Activations

In 2020-21, eToro leveraged its multiple European club soccer sponsorships to build brand awareness and promote its CopyTrader function.

In July 2019, Bridgestone Australia rolled out a local market phase of the company’s global ‘Chase Your Dreams’ Olympic activation platform, in the form of a CSR-driven, basketball-focused, community court refurbishment project.

In January 2019, leading Australian bookie and official race wagering partner TAB created a bespoke branded space to activate its rights on the ground at the Magic Millions Gold Coast Race Day.

Amid the 2019-20 NBA/WNBA season, the ‘Nike Game Growers’ initiative saw the sportswear giant work with the league to close the basketball participation gap for girls.

Between 2018 and 2020, Walt Disney World activated its Orlando Magic jersey patch partnership through a free jersey promotion aimed at boosting sales of Disney Park Passes among the fan base.

In Q1 2016, smartphone brand Wiko supported SD Eibar in a community health campaign that saw the letters corresponding to the main blood types removed from the players’ shirts.

The Global Activation Casebook is a round up of the best and most innovative sponsorship activation campaigns from around the world in the past 12 months. Read it now

AFL’s NAB-sponsored children’s participation drive pivoted to the virtual in 2020, with a series of player-fronted skill spots helping young Auskickers stay connected to the program while their local competitions were on hold.

Swedish state betting firm Svenska Spel, the main sponsor of the Swedish national team, activated its rights around the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France by having the team’s stars call supporters at home.

At the IPL 2020, JSW Steel leveraged its principal sponsorship of the Delhi Capitals to target a new, broader demographic through a social-first campaign fronted by star player Rishabh Pant.

Last year, New Zealand telco 2degrees leveraged its sponsorships of the country’s Super Rugby clubs via a branded reality show that gave five Kiwis a second shot at playing professional rugby.

Faced with a Covid-enforced shutdown of Irish rugby in spring 2020, Irish Rugby Football Union sponsor Energia pivoted activation of its title sponsorship of the All-Ireland League Awards to an online campaign and ceremony.

National Australia Bank's 2019 AFL Grand Final activation offered its customers an all-expenses paid experience promoted through an integrated paid, owned and earned campaign.

In 2017, NFL official beauty partner CoverGirl created first all-female pre-game show to tackle sports media stereotypes and speak directly to the 69 million female American Football fans.

Through 2018-19 and 2019-20, Swiss engineering brand ABB activated its Formula E title sponsorship through an international programme of local race-relevant digital, social content, at-race events, entertainment and experiences for local B2B targets.

In early 2019, retailer Intersport activated its partnership with Bundesliga side Hoffenheim through an initiative that auctioned player-worn kit to raise funds for children’s charity SOS-Kinderdorf.