Don’t Skip These Season Prep Must-Do’s

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

When done right, concourse activations and in-game features translate seamlessly to social media. Extending these moments from in-person to online exponentially increases sponsorship value—taking reach from your venue’s capacity to a global audience. It’s one of the best ways to make a partnership feel truly integrated.

Two recent in-venue activations caught my eye that fit this mold perfectly, especially for department store and mattress brand sponsors:

• Hanger Toss Challenge [Indiana Pacers, Nashville SC] - Fans toss a clothes hanger onto a rack to win a prize.

• Air Mattress Race [Chicago Bulls, Indy Fuel] - Fans race the length of the court/ice by sliding an air mattress from end to end.

Not only do these concepts feel social-first, but also, brand integration for these is simple yet effective.

For the hanger toss challenge, clothing racks can be fully branded, with pop-up signage strategically placed in the background for visibility.

For the air mattress race, logos on the fitted sheet turn the product into a moving billboard, while 100% share of voice in digital signage ensures the sponsor owns the moment.

These activations check every box—engaging, shareable, and built for brand impact.

In Today’s Edition:

• Season Opener Checklist ✅

• Time For A @Tuvok12 Twist ⌚️

• Signage Turned Social At Barclays 🐂

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
The Final Countdown: Last-Minute Digital Partnership Must-Do’s

In the final weeks before a new season, it’s easy to get caught up in the chaos—prepping for your home opener, finalizing partnerships, and making sure everything is in place.

But before your team hits the field for real games, take a step back. Make sure everyone across the organization knows exactly what to do once the season starts, because before you know it, you’ll be back in offseason planning mode.

With the 2025 MLB season officially underway, here are four last-minute items to check off your list—no matter the sport—to set your digital partnerships up for success.

Sold Inventory Review

Call a meeting with any digital team involved in partnerships (social, web, app, email, performance marketing, etc.). Order lunch and take an hour to walk through every partnership that includes digital assets. Topics can include:

• How often does the content run?

• Aligning on the number of post occurrences and the total number of posts.

• Where does the content show up?

• What does the brand integration look like?

• How will the partner be tagged, if at all?

• What’s the status of a given asset’s design request?

• Which brand partners are heading into a renewal?

• What content has to start running on day one, that isn’t ready to launch?

This gives teams a chance to clarify activation details and flag any last-minute needs before the season begins. Use these final days to patch any gaps uncovered in the meeting.

Confirm Branded Content Tool Approvals

If you’re running sponsored content on Facebook or Instagram and plan to tag partners using the branded content tool, double-check that they’ve approved access.

Without approval:

• Instagram posts will say only “Paid Partnership” instead of “Paid Partnership with [Partner Name],” limiting brand exposure.

• Facebook won’t allow you to use the branded content tool at all. The post won’t go live when trying to tag that way.

Ask your content team which approvals are still missing, then email partners with step-by-step guides for Facebook and Instagram ASAP.

Lock In Your Tagging Strategy

Before the season starts, align on:

• Who is tagging sponsored content

• How often tags will be applied

• What is the tagging structure

That last point is huge. If everyone involved in the tagging process is creating their own unique tags, all that time and effort is wasted because you can’t group campaigns together accurately.

Tagging is key for campaign reporting, open inventory tracking, and upsells. Given how often rightsholders post social content, if you fall behind, retroactively tagging everything will be a nightmare.

Monitor Digital Channels In Week 1

A new season means new partners, fresh content ideas, and creative ways to connect brands with the action. Keep an eye on:

• Content series names

• Tagging structures

• Logo placements

• Gameday activations

• Trigger offer execution

• How current partners are activating with other teams

This is prime time for inspiration, which is why I share Sponcon Scouting Reports to highlight standout activations across leagues:

• Sponcon Scouting Report: 2024-2025 NFL Season

• Sponcon Scouting Report: 20242025 NHL Season

• Sponcon Scouting Report: 2024-2025 NBA Season

• Sponcon Scouting Report: 2024-2025 MLS Season

The Takeaway

A little prep work now can save you major headaches later. Lock in your approvals, tagging process, and activation details—so when the games begin, you’re focused on execution, not scrambling to fix mistakes.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

[Social Value: $16,024] @Tuvok12 stepped outside their usual basketball content to rate strangers’ rugby skills in a partnership with Six Nations Rugby. The video kicked off with a slick Breitling product integration.

[Social Value: $4,133] Some signage is tough to sell due to limited TV exposure. But pair it with the right social content—like the Brooklyn Nets did with Red Bull’s top-of-backboard sponsorship—and you can boost its value.

[Social Value: $13,799] Speaking of Red Bull, Trinity Rodman attempted the drone ball challenge which was previously completed by Neymar Jr. who controlled a football dropped from 115 feet.

[Social Value: $12,672] Somehow, this isn’t a Canon-sponsored collab with Paris Saint-Germain—but it should be. If you have a printer partner, steal this idea. It seamlessly showcases the ease, speed, and quality of the product.

[Social Value: $7,136] Loved this collab between IndyCar and James Coker, where a comedic skit taught new fans how the sport works while highlighting the passion of current fans. According to Mackenzie Williams, IndyCar’s Senior Director of Marketing, there’s much more to come from this partnership. 

*Social value is defined as the full equivalent media value of this social post based on applicable impressions, video views, and engagements.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

From Mishap To Marketing Win: Richmond FC’s rising star Sam Lalor turned an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction into an unexpected brand partnership with Bonds after “getting caught with his eggplant out” during his AFL debut. The reactive campaign generated earned media buzz and racked up 130K+ views on Instagram [via Matthew Hughes - Notice].

F1 Fan Engagement: Dr Georgie Carroll put together an excellent recap of how F1 teams engaged fans at the Australian Grand Prix, highlighting digital activations I’ll be adding to my experiential marketing playbook.

How Corporations Ruin Creators: Jordan Rogers broke down the PGA Tour’s 2025 Creator Classic, offering valuable insights on why partnerships should fit creators' native content style instead of forcing them into traditional formats.

NIL’s Big Brand Future: LEARFIELD’s Solly Fulp (Executive Director, NIL Growth and Development) and Grant Jones (SVP, Head of Content) joined Neil Horowitz on the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast to discuss the future of NIL marketing between brands and universities.

ATLUTD’s Sponcon Evolution: Learn how small tweaks to Atlanta United FC’s Countdown to Kickoff series (presented by AT&T) led to major year-over-year growth in engagement, views, and impressions [via Sydney Townsend].