BusinessTN

Following suit of professional sports leagues like the NBA and MLB, the NFL voted in 2007 to switch to a uniform platform for the hosting of all its teams' Web sites. Whereas before, the league's 32 teams represented 32 opportunities for individual firms to land contracts, now there could be only one.

News of the policy change came as quite the blow to marketing and advertising agencies with NFL clients like J&A Integrated Thinking. The Nashville-based firm once boasted the title of second largest interactive Web provider to NFL teams, representing four NFL clients, including the Tennessee Titans.

"Each year, the league has been transitioning three to four teams onto this new platform," says Robbie Bohren, director of media relations for the Titans. Within J&A's NFL client base, the Houston Texans made the changeover first, followed by the Titans in April and the San Francisco 49ers in June. The Arizona Cardinals will make the transition by year's end.

From a business standpoint, the NFL's move makes sense on many levels. Given the increasing quality of interactive media and the consequent need to streamline and organize the content, use of a single platform will help "aggregate a portion of the advertising more easily in terms of integrating information from the league's Web site, NFL.com, to the team Web sites," Bohren says.

The change also offers "a step toward maintaining brand consistency," says Donald P. Roy, professor of sports marketing at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). "Visitors to various NFL team Web sites are likely to expect some degree of uniformity."

Though the change was drastic in impact, the NFL took steps to ensure it wasn't so in suddenness. "It was a phase-in system," says Stephen Barry, president of J&A. "It didn't happen overnight. The NFL prepared us very well for this."

It also didn't represent a complete loss of business. Under the new system, each team upholds a certain degree of individual brand identity. For this reason, the league has left some online advertising space to be filled independently, allowing J&A to continue hosting four Web sites for the 49ers, and possibly others for the Cardinals.

Despite the loss of official team Web sites, the change leaves J&A as one of a limited number of firms with expertise in developing these dynamic, high-traffic sites. "The NFL space is very demanding, but it's been good conditioning for us because it prepared us to help our other clients," says Carter Toole, director of digital management for J&A.

As the agency enters the world of college athletics and motorsports, it can boast of a know-how gained through its work with perhaps the premier professional sports league in the world. With other professional organizations and college programs continually striving to improve their Web presence, many wishing to follow the NFL's lead will look toward firms with NFL experience. For J&A Integrated, that silver lining may prove a gold mine.