The market for sports marketing
Sports-themed events at Cannes are multiplying, athlete presence is expanding, and the Olympics are headed to France in July. All of these factors are driving sports’ increasing relevance at Cannes this year.
Sports are a booming business. Recent data from name, image and likeness (NIL) rights database Opendorse estimates the value of collegiate sponsorships at $1.1 billion in 2023, up from $917 million in the first year of such deals. According to Deloitte, women’s sports will generate revenue of nearly $1.3 billion in 2024, up almost 300% since 2021. Finally, S&P Global noted that U.S. sports media rights have climbed from $14.6 billion in 2015 to $29.5 billion today.
“Sport is a door-opener for dozens of other conversations that people want to have,” said Beth Sidhu, Stagwell’s chief brand and communications officer. “Sport is culture: [It] is fashion, technology, innovation … for some people, even their politics.”
Last year, Stagwell and its more than 70 agencies debuted the Stagwell Sport Beach event at Cannes and invited athletes to take part in panel discussions and play pickleball, basketball and flag football on the sand.
“Brands’ marketers made new connections, booked Super Bowl commercials, booked new yearlong brand ambassadors,” Sidhu said. “Our athletes also got what they came for—a chance to make new connections that resulted in serious opportunities for them and their businesses.”
This year, Sport Beach has attracted nearly two dozen athletes and more than three dozen brand and media partners to the four-day event. That’s roughly the same size and roster as the 2023 installment, but the scope has changed, giving brands and athletes more activities and experiences to play around with. For example, North Face is sponsoring a climbing wall, while Carmelo Anthony will host an athlete-label wine and spirits festival.
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Lastly, the beach will feature three live sports podcasts like last year. In 2024, the lineup includes Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe interviewing JuJu Watkins for a Touch More; Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson teaming up for Nightcap; and the Kelce brothers continuing New Heights.
“Athletes are some of the most interesting, innovative, outside-the-box new creators … and marketers are looking for amazing creative partners,” Sidhu said.
Stagwell won’t be alone. Giant Spoon partner Laura Correnti is bringing the women’s sports-focused Deep Blue Sports + Entertainment agency to Cannes—in partnership with Axios—to host the inaugural Women’s Sports House from June 17-19.
With featured attendees ranging from athletes (college basketball player Flau’jae Johnson, former U.S. soccer star Ashlyn Harris), executives (Time CEO Jessica Sibley, MassMutual CMO Jennifer Halloran) and journalists (ESPN and Amazon’s Cari Champion, ESPN’s Sarah Spain), the event focuses on three pillars: the opportunities that athletic greatness has created for women’s sports; technology and data’s role in women’s sports growth; and changing horizons for athletes and their careers in and away from the game.