Superbowl champion Travis Kelce and his former NFL star brother Jason Kelce are driving excessive on the success of their podcast New Heights, however they’re not shy about giving some credit score to the so-called “Taylor Swift impact“.
In a latest dialogue at Cannes Lions—the Oscars equal of the promoting world—the Kelce brothers shared how their present has reworked, thanks partly to Travis’s high-profile relationship with the worldwide pop celebrity.
“The demographic of the present is shifting,” acknowledged Jason when requested how he felt about their viewers morphing from “furry soccer followers” to “14-year-old ladies.”
Emphasizing the pivotal position followers play in shaping their content material, he added: “The followers and the viewers are such drivers of the content material. They’re thirsty for issues, and that helps us discuss issues and helps us provide you with a sport plan. We’ve talked about issues on the podcast that I don’t suppose we might have ever gotten to with out the followers tuning in.”
Travis noticed his Kansas Metropolis Chiefs jersey gross sales rocket almost 400% after Swift was noticed within the crowd for his NFL video games in September final yr once they started courting, and the All-Professional tight finish acknowledged an analogous increase in fame now that Swifties have flocked to his podcast.
Highlighting the significance of adapting to their rising and various viewers, Travis mentioned: “You’ve acquired to take heed to your viewers. We do have numerous new soccer followers coming in, so it’s not simply speaking soccer like we might within the locker, however make it extra easy so that everyone can comply with alongside and nonetheless benefit from the present.”
The success of New Heights has additionally introduced in profitable sponsorship offers.
“With the present getting larger, with me and him [Jason] getting larger and extra acquainted, larger manufacturers and extra alternatives come our manner,” Travis added.
“It actually has became one thing I might have by no means anticipated. We have been pleased to have pet food sponsors at first, and now we will sort of choose and select who we wish to signify the podcast.”
Jason echoed this sentiment, noting the rising curiosity from manufacturers: “There are extra alternatives and extra manufacturers that wish to be a part of the present. We’re at all times attempting to determine the manufacturers that we actually establish with and genuinely wish to be part of, and that’s a course of that’s frequently rising because the present grows.”
Craft beer brewer Storage Beer is the Kelces’ present sponsor for his or her New Heights podcast.
How the Kelces are leveraging soccer and leisure
An rising variety of athletes are leveraging their distinctive place on the intersection of sports activities and leisure to construct thriving companies, and the Kelces are proving to be a supremely enticing proposition to advertisers who wish to get a bit of the motion.
“Within the Nationwide Soccer League, all of us put on face masks,” Travis mentioned.
“One of many objectives [of the podcast] for us was to attempt to get out from below that face masks and actually get into the dwelling rooms of individuals watching.”
However the unscripted nature of their present has been the actual hit, and Jason says he now sees the podcast as a possibility to carry the game to a extra various group of followers and capitalize on the worldwide drive to elevate up ladies’s sport.
“We wish to keep loyal to the those who have tuned in from day one,” Jason mentioned.
“However with the demographic shift, it’s actually expanded. Every part that’s transpired over the previous yr [with Travis dating Taylor] has given causes for ladies to get entangled in a sport the place beforehand there wasn’t that a lot curiosity. Now, dads are hanging out with daughters, there’s worlds colliding, and our present will get to be one other place the place these worlds collide, which is superior.”
