👋 Hey, it’s Alex. Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, my weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

What a month Wingstop is having with their trigger promotions in the NBA.

Just four weeks after the Detroit Pistons snapped their 28-game losing streak, leading to “overwhelming” conditions at Detroit-area locations, Wingstop is reeling in more earned wins.

At Milwaukee Bucks games if an opposing player misses both free throws in the fourth quarter, fans win free chicken wings from Wingstop. On Saturday, with Milwaukee leading 136–107 with 2:47 to play, Pelicans wing Naji Marshall missed both free throws.

Not only did the fans go crazy, but two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo searched for his cell phone and scanned the QR code to make sure he claimed his free wings along with the fans.

The moment was captured on TV and was shared all over the internet.

Given the success of the Philadelphia 76ers Bricken For Chicken campaign with Chick-fil-A, I’m starting to think this is the best trigger promotion framework to drive earned media.

In Today’s Edition:

• Why Tagging Partners In Sponcon Matters 🤝 

• How The Lakers Win On The Delta Tarmac 🛫

• An Underutilized Mic’d Up Technique 🎤 

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
You Should Always Tag Partners in Sponcon

If and how you tag a partner in sponsored content doesn’t need to be a fight.

You should always tag a partner in sponcon, even if your partner doesn’t ask for it.

Partner tagging can be a sore subject from the content team’s point of view. That mostly comes from the fear that tagging a partner in a post will make it look like an ad, and in turn, lead to poor performance.

When I started in sports partnerships, I used to be one of those people. I often favored no partner tagging or having partners tagged inconspicuously - tagging in the asset versus tagging in copy or via the branded content tool.

But over the years my position has changed.

As each year passes, and the digital partnership landscape matures, there’s more evidence fans are not put off by partner integration.

Tyson Hutchins pointed this out when we spoke with him earlier this month.

“Fans follow the Utah Jazz and the Lakers and the Broncos and whoever. They see sponsored content. They know how it works, and so there’s little pushback ever from a fan.

Two, three, four, five years ago, it was something with recruits that we had to tread lightly on, that it was a bad look for a large football account to have sponsored content. But it's just a different world now with name, image, and likeness. The student-athletes have sponsored posts of their own.”

Meanwhile, many best-in-class content teams (e.g. Buffalo Bills, Golden State Warriors, Manchester City, etc) tag partners and have huge success. For example, in the 16 editions of Sponsored Content of the Week, 15 included sponcon with partners tagged in the post.

Also, aesthetics, while important, are not as valued as we like to think. As of last week, TikTok is incentivizing users to post horizontal videos that are over one minute in length. I never would have thought landscape would work on a vertical platform. But as we know too well, social media is constantly changing and we need to adapt.

Ultimately, tagging a partner is not the reason sponsored content performs poorly. That happens when:

• There’s a branding imbalance favoring the partner on your channels.

• You post sponsored content that doesn’t match why your fans follow your account.

• Copy is loaded with irrelevant partner hashtags or in the partner’s tone of voice.

• The post is focused on lower-funnel objectives.

Going back and forth with your partnerships team or your partners is not worth your time. It’s also not worth adding another layer of stress to an already stressful job.

For as little as partner tagging impacts content performance, it helps your partners a lot.

• Increases the chances your followers notice your partner is connected to the team.

• Allows your followers to discover your partner’s social accounts and learn more about their brand.

• On X, tagging a partner links them to all replies on the post, giving them a chance (where applicable) to jump into the conversation.

• For partners that utilize social listening, it helps them see the content they’re connected to for potential earned opportunities.

• Legally we are supposed to disclose paid partnerships, and tagging checks that box.

While I say we should always tag partners, how it’s done should be where we put our attention.

Simply saying we’re always going to tag partners in sponsored content isn’t enough. There’s one more step to take.

Teams need to develop consistent tagging guidelines for partnerships. Here’s what you do:

• Put together a deck or Word document that outlines how you will tag partners.

• Be sure to specify any differences in tagging based on the social channel.

• Include screenshots or links to posts as visual aids.

• Provide rationale for why these policies are in place and why other options are not offered. These talk tracks are crucial to guiding your partnerships team in conversations with brands.

