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 [...]
Short Track World Tour: The league revolutionising for relevance October 29, 2024 When you think of sporting innovation, what comes to mind? The Hundred, maybe, or Saudi’s tennis showcase 6 Kings Slam? Well what about short track speed skating? Because the International Skating Union (ISU) has just launched the first leg of a totally revamped world tour in which 28 franchises compete across six meetings. The ISU [...]
Messi and LeBron beaten to top spot in athlete marketability rankings October 22, 2024 US gymnast Simone Biles has beaten LeBron James and Lionel Messi to be named the most marketable athlete in the world by sports industry experts. Real Madrid and Brazil footballer Vinicius Jr is second, followed by NBA legend James, women’s basketball sensation Caitlin Clark and Messi in the list published by SportsPro magazine. Biles, who [...]
Glasgow officially named 2026 Commonwealth Games hosts October 22, 2024 Glasgow has today officially be named the host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The Scottish city, which hosted the 2014 edition of the Games, has stepped in to replace Victoria after the Australian state pulled out. The 2026 edition, however, will be scaled down and is set to completely pay for itself.It means four of [...]
Golfer Maguire urged to drop Kingspan sponsorship following Grenfell Inquiry September 18, 2024 Fellow golfer Shane Lowry ended his commercial relationship with Kingspan last week after the public inquiry into the London tower block fire.