[Marketing Week] Bob Koigi: The future of sports ads is cross-screen

For years, sports advertising has largely treated television and mobile as separate channels, forcing marketers to plan, target and measure them independently

But as fans increasingly move between screens while watching live sport, that distinction is becoming harder to sustain. New research from Genius Sports points to a shift towards advertising built around audience identity and live context.

Its survey of 1,001 US weekly sports viewers found that 71% want mobile advertising personalized to their interests, while 59% want messages tailored to what is happening in the game. Timing also matters: halftime was identified as the strongest moment for relevant advertising (30%), followed by a team scoring or making a major play (29%).

The commercial opportunity extends beyond personalization. Some 61% of respondents said they would welcome a mobile offer linked to an advertisement they had just seen on television, highlighting the potential for campaigns to connect awareness with immediate action.

The implication for marketers is significant: sports advertising is evolving from buying audiences and airtime to orchestrating experiences across screens. Brands that can connect identity, timing and context could make live sports advertising more relevant, interactive and measurable.

Campaigns of the week

LePub, together with its technology and innovation collective LeGarage, has created The Clinker, a Heineken experience at Rock in Rio Brazil 2026.

Coca-Cola Great Britain has launched Counter Cultures, an integrated campaign highlighting family-run pubs, cafés and takeaways across the UK.

Victoria’s Secret has released the first trailer for Angels Among Us, an episodic series following aspiring models competing for the opportunity to become the brand’s newest Angel.

Agencies and accounts

PepsiCo has awarded its global media account to Publicis Groupe. The switch was made without a pitch.

German snowboard brand Doubledeck Snowboards has selected Utrecht-based creative and digital agency Craftmore to develop its brand identity.

HCSS has appointed Ripley PR as its public relations agency of record as the construction management software provider seeks to increase its presence in industry conversations.

Partnerships and acquistions

Bastion USA and BUNTIN have agreed to merge, creating an independent agency network designed to combine the scale of a global group with the speed and flexibility of an independent agency.

The One Club for Creativity has partnered with CapCut, part of ByteDance, in a global agreement that will make the AI-powered editing platform the nonprofit creative organization’s premier AI partner.

Stagwell and Adobe are expanding their partnership to help enterprise brands generate demand and maximize the value of marketing technology investments.

Captains of Industry

This week, Marketing Report spoke with Joost van Deijzen, Art Director, and Edouard Relou, Head of AI & Innovation at Wenneker Amsterdam, about their AI film, Synthetic Humans. They explain why the film is proof that craft, not technology is what ultimately makes AI work for brands. Joost and Edouard pushed the technology as far as they could, with no client constraints and only themselves to answer to.

Other major news of the week

Marjan Straathof is leaving DEPT. She has served as Global SVP of Marketing since November 2015, overseeing positioning, brand awareness, go-to-market, thought leadership, media relations, events and internal communications.

Omnicom Media has launched Hearts United, a global media agency formed through the combination of Hearts & Science and Mediahub.

Nielsen is introducing four methodology enhancements to its Local TV currency data as broadcasters prepare for the 2026/2027 season.

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

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