“That relationship is so important, as with any of these partnerships, when you have a sponsor,” Feldstein said. “The fact that we come to it now with that connection on both sides makes the relationship, the process, and the chances of success even better, because we have an understanding and a comfort level.”
Knowing the unknown
With more crowded, contentious fields in both sports and sports marketing, Known is attempting to eliminate some of the late-game surprises from the process.
The company’s Skeptic AI technology, for example, offers clients 65 to 70 apps to build audiences, make predictions, test messages, create new versions of existing creative, or even talk to proxies of consumers. It ran more than 100 different scenarios for Known’s latest campaign with the NFL and CBS/Paramount+ and is throwing even more effort at adtech’s most elusive goal—eliminating guesswork.
“It doesn’t do our creative for us. It doesn’t do our media for us—we have incredible Tony Starks inside that Iron Man suit—but it allows us to be far more efficient and effective and predictive and precise for all of our clients,” Martin said. “That is especially true in sports, where it matters right now because these leagues are growing quickly. There’s so much investment flowing into them, and so many brands counting on them to succeed.”
But just as Known did when it helped turn one man’s Ocean Spray-drenched longboard ride into a TikTok spot, it has its team paying as much attention to the human element of the game as it does to the stats. In creating its documentary about the McDonald’s All-American games, Known learned that the games’ players had a 70% greater chance at making the NBA or WNBA than their contemporaries. It also received a years-long, up-close look at developing stars, including former Duke star and current Dallas Maverick Dereck Lively II, USC star JuJu Watkins, and LSU star and national champion Flau’jae Johnson.