The Texans' marketing department has a new territory to explore.
The NFL announced that the Texans were one of 18 teams selected for an International Home Marketing Areas initiative with the Texans assigned to Mexico as part of the first-time program. Designed to build fan engagement and growth internationally, the program includes eight countries.
That includes the Texans, Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers in Mexico. The Rams are also selected for Australia. The Miami Dolphins were tabbed for Brazil and Spain. The Chicago Bears were also named for Spain.
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The Texans have a long-standing relationship with Mexico and has hosted outreach trips to Mexico and youth football games for 16 years and had a game against the Raiders at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City in 2016. This is the country the Texans have the largest number of international fans.
"We are thrilled to take our fans’ love of Texans football to the next level through this initiative,” Texans team president Greg Grissom said. “We can’t wait to create even more opportunities for our team to build meaningful connections that honor and celebrate the passionate culture of our fans in Mexico, and to focus on enhancing our Spanish-language content for all of our Spanish-speaking fans in Houston and beyond.”
In Germany, the New England Patriots were assigned along with the Carolina Panthers, Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Rams were also designated for China.
Canada was set for the Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks.
"NFL fandom begins with our clubs,” said Christopher Halpin, NFL executive vice president and chief strategy and growth officer. “This important initiative enables NFL teams to develop meaningful, direct relationships with NFL fans abroad, driving fan growth and avidity globally. We were very pleased with the number, creativity and level of commitment of club proposals across the board in this initial application period and look forward to teams launching their efforts early next year.”
In 2022, the Texans will expand its local presence in Mexico through visits with Texans players, cheerleaders, Legends and TORO for special events and watch parties, unique and focused Spanish-language content, opportunities for fans in Mexico to receive Texans merchandise and autographed items, and more. The hope is this new initiative will also allow the team to uniquely connect with the 1.9 million Latinos of Mexican decent in Houston and create additional opportunities for Texans partners and the Houston community.
The Texans launched Spanish-Language platforms, including a website and social media handles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.