[Marketing Week] Bob Koigi: Inside the new era of sports marketing

From billion-dollar broadcast deals to street football-inspired stunts, the sports industry is in the midst of a marketing revolution.

Brands, broadcasters, and creative agencies are rethinking how they connect with sports fans, treating them not just as spectators but as communities with unique passions, rituals, and cultural identities. The result? A surge of partnerships, new offerings, and campaigns designed to reach these audiences in innovative, measurable, and often immersive ways.

Paramount’s blockbuster seven-year, $1.1 billion-a-year deal with TKO Group Holdings to make Paramount+ the exclusive U.S. home for UFC events from 2026 is the clearest sign yet of live sports’ growing centrality in streaming strategy.

While Paramount’s deal is about content ownership, dentsu’s strategic partnership with MOGL is about data-driven access to audiences. MOGL’s AI-powered platform matches brands with more than 30,000 U.S. college athlete influencers, aligning Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) sponsorships with campaign objectives. For advertisers, the appeal is twofold: hyper-targeting younger, hard-to-reach demographics and gaining real-time performance insights on engagement and reach.

On the creative front, AKQA’s appointment as strategic partner for the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix reflects another shift: sports events as cultural platforms. AKQA’s remit goes beyond visuals. It includes content strategy, real-time digital storytelling, and shaping how fans engage across platforms.

Then there’s UMA’s “biggest goal of all time” stunt, created with DUDE London, which transformed London’s Tower Bridge into football goalposts to celebrate the launch of the Brilliance Ball and its Premier League partnership.

Campaigns of the week

An integrated Interpublic Group (IPG) team has launched the Effortless Rush Hour campaign for the Philips S1000 to S3000 series, promoting electric shavers as essential tools for young Thai men to navigate daily personal, professional and social challenges.

WorldPride Amsterdam 2026 has officially launched its first global campaign: The New Dutch Masters, a poetic and visually arresting celebration of queer unity, created by interest-first, creative twin agency Geminaes.

Wieden+Kennedy Toronto and McDonald’s Canada are partnering with Canadian country music star Shania Twain for the All Dressed Up campaign. Drawing on Twain’s connection to the brand as a former crew member and longtime fan, the campaign centres on the idea that no one is ever too dressed up for a visit to McDonald’s.

Agencies and accounts

AKQA has been appointed as the strategic creative partner for the Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in a multi-year deal with Ethara, the Middle East’s events and entertainment company.

Digital commerce agency Goodness has been appointed Direct-to-Consumer Agency Partner and Digital Creative Partner for cookie brand Tate’s Bake Shop.

Sauce Shop, one of the fastest-growing names in the condiment category, has chosen Fold7 as its strategic and creative partner following a three-way competitive pitch.

Partnerships and acquistions

Skydance Media and Paramount Global have announced the completion of their merger, creating a premier standalone global media and entertainment company, Paramount, a Skydance Corporation, Paramount.

The World Out of Home Organization (WOO) is working with Ad Net Zero to adapt the Global Media Sustainability Framework (GMSF) to better reflect the characteristics of Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising.

Interpublic has announced a strategic partnership with Aaru, a technology company specialising in predictive simulations of human behaviour. The collaboration will allow Interpublic agencies to use Aaru’s multi-agent infrastructure and proprietary tools to forecast audience sentiment for marketing initiatives.

Captains of Industry

Marketing Report.One this week interviewed Mathieu Plassard, the President and CEO of Ogilvy Paris, on how Ogilvy Paris blends creativity, culture, and technology to deliver ideas that make an impact.

Other major news of the week

Unilever is expanding its support for smallholder farmers who grow key ingredients for its products, aiming to improve their incomes while ensuring the long-term sustainability of its supply chain.

Nielsen, a global player in audience measurement, data, and analytics, has announced the upcoming launch of Connected TV (CTV) insights within its Nielsen Ad Intel solutions.

Bob Koigi is the editor-in-chief of Marketing Report.One

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