunities to connect with Rutgers students, alumni and fans through the university’s digital platforms, social media channels and other multimedia assets — giving the brand a presence that runs year-round rather than just on Saturdays in the fall, Rutgers officials said.
Fred Mangione, CEO of Scarlet Knight Enterprises, said it’s another way for supporters of Rutgers Athletics to engage its community outside the stadium gates.
“Verizon has brought a creative approach to this partnership, and the back-of-end-zone integration gives Visible a compelling way to become part of the Rutgers game day experience,” he said. “We’re excited to work with a partner that sees new possibilities for connecting with our fans and community.”
The numbers behind the deal are sizable.
Visible gets access to hundreds of thousands of fans who pass through Rutgers venues each year, a New Jersey alumni base topping 383,000, and the reach of Big Ten Network’s television footprint, which the conference says spans more than 45 million households nationwide. Add in the national audiences that tune into Rutgers football broadcasts, and the back-of-end-zone spot becomes one of the more visible pieces of inventory the athletic department has to sell, Mangione said.
Visible, for its part, describes itself as Verizon’s digital-first wireless service, offering unlimited data, messages, minutes and hotspot, powered by Verizon’s 5G network. The company has landed on Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list and was named “Best Telecom Brand” in Adweek’s Challenger Brand Awards. It also runs a social-impact platform, Connection Protection, that offers eligible members three months of free wireless service if they’re laid off, so they don’t lose their phone plan on top of their job.
The agreement is the second sponsorship Scarlet Knight Enterprises has closed since Mangione took over as the unit’s inaugural CEO this summer.
Earlier this month, Rutgers signed Valley National Bank to a three-year partnership agreement giving the state’s largest home-grown bank increased visibility at football and men’s basketball games, including signage and a videoboard feature spotlighting a different local small business at home games. Together, the two deals reflect the approach Mangione has talked about since arriving at Rutgers: identifying brands with a real stake in New Jersey, rather than chasing whichever sponsor writes the biggest check.
