The 10 most memorable sports marketing moments from 2023
In no particular order, here are some of the campaigns and activations that stood out for me over the past twelve months.
As we reach the end of 2023, I thought I would take the opportunity to look back at some of my favourite moments and activations in sports marketing from the year.
I hope you enjoy the selection and let me know in the comments below if I have missed any of your favourites!
1. Inter Milan and Paramount+ roll out a special front-of-shirt activation
Maybe it’s because I feel equally nostalgic about Transformers in the 1980s as I do about Alvaro Recoba and Ronaldo terrorising Serie A defences for the Nerazzurri in the 1990s, but this front-of-shirt activation really caught my eye.
In a world of soulless betting companies emblazoned across so many football shirts, it was a joy to see Paramount+ create their own [Optimus] Prime Day by deploying the iconic Autobots logo for a one-off game.
Like any good Transformer, the activation served multiple purposes; driving awareness around Paramount+ streaming the full Transformers catalogue, creating an instant classic piece of football fashion, and raising money for pediatric patients in Milanese hospitals through auctioning the match worn shirts.
2. The Canaries make a powerful statement for World Mental Health Day
Working with suicide prevention charity Samaritans, Norwich City created one of the year’s most powerful pieces of content.
The twist in the video was so powerful, that it had people across the globe sharing it across social media, racking up close to 60m views on X, alone.
The purpose-driven activation also saw the club’s sponsors, Lotus Cars, Sekura.id, and Turismo de Gran Canaria, donating sponsorship inventory to Samaritans for World Mental Health Day.
Stunning work.
3. The NBA have a ball in Las Vegas
We’ve seen it transformed into a massive tennis ball, an endless chequered-flag, a huge eyeball, a creepy Halloween Jack-O-Lantern and, perhaps most terrifyingly, a home for U2 concerts, but the $2.3bn MSG Sphere in Las Vegas started life as a traffic-stopping basketball.
It was the NBA who gave this gargantuan OOH site its big tipoff, two months before its official opening, to publicise its Summer League series.
The ensuing, ‘OMG what is that giant basketball’ TikToks and reels had everyone talking about the mesmerising new landmark back in July, long before Bono had completed his first sound check.
P.S. If anyone has the design specs for the MSG Sphere please share, because I am dying to know how one would go about creating an asset for this.
4. It’s a family affair for the Black Caps’ Cricket World Cup squad announcement
Our favourite professional athletes sacrifice time with their loved ones to stay at the top of their game. For cricketers, this is particularly pronounced with many spending months away from home on tour.
So this, simple but effective video from New Zealand Cricket, resonated by putting the ‘team behind the team’ in the spotlight.
Players’ wives, girlfriends, parents, grandparents and kids all play their part and show their pride in announcing the names.
A perfect example of how you don’t need a huge budget to make a memorable piece of content - a brilliant idea is more than enough.
5. New Balance and Coco Gauff win the US Open
You can’t beat a good ‘planned reactive’ activation and New Balance’s Call Me Coco Champion campaign was beautifully-executed.
As Coco Gauff completed her first Grand Slam win, claiming the US Open title in September, New Balance dropped a ‘social media bomb’.
I broke down the precisely choreographed campaign earlier this year.
6.Apple TV use one emoji to paint a thousand words
This was clever from Apple TV.
The brief was to use the excitement around Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami to drive sign ups to Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass.
The answer was super simple. A pink GOAT emoji on a Miami billboard, amplified across social media.
The fact that there is no mention of Messi yet we all immediately know who is being represented by that emoji only serves to burnish his legend.
The pink, Inter Miami’s signature colour and one synonymous with Miami’s art deco heritage makes us feel like the city is claiming the world’s most marketable athlete as one of their own.
A Bienvenido to remember.
7.Orange give gender-biased football fans the Blues
Several brands used the FIFA Women’s World Cup to make big statements around gender equality and growing the women’s game.
But it was Orange, sponsors of the French Football Federation (and thus able to use both male and female players), who truly seized the moment with a mega viral hit.
