In 2022, the National Football League (NFL) created the International Home Marketing Areas program with the goal of stimulating global fandom for American football. As part of the program, the league assigned individual teams exclusive commercial rights to international territories, effectively giving teams the opportunity to create “international home markets.” As a result, the Eagles, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were granted access to Ghana, making it the first NFL team to officially enter a market in Africa.<br><br\>But how should the Eagles’ marketing team go about creating a fan community in Ghana? How should it market the game of American football? What media or social channels should the team use to reach and connect with Ghanaian audiences? What activation points should it leverage? Should the team prioritize educating Ghanaians on the rules and nuances of American football or focus on building awareness and interest in the Eagles franchise specifically? And how should the Eagles evaluate whether their marketing efforts are succeeding? These were all questions Jen Kavanagh—Senior Vice-President of Marketing and Media for the Philadelphia Eagles—needed to answer before she could formalize the Eagles’ marketing strategy in Ghana.

In 2022, the National Football League (NFL) created the International Home Marketing Areas program with the goal of stimulating global fandom for American football. As part of the program, the league assigned individual teams exclusive commercial rights to international territories, effectively giving teams the opportunity to create "international home markets." As a result, the Eagles, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were granted access to Ghana, making it the first NFL team to officially enter a market in Africa. But how should the Eagles' marketing team go about creating a fan community in Ghana? How should it market the game of American football? What media or social channels should the team use to reach and connect with Ghanaian audiences? What activation points should it leverage? Should the team prioritize educating Ghanaians on the rules and nuances of American football or focus on building awareness and interest in the Eagles franchise specifically? And how should the Eagles evaluate whether their marketing efforts are succeeding? These were all questions Jen Kavanagh-Senior Vice-President of Marketing and Media for the Philadelphia Eagles-needed to answer before she could formalize the Eagles' marketing strategy in Ghana.