NFL’s Marissa Solis on the Taylor Swift effect and how she’s helping the league maintain its legacy while staying relevant

Despite the many conspiracy theories, Marissa Solis, the NFL’s SVP of global and consumer marketing says the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce romance is not an elaborate set up by the NFL and Swift to drum up attention.

But when sparks flew for the couple, the NFL was ready to stoke the fire, leaning on its fast-moving social media and influencer marketing arm. Solis shared on The Current Podcast that the league moved into its own Taylor Swift era by creating football 101 videos for Swifties new to the game, as well as introducing Swift to a new fanbase of football lovers.

“It's a really good lesson for marketers,” Solis says. “Culture happens at the speed of light and you just have to be ready. We like to say or think we create culture, but culture is organic and embedded. Culture just happens and we just happened to be ready at the moment.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, Solis gives a preview of the powerful messaging coming for the Super Bowl, how the NFL is gaining international influence, and meeting consumers where they are by balancing traditional TV, streaming, and other digital channels.