Optimum Sports’ Post

Earlier this year we approached ESPN on behalf of Gatorade with a big idea; could the Best Male and Best Female Gatorade Player of the Year award winners be announced live on the ESPYs stage? What felt like a lofty goal quickly became a reality thanks to the incredible collaboration across Optimum Sports, ESPN, and our clients at PepsiCo.   For Gatorade, this was a major evolution of their long-standing POY program and a way to drive cultural breakthrough of the award.    For the athletes, this was the culmination of years of hard work (and it’s just the beginning!). We were thrilled to support this hard-earned recognition on the biggest stage.    Congratulations to Cooper Flagg (Basketball) and Sadie Engelhardt (Track and Field) on winning this prestigious award!

Our own Kristen Gray and Amy Adelbush spoke with the Sports Business Journal last week about the growth of women's sports and how we consult clients to build impactful brand platforms in the space. They discussed how the rise in attention to women's sports will impact this year's upfronts, and how OS consults clients to develop a strategy that unifies partnerships, talent and media. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gVyGHJa9

We are incredibly excited for the launch of our latest partnership with Prime Video & Amazon Studios, as AT&T will serve as the lead sponsor for the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) on Prime Video, and the presenting sponsor of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) halftime show on Prime Video. Tune in on Thursday as Prime Video's WNBA coverage tips off, where AT&T will surround Caitlin Clark’s debut home game in Indianapolis. Thank you to our clients and partners at Amazon for this collaborative effort to ‘walk the walk’ in supporting the growth of women’s sports! https://lnkd.in/ed_kRYmd

Our Jeremy Carey spoke to Ad Age ahead of the Upfronts about the financial impact of the Women's NCAA Tournament, the opportunity with digital-only live sports distribution partners, and how OS consults clients to maximize corporate partnerships inside and outside of the commercial pod. Take a look: https://lnkd.in/g53uq5Hs

Earlier this week, we helped Delta Air Lines celebrate 100 Days Out to the #Paris2024 Olympics in partnership with NBCUniversal! On Wednesday morning, Delta's celebration of Team USA and The Olympic & Paralympic Movement took center stage on The TODAY Show, featuring Delta CEO Ed Bastian and Delta Athlete Ambassador Brooke Raboutou to deliver one lucky winner a trip to the Paris Games. The moment encapsulated how the Olympics brings out the best in us all. Together, we fly. #KeepClimbing https://lnkd.in/gae5Akt7

Congratulations to Muscle Milk on winning a Cynopsis Sports Media Award for “Best Use of Name, Image, and Likeness by a Brand, Athlete or School” for their “Own Your Strength” content series with Sinclair Inc.! We're thrilled to see hard work earn recognition after working fast and furious to identify the opportunity and bring this content to life in close partnership with our clients at PepsiCo and the team at Sinclair. What we’re most proud of:   - Leveraging talent to create contextually relevant storylines that support existing campaign creative, pairing Candace Parker with custom content featuring Charli Collier, Lexie Hull, and Danielle Robinson - This series told the impressive stories of WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) players while delivering product-forward content that reinforced the idea that Muscle Milk helps athletes own their strength - The media plan had a strong balance of custom content and high impact media to create a balanced approach in driving engagement and reach   Thank you to our Muscle Milk clients and Sinclair partners for this award-winning collaboration! https://lnkd.in/gypt45Y6

The State Farm x Caitlin Clark saga continues! Tune in to the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) Draft on Monday night!

The results are in – the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament was the biggest ever and will go down as one of the most significant moments in modern sports history! Viewership and social engagement surrounding the tournament set records, highlighted by the Championship Game that drew 18.9 million viewers, representing the most watched basketball game since 2019 (men's or women's, college or pro). As brands begin recapping their campaigns, here are the five top takeaways we've uncovered: 1. Women’s College Basketball is ascending at a record pace, proving women's sports can compete with ANY male sports property 2. March Madness has likely changed in perpetuity, evolving into a dual-tentpole event 3. Caitlin Clark was a catalyst in the Tournament's growth, but she was not the sole attraction 4. Women players dominated their male counterparts on social, a trend that could extend across other NCAA sports according to Creo, Omnicom Media Group's influencer practice 5. 360 brand and sponsorship activation continues to drive better results, higher ROI 

Our own Jeremy Carey and Kristen Gray spoke with Variety this morning about the massive success of this year's Women's NCAA Tournament, and how OS's long-term vision put our clients in premiere positions within Monday's record-breaking broadcast of Iowa vs. LSU. “We placed a huge bet, and it came up for our clients" - we're proud of our outstanding brand partners who have supported the growth of women's basketball. More to come from the Final Four this weekend! Check it out: https://lnkd.in/gk592QQX