BEST BRAND ACTIVATION INVOLVING SPORT
Betway – The Romans
12 years after retiring from a glittering career of Grand Slams and three devastating Wimbledon final losses, Betway gave Andy Roddick the ‘Advantage’ and a shot at redemption…4,018 miles away in Wimbledon, North Dakota. Transforming this tiny town into a DIY tennis tournament, enlisting all the residents as players, officials and fans. The result? Betway’s most successful social-first campaign to date across 12 markets. Plus (more importantly), Andy Roddick finally getting a win at Wimbledon.
BrewDog Sponsorship Relay with Crowd Network
Crowd Network (Crowd), one of Europe’s fastest-growing independent podcast networks, collaborates with brands for creative and lucrative advertising partnerships. Its work with BrewDog, Britain’s largest independent brewer, over the past few months has created standout moments of creative ingenuity across some of its most successful shows. The BrewDog team wanted to tap into Crowd’s young male listener audience base, and in return Crowd was looking for authentic investment into its successful podcasts.
BrewDog challenged Crowd to create content generating 650,000 audio impressions, 500,000 YouTube views, and 2.5 million social media impressions. Crowd more than rose to the occasion, over-delivering on these KPIs by 93% through its innovative “relay” approach to brand partnerships.
Each Crowd podcast was allocated a BrewDog beverage, allowing the sponsorship to be passed between Things People Do, For The Love Of Rugby, Geraint Thomas Cycling Club, FC Bullard, and For The Love Of Cricket. Through multi-channel brand activations including product placement, branded content, and live events, the multi-show deal goes far beyond the norm for podcast partnerships. Indeed, For The Love Of Rugby episodes incorporating BrewDog stout Black Heart recorded more than 1.13 million audio impressions, 1.04 million YouTube views, and 9.8 million social media impressions.
Clinique, PWR & MATTA: GameFace – MATTA
Clinique’s GameFace campaign marked a bold first for the brand – entering women’s rugby to champion confidence where it’s needed most. It began at grassroots level with direct support to girls’ clubs across the UK, and evolved into a national partnership with Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR). Central to the campaign was authenticity: elite ambassadors including Sadia Kabeya, Abi Burton, Akina Gondwe and Claudia MacDonald shared honest stories about skincare, resilience and self-belief.
Clinique became the first beauty brand to present the Player of the Match award – replacing traditional trophies with clinically clean skincare gift bags. These striking images of muddy players clutching white Clinique bags cut through on social and broadcast, placing skincare at the emotional peak of the sporting experience.
The campaign also adapted Estée Lauder Companies’ Open Doors mentorship programme for PWR athletes – supporting confidence off the pitch and integrating the partnership across both organisations.
Results included 70% brand affinity and 42% consideration among those aware – outperforming most legacy sponsors – with 39% of young women signed up to the campaign going on to purchase. GameFace wasn’t just a brand moment; it was a values-driven movement that redefined where beauty belongs.
Igniting the Olympic Spirit at Sanofi
How do you jump-start culture change? At pharma company Sanofi, three years into a global integration of 50+ businesses and a rebrand, we needed that spark. Employees knew the “One Sanofi” story now, but truly seeing it as one company – and instinctively feeling they were “Sanofians” – was still a challenge. We needed something bold. A signal. Action.
So we decided to invest in an external sponsorship (Paris 2024) to ignite our internal transformation. Leaning into core Olympic values, the results were extraordinary. The Sanofi Cup, our internal Olympiad, drove the largest voluntary participation in company history – 26,000 employees got involved and 10,000 watched the Final live. Globally, 2,000+ Sanofians seized the chance to help run the Games as Volunteers, 297 carried the Olympic and Paralympic flames, and thousands more took part in Torch Relays. And with 6,000+ Sanofians coming to Paris during the Games, we rebuilt our HQ into a 1,000m2 journey through our company story – sending our colleagues home supercharged as company ambassadors.
Six weeks after the Closing Ceremony, employee advocacy for Sanofi had trebled, and initiatives originally designed as one-offs (Sanofi Cup and Exhibition) had already received sign off to continue beyond the Games.
Lenovo Limitless: AI for All – TBA Group
‘Lenovo Limitless: AI for All’ was a boundary-pushing, multi-channel campaign designed to showcase the transformative power of AI and reinforce Lenovo’s position as a global innovation leader. Delivered through three standout activations, the project seamlessly blended technology, storytelling, and cultural relevance to engage diverse audiences and bring AI to life in inspiring, accessible ways.
In Team Limitless, Covent Garden became an interactive F1 hub where over 16,000 visitors experienced AI-powered simulators and created personalised driver portraits. Influencer-led challenges amplified social buzz, driving 2.4 million impressions.
