2025 must be the year of the partnership disruptor in sport December 29, 2024 Hardcore boxing fans may have felt sucker punched with the underwhelming Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul bout earlier this year. But it delivered knockout results for streaming giant Netflix and established a new contender in sports partnerships. It was an unexpectedly bold and wildly successful move for Netflix, crowning them as the surprise new champ [...]
The three sport business trends you need to watch in 2025 December 27, 2024 Every other prediction piece you’ll read, across any industry, will attempt to explain what the impact of AI will be on that sector over the coming year. Most answers will be variations on Hemingway’s theme. AI will end up taking over. Gradually and then suddenly. So, to avoid giving the likes of Chat GPT too [...]
The best and worst sports marketing campaigns of 2024 December 25, 2024 In the true Christmas spirit of judging others, I’ve looked at my favourite – and not so favourite – sports marketing campaigns of 2024. I had planned to hand out awards with categories based on the startling number of current football pundits who were in Graham Taylor’s Euro 92 England squad. The Gary Lineker Award [...]
The top five trends emerging in sports marketing in 2025 December 22, 2024 Sports marketing continues to play a diverse and increasingly important role in the marketing mix for brands. And for many reasons. It serves as a launchpad for brands seeking to enter new markets by capitalising on major events across the globe that command mass audiences. It’s a signal of a brand’s stature and prominence re-enforcing [...]
Hit or miss? The best and worst football club Christmas adverts December 22, 2024 Creative type Steve Howell casts his critical eye over Christmas adverts produced by Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham and Celtic. Think of a Christmas advert and your mind may conjure memories of “A dog is for life…” or any number of classic John Lewis commercials that have become synonymous with this time of year. Whatever brand [...]
Why doesn’t Saudi Arabia sponsor rugby when it invests everywhere else? December 7, 2024 If you were going to have a gander through the list of sports sponsorship deals related – directly or indirectly – to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, you’d be scrolling for a good while. Because research by Play the Game reports that there’s a total of 910 deals between Saudi Arabia or Saudi companies/individuals and [...]
Sumo coming to London and Royal Albert Hall for second time in 1,500 years December 4, 2024 Elite Sumo wrestling will return to the Royal Albert Hall for the first time since 1991 as the Japanese sport ventures away from its founding shores for just the second time in 1,500 years. The iconic London venue will be transformed to host an official basho as part of the Grand Sumo Tournament next October. [...]
Sport isn’t as inclusive as it thinks it is – but brands can make it right December 3, 2024 From events giving less than one per cent of places to disabled participants to getting braille wrong on the medals, sport still has a long way to go on inclusion. But that’s where brands can help, says Steve Howell. Everyone knows that sport is an incredible force for good. Bringing a nation together, giving people [...]
Can rugby’s biggest social media star boost the English game? December 2, 2024 You may not have heard of her but she can claim to be the most famous name in the game – and now Ilona Maher is seemingly on her way to England and Premiership Women’s Rugby. The 28-year-old USA sevens player is a social media sensation, with 4.6m followers on Instagram and a further 3.2m [...]
Sport facing ‘tipping point’ as youth ditch live coverage November 19, 2024 The sport industry is at “a tipping point” due to declining interest in watching live sport among young people, experts have warned. Two thirds of global sports executives are concerned that a shift amongst younger fans from live sport to highlights and documentaries could damage the commercial value of the industry, according to Altman Solon’s [...]