Stephanie Dobbs Brown’s Post

Messaging in sport is changing and younger generations are leading the conversation. A recent trend; consumer brands investing in sport. We've seen fashion brands release new sports product lines, massive partnerships between entertainment providers, and huge sponsorships! Why this sudden interest? We think it's got a lot to do with storytelling in sport in recent years and it's resonance with younger audiences. Here's our brief overview. #StorytellingInSport #SportEvolution #TrendingTopics

🏀 Ready to Score Big with Gen Z? In this week's edition of Livity Thinks, we're sharing 5 ways brands can get involved in sports culture, from getting creative to embracing the journey. Read the full article and future proof your brand for the next generation of sports fans. 🥇 #YouthCulture #SportsCulture #MarketingStrategy #GenZ

🏀For the first time ever, I convinced my daughter to watch a basketball game with me before bed. The Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark were playing. Did I think she knew who Caitlin was? No—she’s only 8! But then she said, “There’s Caitlin Clark!” My jaw dropped. I was so happy she knew who she was watching. When I asked, “What do you know about Caitlin Clark?” she replied, “She’s one of the best basketball players in the world.” 🥹 🚀 The power of brand and storytelling is undeniable, and recent events in the WNBA highlight this perfectly. The incredible success and growing hype around rookie stars like Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, and Cameron Brink illustrate how captivating narratives can capture attention and inspire millions. These athletes aren’t just making headlines for their on-court performances; they’re creating compelling stories that resonate far beyond the sports world. Their journeys, personalities, and relentless drive are building powerful personal brands that attract fans, media, and sponsors alike. In today’s competitive landscape, it’s hard to deny that attention is the most valuable currency. By combining exceptional talent with authentic storytelling, these athletes are demonstrating how a strong personal brand can elevate an entire league and inspire the next generation of stars. #Branding #Storytelling #WNBA #Marketing #AthleteBranding

#Trailblazingstories This edition of #trailblazingtuesday (yes on a Wed!) is coming to you from Cannes where the conference is a buzz around women’s sports and storytelling. At every panel the importance of authentic storytelling comes up as being mission critical to maintaining the momentum in women’s sports. For decades men’s sports has had dedicated sports radio and around the clock sports tv networks that cover the stories of athletes, teams, leagues, contracts, trades, personalities, & rivalries. These stories fuel fandom, which fuel the audiences for live games, which fuel the tv contracts, which fuel players salaries & merch sales, and so on. As brands think about investing in women’s sports, storytelling must be at the center of that investment. Trailblazing Sports is proud to partner with talented storytellers in women’s sports media to grow the game. What stories can WE tell together?!? The GIST The Athletic RE—INC TOGETHXR Just Women's Sports Bleacher Report Hana Kuma The E.W. Scripps Company SHE Media Women's Sports Network

In 2024, why are leading brands still misunderstanding the importance of engagement? After attending a series of sports conferences in the last couple of weeks, a moment of clarity hit me — we're navigating through 2024 with a 2016 mindset. During one panel, a representative from a global brand boasted purely about campaign impressions from a sports marketing partnership, completely overlooking the essence of true engagement. This doesn’t just feel like an oversight, it's arguably a step backward. The digital landscape has evolved, fragmenting into niche communities. Today, the 'one-size-fits-all' approach is not just ineffective; it's obsolete. Sports fans are not a monolithic group but a mosaic of diverse interests and passions. True engagement means resonating on a personal level, sparking conversations, and building communities — not just counting passive engagement. It’s why i’m proud that at Dizplai we try and present the opportunities around fan engagement through content as a wake up call. We aim to pivot from vanity metrics towards meaningful engagement that nurtures loyalty and community. #sportsbiz #sportsindustry #fanengagement

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 1/3: 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 - 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐫𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 🌐🚀 In a world seeking solace, the transformative power of sports now extends beyond the field, with women's viewership at an all-time high. This demand is not just a trend but a powerful movement that brands cannot ignore. Although such sponsorships have typically been associated with beauty and lifestyle brands, the evolving landscape offers tremendous opportunities for all types of brands. While it's great to see new sponsors entering the game, it's equally important for existing brands to tell stories of loyalty, progress, and inclusivity. Consumers appreciate and respond positively to brands that show they care about important issues, such as: 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: Increase your brand's exposure to a wider audience. 📺👯♀️ 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠: Craft narratives that resonate with diverse audiences. 📖 𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬: Build heartfelt connections with your audience for lasting impact. 🥹 𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬: Embrace diversity, strength, and inclusion in your brand's messaging. 🪢 As sports captivate global audiences, opportunities for brands to forge meaningful connections abound. The stage is set for a closer look at the evolving landscape, where the metrics become the guiding stars. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we delve into Lewis Hamilton's groundbreaking move and the unseen potential it brings! 🏎️💼 Catch up on the series, here: - 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 2/3: 𝐋𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 🏎️💰 https://lnkd.in/dtZv2JEJ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 3/3: 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐰𝐥 𝐋𝐕𝐈𝐈𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 💪🎉 https://lnkd.in/diFqveZh