The Aura Edition Launch turned London landmarks into AI-generated “auras” using biometric data and projection mapping. This creative spectacle culminated in a celebrity riverboat party, earning 44 million social impressions, 13.1 million media mentions, and widespread influencer engagement.
Finally, Smarter AI: Step Into a Limitless World brought gesture-controlled AI Portals to major train stations, enabling over 106,000 people to generate personalised portraits—making AI feel tangible and personal. Social content extended reach further, with a record-breaking 23.3 million Instagram reach and 2.9 million TikTok views.
Together, these bold activations delivered global impact, unmatched engagement, and creative innovation—firmly positioning Lenovo as a trailblazer at the intersection of technology, culture, and experience.
M&S Food x The FA
As a proud partner of The FA’s The Greater Game Programme, which uses the power of football to encourage young people to improve their health and wellbeing, M&S Food is on a mission to help young footballers make healthier choices as part of its ‘Eat Well, Play Well’ campaign.
This includes guiding them on the best way to fuel before and after a game – it’s a serious health message we needed to land, but one we wanted to land in a fun and engaging way that appeals to families.
To do this, we teamed up with comedian, Jack Whitehall, and followed him on his journey to England’s St George’s Park training ground to spread the message about Eating Well by ‘joining’ as a health and nutrition consultant for the England men’s and women’s teams, joined by some familiar faces from both England Men’s and Women’s Senior teams.
But Jack being Jack, he wanted to make the greatest splash possible. He wanted to shake things up and change things at the England camp. Little changes that make a BIG difference.
Whilst some of Jack’s techniques were a step too far, he was actually pretty spot on with his nutrition advice!
Novotel Hotels x PSG – La Suite Novotel by ALL.com – Accor
La Suite Novotel by ALL.com is a groundbreaking hospitality concept created in partnership between ALL – Accor’s loyalty programme and booking platform – and PSG. As the world’s first permanent hotel room built within a football stadium, the suite offers fans and travellers an unparalleled opportunity to stay inside Parc des Princes, home of one of the most celebrated football clubs in the world. Overlooking the pitch with its own private terrace, the suite combines the energy of live sport with the comfort and elegance of Novotel’s Hypothesis design concept. Complete with a queen-size bed, ensuite bathroom, in-room dining, and dedicated butler service, it transforms the traditional matchday into a fully immersive, multi-sensory experience.
More than a room, La Suite Novotel by ALL.com reflects the ambition of both Novotel and ALL Accor to reimagine hospitality through exclusive, emotionally resonant experiences. The project enhances ALL Accor’s growing portfolio of ‘money-can’t-buy’ moments and reinforces Novotel’s commitment to providing spaces where balance, connection, and memorable encounters take centre stage.
The initiative also strengthens the longstanding partnership with Paris Saint-Germain, offering a bold new way to engage supporters, reward loyalty members, and fuse sport and travel in a setting that’s both iconic and inspiring.
The Football Association – Hope&GloryPR/Little Thief Studio
The Football Association wanted to dispel some myths about what it’s like to attend a football match and showcase “the love of the game”.
To do so, we turned the cameras on the fans, capturing the experience of “first time fans” as Thomas Tuchel took on his first England game. Each of our fans was micced-up for sound to capture their reactions, whilst nine cameras were set up across the ground to capture their first experience in the stands.
270 minutes of footage were then edited into captivating, made-for social films turned-around in just 36 hours (before the next England game), ready for Instagram owned channels and re-cut for social-first publishers across the football eco-system.
Overall 9.2 million people watched the film. Post campaign research found that the “First Time Fans” film was recalled by over 56% of self-identifying “football fans”.
87% of them said the content changed their perceptions of what football fans at live games were likely to be like as people. 92% said that it made them think that going to their first game would be a positive experience. Of those who recalled the campaign, 72% said that they were more likely to consider attending a match.
Vodafone Turkey & Turkish Volleyball Federation – Infront
In October 2023, Infront launched a landmark sponsorship between Vodafone Turkey and the Turkish Volleyball Federation — the largest of its kind in women’s sports in Turkey. The partnership spans both the Women’s National Team and the Vodafone Sultans League and has quickly become a benchmark in brand activation and commercial collaboration.
Infront designed and delivered a multi-layered strategy focused on purpose, tech and fan engagement. Highlights include the first use of Hawk-Eye tracking with 5G in a European domestic league, gamified arena activations, a national Olympic campaign, and dedicated content for youth development. Over 170 content pieces were created, resulting in more than 57.6 million video views, 25.1 million social reach, and an 8.9% rise in match attendance.
Vodafone was positioned not only as a market leader in technology but as a force for gender equality in sport — a core message that resonated deeply with Turkish audiences and inspired nationwide support.
This partnership exemplifies how sport, technology and purpose can unite to deliver measurable brand value and social impact. It also reflects Infront’s strength in building high-impact, integrated sponsorships with long-term relevance.
