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Thunderbird scores by having SuperBowl on home turfThunderbird capitalized on the presence of Super Bowl XLII in its home city of Glendale, Ariz., the week prior to the Feb. 3 big event by inviting several NFL and SuperBowl-related executives, including a high-ranking alumna of the school, to speak before students, faculty and staff in its Global Issues Speakers Series.

Kim Williams, chief operating officer of the NFL Network and a 1992 graduate of Thunderbird, kicked off the series on Jan. 29.  Williams discussed the NFL brand in both domestic and international contexts. She also talked about the six key factors that the brand represents for the company: integrity, excellence, community, teamwork, innovation and tradition. She noted that NFL football is the most widely watched sport in the United States, with 200 million fans, 1,800 players and 32 teams.

On this, her first visit to campus since graduation, Williams had high praise for her graduate school, saying the campus had changed a lot, but the one thing that had not changed was that Thunderbird “continues to prepare people for global roles and global assignments.”

Later that day Michael Bidwill, president of the Arizona Cardinals, offered insights on “Building Your Team Brand Internationally.” Thunderbird scores by having SuperBowl on home turfJoining him was former Cardinals offensive lineman Rolando Cantu, the first Mexican non-kicker to play in the National Football League. Cantu currently works in the team’s front office as manager, International Business Ventures.

The Cardinals organization has been an NFL pioneer in international marketing, particularly in terms of Hispanic outreach. In 2000, the team became the first professional team to offer all its games on Spanish radio and recently launched a fully developed Spanish language version of the team’s Web site. In 2005, the Cardinals made history when they played the NFL’s first-ever regular season game outside of the United States, defeating the San Francisco 49ers in Mexico City before a crowd of 103,467 fans.  They also regularly sponsor sports camps for Mexican youngsters.

Bidwill and Cantu talked about the Cardinals’ international branding efforts and said they want to increase awareness, interest and enthusiasm in Mexico about the Cardinals by airing preseason games in Mexico, expanding their youth football camps and sponsoring a Mexican equivalent of the Heisman trophy, an award for the top football player in Mexico.

“If you’re in Mexico, you will be hearing about the Arizona Cardinals,” proclaimed Cantu.

The pre-Super Bowl series of campus speakers was capped by a presentation by James Vurpillat, representing Cadillac, a key sponsor of the Super Bowl and its MVP award. Vurpillat, director of Global Marketing and Brand Development for Cadillac Division, General Motors Corp., spoke to the Thunderbird community about Cadillac’s brand renaissance.

In 2000, Vurpillat was appointed brand manager for the Oldsmobile Bravada.  In that assignment he was also responsible for overseeing the division’s relationship with the Indy racing league and the PGA of America, and in 2001 was appointed marketing director for the Pontiac Aztek and Pontiac Montana, the position he held just prior to his current assignment.