• Bonus - Lay out the difference between the Collab Tool and the Branded Content Tool on Instagram. Trust me, not everybody knows the difference, and it’s a big one.

While this is more work up front, I promise it will make life easier.

Content teams will be happier because they’ll spend less time fielding questions about tagging. Partnerships teams will be happier because they will both better understand the content team’s tagging policies and will also have answers readily accessible regarding tagging. Your partners will be happier because they’re getting increased exposure in great content.

It’s a win-win-win.

💼 CASE STUDY
Sponsored Content of the Week

The Los Angeles Lakers have been crushing travel content this season through their Takeoff Challenge series, presented by Delta Airlines.

As players approach the team plane, the content team engages them with various prompts, from fist bumps to striking poses, and reacting to custom trading cards.

These challenges refresh the usual travel content, distinguishing it from their standard "Lake Show Liftoff" series that features photos on the Delta tarmac.

What immediately stood out to me was the strong relationship between the players and the content team. The players have bought in and are excited to engage with the content team.

We should not take that for granted. Lebron James, one of the biggest stars in the world, who could easily sit this content out, takes part in each challenge.

From One Off, To Series
The results have been great this season. On Instagram, the Takeoff Challenges (five total) average 3.12M views and 178.8K engagements per post.

Delta Airlines, as a partner, benefits significantly from the visibility their planes receive in these widely viewed videos.

What’s even more impressive, is the way this series first got started.

Last season, the Lakers were utilizing Road Trip Vlogs for their sponsored Delta series. It was no slouch. It averaged views well into the six figures.

Then in the Playoffs, LA tried something new. Before the Western Conference Finals, the content team surprised the players by handing them polaroids from their Semifinal win against the Golden State Warriors.

The reactions were wholesome and the post’s performance was incredible! The video was viewed on Instagram over 19 million times and generated 173.7K engagements - that’s a 9.1% engagement rate.

That success looks like it led to the team to adopt this approach for this season’s Delta series, and the results show it’s paying off.

The Takeaway
The process it took for the Lakers to get here is something to be admired.

They built a rapport with the players, which enabled them to try a new idea, the fans loved the concept, and the content team took those learnings and turned it into an opportunity that benefits their partner.

🔍 SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

Very impressed by the San Francisco 49ers who showed some love to their partner Microsoft Surface during the team’s NFC Championship celebration - 144K+ likes on Instagram alone!

Mic’ing up athletes’ families is so underutilized. Great work by the PGA to capture Nick Dunlap's parents’ POV as their son chased down his first PGA TOUR win at The American Express.

Crypto.com helped the Philadelphia 76ers celebrate Joel Embiid’s 70-point performance by handing out 70 tickets to Sixers fans.

Really smart of the X Games to have GoPro sponsor course previews. If, like me, you just learned what a Knuckle Huck is, here are some of the best clips from the event.

I was blown away by this creator collab between Punjab Kings and @kamali__art celebrating Virat Kohli being named ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year for the fourth time.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

Sports Scores Returning to X: X partners with BetMGM to integrate sports betting statistics into the platform.

Women’s History Month Graphic Series: This is one of my favorite community-focused digital partnerships in sports. The Chicago Bulls are commissioning female designers to bring their own style to the team’s road game day graphics throughout March.

Black Heritage Celebration: The Cleveland Cavaliers tipped off their 20^th Annual Black Heritage Celebration (BHC), presented by Crown Royal Regal Apple. I love the breadth of activations showcased during four home games, amplified through concourse activations, in-game recognitions, halftime performances, special video presentations, team social media channels, and game broadcasts.

Endurance Event Impact: Tim Hadzima, Head of Sports Marketing for the Illinois Sports Science Institute, shared 11 reasons why endurance events (running, cycling, swimming, etc) can be powerful sponsorship vehicles.

Running To Victory: Speaking of running as a powerful sponsorship vehicle, MilkPEP is all-in on running as a way to reach women and mothers. Learn how they’re breaking through with this sport and why digital content is key to the brand’s success [Marketing Brew].

Milk Was A Great Choice: In partnership with Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Co., New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox debuted his interview series, "Bagels and Fox”, this week. His first guest was creator, Nicky Cass.