The tech giant rallied support for Les Bleues with a deepfake-enabled video which draws in the viewer by apparently showcasing the skills of Antoinne Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe before the grand reveal - you were actually looking at the silky skills of Sakina Karchaoui and Selma Bacha.
Women’s football is progressing beyond being painted solely in purpose-terms, but in a world where even intellectual titans such as Joey Barton turn their noses up at the women’s game deeming it an inferior product, Orange’s fantastic advert delivered an important message to the haters.
8. Cadbury rally 14 clubs to build a Common Ground for Grenfell
Football clubs are usually so territorial when it comes to community initiatives. They give back generously within their own catchments, but try not to encroach on other club’s ‘turf’.
This is why, Cadbury’s achievement, in rallying 14 partner clubs from across the UK to support the community of Grenfell, west London, was hugely commendable.
The Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 was a tragedy that resonated beyond the capital and laid bare the huge disparities in society.
In its aftermath, the work of local heroes such as Rupert Taylor, founder of Grenfell Athletic FC, in bringing the community together and helping to foster a sense of togetherness and positivity cannot be underestimated.
In the summer, a Common Ground was built for this remarkable football club with essential items from soil to grass seed to dugouts, donated by Cadbury’s 14 partner clubs: Arsenal, Birmingham City, Celtic, Chelsea, Leeds United, Lincoln City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Notts County, Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United, Tottenham Hotspur and West Bromwich Albion.
For Cadbury, which uses football partnerships to deliver around its brand values of kindness and generosity, the partnership with Grenfell Athletic FC stands out as a truly unique purpose-driven campaign.
Full, unashamed disclosure: It’s a campaign that my colleagues and I at MKTG Sports + Entertainment were very proud to work on with our partners at Cadbury.
9.Adidas and Anthony Edwards give rivals a kicking for signature shoe launch
Where would footwear marketing be without the braggadocio of NBA stars?
For the launch of his first signature sneaker, in partnership with Adidas, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, fired shots at rival brands and ballers including Nike ambassadors LeBron James and Luka Doncic with this cheeky bit of content.
The launch of the AE1 (with its unique peach colourway - a nod to Edwards’ Georgia roots), featured a series of teasers, social videos, on court appearances and media interviews from September through to launch in December.
The whole thing was rolled out meticulously by the sportswear giant, and captured the attention of sneaker heads everywhere.
Leveraging the charisma and wit of Edwards, Adidas were able to whip up serious hype before the futuristic looking shoe was available to buy just before Christmas.
After terminating their relationship with Kanye West and seemingly writing off the remaining Yeezy inventory, Adidas have been searching for a creative hook to keep the footwear obsessives on side and partnering with ‘Ant-Man’ looks to be a great solution.
10.Atletico Madrid spread Christmas cheer with taxi driver’s tale
On the pitch, Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid have a reputation for deploying the dark arts - from feigning injuries to playing with ten men behind the ball when necessary.
But off the pitch, what does it mean to be an Atleti fan and what are the values that should bind the fanbase together?
This is the theme explored by Spain’s third most successful club, for a festive video with a heart-warming twist.
For a club that has often positioned itself as ‘belonging to the people’ against their more celebrated neighbour, the video has certainly resonated with the Atleti faithful and beyond.
Thanks for reading and listening to The Sports Marketeer in 2023…
Looking back at the year, I have really enjoyed having this outlet to share my thoughts on sports marketing with you all.
Furthermore, I am so pleased to have launched The Sports Marketeer podcast, which has been listened to and downloaded more than 2000 times.
The most listened to episode was my interview with Dee Kundra, managing director for Bayern Munich in North, Central and South America.
Check out below, if you haven’t already - Dee shares incredible insights around growing football across the Pond.
I have some amazing guests lined up for 2024 but if you would like to put forward a guest for the podcast please email me at amarjourno@gmail.com.
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Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!
Nice post, many thanks Amar & all the best for 2024.