The NFL, America’s National Football League, is building its brand in Europe with important lessons for challenger brands both inside and outside the sporting world.

Why it matters

America’s dominant sport needs to internationalise and it is focused on the UK and Germany as critical European markets (16 million and 18 million casual fans, respectively) in which to do it. The tactics involve localisation, delegating some fan marketing to the clubs, building on gaming, and engaging with free to air.

Takeaways

• Out of the UK’s 16 million fans, just 3.5 million consider themselves avid fans.
• Lifetime value-thinking is critical: there...