The Jets Events & Operations team, the Finance and Analytics Department and the internal content group, 1JD Entertainment, were honored as winners of the 2024 Cynopsis Sports Media Awards in an event on Thursday at The Lighthouse, Pier 61 in Manhattan. In total, the Jets organization was nominated in eight categories.
Activation at Live Event
The prospect of hosting three nationally televised night games at MetLife Stadium caused a light bulb to go off among the organization's events & operations team. That led to a multi-faceted "Get in Before It Begins" campaign to attract thousands of fans of the Green & White to wrap up their tailgate parties early and get into the stadium for a series of events.
Those new and novel game day experiences that got the parties started inside a throbbing MetLife early included a LED wristband light show, fireworks and a laser light show to accompany player introductions as the lights at MetLife were turned down low to enhance the overall experience.
Best Expansion of Team Marketing Outside North America
During his tenure as the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, Jets chairman Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV had a sense that the American brand of football was beginning to break through the stranglehold of that popular other form of football in Britain. And while the NFL has long played regular-season games in London, among other international locations, a big part of the population -- girls -- was left out when it came to participation.
That, however, ended last year when the Jets (in partnership with the Chicago Bears) launched the first United Kingdom NFL Flag League for girls. In its first season, the London-based league, for 12 to 14-year-olds, comprised 12 teams split into two conferences.
The Jets' partnership in the flag football league was an outgrowth of the team having been awarded international marketing rights to the United Kingdom as part of the NFL's Global Markets Program initiative with the objective of promoting American football around the globe.
Best Platform Geared to Diverse Sports and Athletes
On this side of the Pond, the Jets have played a pivotal role in the state of New Jersey (also on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley of New York State) promoting girls flag football, which in 2024 will be operated as a "pilot program" under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, with the goal of becoming a full-sanctioned interscholastic sport in 2026. This year, nearly 70 high schools will field girls' flag football club teams.
That commitment to girls participation was the centerpiece of the award-winning, documentary series, #EmpowHER: Keep Rising, which offers an in-depth look at the Girls High School Flag Football League the Jets formed in partnership with Nike and Gatorade.
From the league's launch with eight schools in New Jersey in 2021, the program has expanded to more than 100 schools in New Jersey, Long Island and the Hudson Valley. Last June, the Jets hosted the New Jersey and New York State title games at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center.
Reality/Docu-Series -- Flight 23: Ascension
The three-part documentary series, created by 1JD Entertainment, gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at the team's exciting buildup to the 2023 season. It all began last April when general manager Joe Douglas engineered the trade with Green Bay to bring four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers to the Green & White. It continued with an inside view of Rodgers' introductory press conference, a look at the team's six draft picks, free-agent acquisitions ... everything the dedicated Jets fan would want to witness and more.
The compelling docuseries, which was carried on the Jets website, on the team's YouTube channel and on local cable TV channels, earned 5 million views, 12.5 million impressions and a total of 387,000 engagements.
The organization's dedication to 1JD Entertainment and this award again proves the importance of creating authentic digital content that brings together the personalities throughout the Jets organization and connects in a unique and intimate way with the team's rabid fanbase.
