Additionally, Texas A&M was the primary sponsor of Rosenqvist’s vehicle for the Java House Grand Prix of Arlington, Texas, in March, a move Braden said was meant to tell the school’s story as a force for good in Texas.
Notably, motorsports also exemplify Texas A&M’s core values.
“It’s American. It’s patriotic. It’s values-based. It’s communal, and all of those things fit our brand,” Braden said
Dream bigger
Capitalizing on fan loyalty, Texas A&M will use the Freedom 250 Grand Prix to debut its new national two-minute ad, which will air during Fox’s race broadcast. It features a new cover by Grammy-winning alumnus Lyle Lovett, who also appears in the commercial, and a tagline: “Together, We Stand as a Force for Good.”
The university typically launches its new ad spot at the beginning of the school year or the football season. However, it decided to dream bigger this year and, according to Braden, thought of launching it “in front of millions of fans on Fox who don’t all know us the way a football audience does.”
Embracing that bigger-thinking philosophy, he and his team wanted to launch it in a way that feels “very Super Bowl-esque,” buying 120 seconds instead of a typical 30-second ad to tell the larger story of Texas A&M.
The spot will also be repurposed across all the university’s social media channels.
The ad, featuring Lovett and airing on Fox, its social extensions, and the branded IndyCar vehicle racing during the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C., is not, for Braden, a series of separate activations but different expressions of the same brand idea working together.
“For us, that creates an integrated campaign, not just a commercial,” Braden said.
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