Barbie and the sports marketing reality check 👇 Barbies/Mattel, Inc. have created the case study to end all case studies on how to launch a movie, and effectively relaunch a global brand, but I'm just as interesting in thinking about what they haven't done as part of the hype. And to my knowledge I haven't seen anything across the sports partnerships. Whilst to most it may not seem a problem, the fact one of the biggest partnership centric campaigns of the last decade with a budget of $150m hasn't deployed in sports, I think it should be considered why. Lack of value? The traditional approach to long term partnerships just isn't appealing when the promotional hyper period only lasts for around 4 weeks. Performance question marks? Did they see bigger reach across the variety of other channels. A lack of opportunities? Maybe they didn't see any opportunities that brand matched within sports, or perhaps timing was prohibitive. In reality it's possibly a combination of the above. And honestly, I think where the biggest opportunity has been missed is aligned with the Women's World Cup, particularly when the film is tackling gender inequality head on and they are both global events happening at the same time. At a time when the commercial threats to sports are coming from all angles of the wider attention economy, I think we all should be looking at these warnings to drive transformational change. #sportsbiz #sportsindustry #barbiemarketing

My advice to the Kansas City Chiefs and the National Football League (NFL): CONGRATULATIONS...but, proceed with caution. Many, including myself, have talked about the momentum and impact of the Barbie | Taylor | Beyonce | Husker Women's Vollyball era. Time and time again, we've seen that women can be mobilized behind a movement that authentically speaks to their values and lived experience...and the impact of that mobilization is formidable. Therein lies my message: unless and until you truly understand the audience you're about to speak to / market to / activate, proceed with extreme caution. On the one hand, there is tremendous upside in engaging women (and other historically overlooked) groups in sports. I'm a HUGE advocate of that opportunity, both for the leagues, teams, and partners, as well as for women and other groups themselves. That's a soapbox all on its own. However, the risk a brand or organization runs by haphazardly and inauthentically marketing to these groups can't be overstated. This is not the time to assume that these groups are: - motivated by the same things - interested in the same things - hoping to achieve the same things - activated by the same things as groups and demographics you've historically spoken to. Rather, when groups naturally and organically organize around a shared set of values or shared life experience, a marketing faux pas can result in active backlash, not just passive disregard. So, what to do? Get smart first. Take the time to get to know this new audience. Not all marketing will be appropriate for this group - but some will be perfect for them. Not all partners will be interesting to this group - but some will fit their needs well. Not all activations will engage this group - but the right one can create a massive impact. We'll be watching (and cheering...and singing)!! PS - We help brands do this type of insight and innovation work all the time. Hit me up if you want to talk! #faninsight #marketresearch #taylorswift #traviskelce #partnershipactivation #fanresearch #sportsmarketing

NEW: Pro athletes are making strides not just on the field but in Hollywood, too, where star players are scoring big wins in the media and entertainment business. They're landing podcast and documentary deals, kickstarting their own production companies, and entering into lucrative brand partnerships off the backs of their growing fan bases. A battalion of talent agents and managers is scrambling to lay claim to untapped opportunities at the intersection of sports and mass media. For Business Insider, Ashley Rodriguez, Margaret Fleming, and I spoke to some of the top representatives in the space about the big-name clients they've signed this year, the emerging media trends they're following, their predictions for 2024, and how they're hammering out valuable deals across TV, digital, print, and corporate sponsorships. Get to know 32 of the high-powered execs dominating the crossroads of professional athletics and the glamorous world of Hollywood — exclusively from BI. Featuring: Creative Artists Agency, WME | William Morris Endeavor, United Talent Agency, KLUTCH SPORTS GROUP, LLC, Buchwald, Excel Sports Management, Paradigm Sports, and more. #hollywood #sports #media

For me this is not a new revelation as a result of doing "deals" with talent and brands etc for some time....but the aspect of sports stars building production companies and content I think is the newer emerging factor. Like so many "celeb" actors, musicians etc, they are building revenue streams beyond just a single recognized talent and they are most often very business savvy avenues. I love this more than another wine or vodka brand by a noted "star."...and I think talent management had to become way more 360 years ago creating people as multiple brand entities. from what I see SPORTS CONTENT in general is thriving on highly consumed platforms, netflix, hulu etc.