Led Zeppelin is now in the midst of a major promotional deal involving both ESPN and the National Football League (NFL), according to information confirmed by Digital Music News.
The short-term partnership started splashing this week, and continues until mid-month. Sports fans have already seen Zeppelin songs and video footage threaded throughout various programming for both groups, including live, highlight, and preview segments.
According to Mike Engstrom, vice president of Marketing at Rhino Entertainment, part of the Warner Music Group, the “unprecedented deal” taps into the energy of a simply unrivaled group. “Zeppelin is the greatest rock band in the world, and they’ve always done things their own way,” Engstrom said in an interview Wednesday. Now, that energy is being shared with a heavily male demographic that spans numerous age brackets.
ESPN and the NFL are complementary, and that makes the three-way structure a smart stab. Just recently, Zeppelin was promoted within a nail-biting Monday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens, aired on ESPN. The game was the most-watched program in the history of cable television, according to information shared by the network.
The Zeppelin campaign is designed to raise awareness for the recently-released Mothership, a double-disc greatest hits package. A premium version of that release includes DVD footage, and the group is also re-releasing The Song Remains the Same, a concert film from 1973.
The move follows a string of digital licensing moves by Zeppelin, as well as the announcement of reunion concert in London. Zeppelin is signed to Atlantic / Swan Song, also part of the Warner Music Group.