Netflix to Blockbuster: Finding the Fan Growth Formula 🏎
Plus the Premier League Trophy Hunt, Showtime Boxing, FC Barcelona, Ted Lasso, Washington Spirit, and the Barbie movie
Welcome to Sports Pundit, where keeping up to date with sports business news is as quick as that Mark Wood delivery 🏏
In today’s email;
Finding the Fan Growth Formula 🏁
Hunting for Fan Engagement Tools 🏆
A Movie Marketing Masterclass 💕
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TOP STORY
From Netflix to Blockbuster 🎬
It’s lights out, camera, action at the British Grand Prix this weekend.
As filming commences at Silverstone, initial images of the car Brad Pitt will drive in the upcoming Formula 1-inspired movie have been released.
While CEO Stefano Domenicali has stressed that F1 will need to control the production as to not interfere with the action on race weekends, Apex, the fictional team for which Pitt’s character will be driving for, are on the front line for this weekend’s action - having been given a garage in the pit lane between Mercedes and Ferrari.
It is expected that the film crew will continue to shoot at various races throughout the remainder of the 2023 F1 season and potentially beyond, signalling just how strongly the project is valued by F1 as their next driver of awareness and engagement.
🤔 In an interview earlier this year, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei stressed “Drive to Survive is wonderful. But we cannot rely on Drive to Survive to be our only promotion vehicle forever… This movie, kind of like Vegas, is going to be a whole other level.”
We have seen almost every rightsholder follow suit with the launch of their own behind-the-scenes docu-series, including most recently Tour de France: Unchained.
Despite having greater success than many of these, this latest development is recognition from F1 that even when you have something that works, you need to continue to innovate with how you tell your story and also figure out how to resonate with the other audiences that your current strategy has failed to reach.
A Hollywood blockbuster is one way to do this, but there are also plenty of other ways for rightsholders to tap into their unique stories and reach new customers, too - from TV shows to TikTok series.
P.S. YouGov calculated that Nike’s exposure in Season 3 of the fictional sports world of Ted Lasso is worth $27.2m (£18.4m). The company even sells replica shirts from the show online 👕
Do you run, work for, or work with an exceptional business within the sports industry Tell me about it and get yourself free publicity in the process 👇
HUNTING FOR FAN ENGAGEMENT
AR the Premier League on to a Winner? 🏆
This summer, The Premier League is being brought to life in the US like never before.
The first ever Premier League Summer Series kicks-off later this month (July 22-30), featuring Chelsea, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Brighton, Fulham, and Brentford.
The series will see the six Premier League teams compete in nine matches hosted across stadia in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Orlando, New Jersey and Maryland.
With large crowds expected at each game, engagement within each city will receive a further boost with the launch of The Premier League Trophy Hunt, an augmented reality (AR) mobile experience.
The mobile experience lets fans hunt down trophies hidden across high-profile locations in each of the five host cities with every trophy that fans find giving them a chance to win prizes, including VIP tickets for Premier League Summer Series matches, signed shirts and Premier League Summer Series merchandise.
🤔 At its peak, Pokémon Go had 232 million active players running around their local cities trying to ‘catch them all’ - yet few have managed to harness AR technology in a meaningful way since.
With almost all fans now engaging with rightsholders (and brands) in both the physical and digital worlds, it seems only a matter of time before there is a demand to meet at this intersection of the two.
This recent activation from the Premier League feels a smart and fun way for them to experiment with this immersive technology and get a feel for how fans want to engage with it – with the potential for much bigger scale activations globally.
🏀 Note: The NBA already placed big bets on the technology earlier this year with NBA All World and 3D avatars inside their new app.
HIGHLIGHTS
SP x JWS: Showtime’s Espinoza discusses how the network is fighting back against piracy 🥊
LaLiga makes the pivot to vertical video as a core focus of new, NBA-inspired mobile app 📱
FC Barcelona announces partnership with Jake Paul and KSI’s PRIME Hydrate, joining Arsenal, UFC, and the LA Dodgers ⚽️
A new team chess competition called the Global Chess League uses 15-minute speed rounds and has aspirations to pique fan interest ♖
Fantasy gaming platform Dream11 has secured India cricket sponsorship for approx. $43million (Rs 358 crore) 🏏
Washington Spirit owner Michele Kang wants to create ‘innovation lab’ for her clubs (which also includes OL Feminine) ⚽️
BARBIE WORLD
Barbie World: Lessons from Movie Marketing Masterclass 💕🍿
Later this month, Barbie is releasing its highly anticipated movie. Their marketing efforts in its run up can be described as nothing short of a masterclass in leveraging IP.
First off, the brand has secured partnerships and licensing deals with the likes of;
🏡 Airbnb
🎮 Xbox
👚 Forever21
💄 NYXCosmetics
👠 Aldo
🍦 Pinkberry
🛼 Impala Rollerskates
🕯️ Homestick
🐶 Canada Pooch
🧳 Beis Travel
🍷 Dragon Glasswear
🏎️ Hot Wheels
🪥 Moon Oral Beauty
While some of these deals (such as cosmetics and fashion) are expected, the brand has also managed to tap into a number of unique categories, such as harnessing the taste (Pinkberry) and smell (Homestick) of the brand.
On top of this, the Barbie marketing team has also created a series of other activations to bring Barbie’s IP into the lives of the consumer and create physical touch points, including a themed hotel, an experiential location in LA (World of Barbie), pop up cafes in Chicago and NYC, and even a themed cruise (from Boston).
🤔 Rights-holders typically have very similar partnership rosters to one another, so looking at an example from outside sport such as Barbie offers up some unique, untapped opportunities.
For instance, how can you tap into the smell and taste of your brand?
This could be the New York Yankees selling hotdogs to the masses via UberEats or Wimbledon partnering with a dessert chain to sell strawberries and cream - this is particularly interesting in foreign markets where fans crave physical touch points with their teams.
Just as licensed competitive socialisation venues (See: F1 Arcade) offer a physical space to engage fans, pop up cafes, themed hotels, bars, and cruises can all offer alternative means to this goal and have remained largely under-utilised to-date.
🚨 Must Read: In an era when “pre-awareness” rules Hollywood, Barbie’s owner, Mattel, is spinning up plots for everything from Hot Wheels to UNO.
JOB BOARD
Director of Digital Marketing, TGL Boston - Fenway Sports Management (Boston, US)
Manager, International - New York Jets (New York, US)
Digital Marketing Project Manager (FTC) - Tottenham Hotspur (London, UK)
Senior Strategist - Endeavor (London, UK)
Director, Communications (Strategic & Digital Outreach) - Major League Soccer (New York, UK)
Do you have a job you’d like to promote to the amazing readers of this newsletter? Drop me a note at andy@sportspundit.org
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