The Power of Taylor Swift’s Brand

Written by Sydney Manningham

Media Analytics Executive

The media has been fascinated with Taylor Swift’s love life for as long as fans have loved her music. The latest fixation of Taylor Swift by the media has been her alleged relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player, Travis Kelce. Swifties and the media alike have been obsessed with the prospect that Swift has a new man, and a beloved NFL player at that. The relationship took the internet by storm after Swift was seen in Kelce’s stadium box with his Mom known by the internet as “mama Kelce” at a game on September 24.

Ever since, one can’t seem to bring up football without bringing up Taylor Swift. Both ESPN and the NFL’s official social media accounts have been flooded with Swift content. The NFL’s X (Twitter) account has been full of witty Swiftie references. The NFL tweeted that Swift was in her “Red era,” a nod to her fourth studio album “Red” and the Chiefs’ colors. Sports commentary during Chiefs games have included Taylor Swift, and graphics on television scenes during the games have had “Taylor Swift stats.”

The NFL isn’t the only one talking about this relationship. Heinz created a new condiment after a tweet went viral that Swift was eating chicken nuggets with ranch and ketchup in Kelce’s stadium box on gameday. Then, Saturday Night Live created a skit around the relationship and the NFL’s obsession with it. And the hashtag #TaylorSwiftCheifsGame has 40 million views on TikTok. Swift and Kelce’s “unconfirmed” (but pretty obvious at this point) relationship has generated so much more than just popular culture sploofs; it has led to a newfound merge of two worlds and audiences.

The NFL has been engaging with an audience that it has traditionally not been able to reach in the past; young women who are Taylor Swift Fans. Swift’s love life has evolved into a marketing boost for the NFL. In the days following Swift’s first game appearance, tickets on Stubhub experienced a 175% increase for the following Chiefs game against the Jets. This game on October 1 is now the second-highest selling game of the season. Furthermore, this game had over 24 million views, with women 12-49 spiking as an audience. Swift has brought in a whole new audience to football and has boosted the NFL’s ratings.

The media has been fascinated with Taylor Swift’s love life for as long as fans have loved her music. The latest fixation of Taylor Swift by the media has been her alleged relationship with Kansas City Chiefs player, Travis Kelce. Swifties and the media alike have been obsessed with the prospect that Swift has a new man, and a beloved NFL player at that. The relationship took the internet by storm after Swift was seen in Kelce’s stadium box with his Mom known by the internet as “mama Kelce” at a game on September 24.

Ever since, one can’t seem to bring up football without bringing up Taylor Swift. Both ESPN and the NFL’s official social media accounts have been flooded with Swift content. The NFL’s X (Twitter) account has been full of witty Swiftie references. The NFL tweeted that Swift was in her “Red era,” a nod to her fourth studio album “Red” and the Chiefs’ colors. Sports commentary during Chiefs games have included Taylor Swift, and graphics on television scenes during the games have had “Taylor Swift stats.”

The NFL isn’t the only one talking about this relationship. Heinz created a new condiment after a tweet went viral that Swift was eating chicken nuggets with ranch and ketchup in Kelce’s stadium box on gameday. Then, Saturday Night Live created a skit around the relationship and the NFL’s obsession with it. And the hashtag #TaylorSwiftCheifsGame has 40 million views on TikTok. Swift and Kelce’s “unconfirmed” (but pretty obvious at this point) relationship has generated so much more than just popular culture sploofs; it has led to a newfound merge of two worlds and audiences.

The NFL has been engaging with an audience that it has traditionally not been able to reach in the past; young women who are Taylor Swift Fans. Swift’s love life has evolved into a marketing boost for the NFL. In the days following Swift’s first game appearance, tickets on Stubhub experienced a 175% increase for the following Chiefs game against the Jets. This game on October 1 is now the second-highest selling game of the season. Furthermore, this game had over 24 million views, with women 12-49 spiking as an audience. Swift has brought in a whole new audience to football and has boosted the NFL’s ratings.

Swift’s love life has been the victim of sexist commentary for years. After the media has pushed the narrative that she has had too many boyfriends or writes too many break up songs, it's refreshing to Swifties and feminists alike to see the media writing about the positive impact Swift has had on a major franchise in America. With 12 Grammys, 114 million records sold worldwide, and the highest grossing tour ever, Taylor Swift is one of the most successful musicians of all time and it's time that she gets the spotlight for those achievements, not her boyfriends. If anything, Taylor Swift put Kelce on the map (it’s a TikTok trend, I don’t want any football fans getting too mad).

Swift’s love life has been the victim of sexist commentary for years. After the media has pushed the narrative that she has had too many boyfriends or writes too many break up songs, it's refreshing to Swifties and feminists alike to see the media writing about the positive impact Swift has had on a major franchise in America. With 12 Grammys, 114 million records sold worldwide, and the highest grossing tour ever, Taylor Swift is one of the most successful musicians of all time and it's time that she gets the spotlight for those achievements, not her boyfriends. If anything, Taylor Swift put Kelce on the map (it’s a TikTok trend, I don’t want any football fans getting too mad).