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

It’s time to break out the brooms, because this week we’re talking sweeps. Sweepstakes are an underrated tool in digital partnerships that are activated often but rarely executed to their full potential. With that in mind, I'm sharing my playbook on optimizing sponsored sweepstakes for maximum impact.

In today’s edition:

• Sponsored Sweeps Playbook 📖

• Must-Add for New Biz Pitches 💰

• Sponcon of the Week 👕

🏊 DEEP DIVE
The Sweeps Playbook: Six Tips to Maximize Value of Sponsored Sweepstakes

Sponsored sweepstakes are among the most valuable digital assets for both a team and its partners. These sweepstakes offer fans access to exclusive prizes and experiences that can't be found elsewhere. When implemented with proper opt-ins, they can be an outstanding way to generate leads for all parties involved.

The problem is that too many teams are holding back the power of their own sweepstakes via two key mistakes.

1. They’re running social sweeps on-platform without capturing fans' first-party data.

2. They’re relying on organic social media to drive traffic off the platform.

While there's a time and place for organic social sweepstakes - It was even one of my favorite pieces of sponsored content during last year’s NFL playoffs - it's essential to focus on lead generation when activating this tactic for a partner.

We know the standard approach. To capture first-party data, we drive fans to an entry form. In most cases, this means directing them off-platform to a website or mobile app.

The Solution - Channel Strategy

Align your promotion with channels designed to drive traffic to your website. Avoid in-feed posts, as platforms are telling you they restrict links to other apps.

Stories and Broadcast Channels can be used, but may not drive significant traffic.

I tend to include the following channel mix for sponsored sweepstakes:

• Paid Social Campaign - It’s literally designed to reach users most likely to click through to your website when the right objective is in place.

• Mobile App Push notification - Fans can swipe directly into the entry form.

• Website Push Notification - Fans are already on your website and can click directly into the entry form.

• Dedicated Email - Use 100% share of voice in a email, which normally gets you access to hundreds of thousands of fans that can click through to the entry form.

• QR Codes on the Jumbotron or Broadcast Live Reads - Reach fans while they’re watching the game in the arena or at home to drive them to the entry form.

Now that we've tactically set up the sweepstakes for success, there are five additional strategies to enhance it, generating more leads and improving lead quality.

1. Survey Your Fans: This is your opportunity to generate qualified leads and gain insights into your fans interests and behaviors. Helping you partner understand your audience is crucial for effective CRM management and preventing immediate unsubscribes once leads are passed off. The NBA set a great example this week with their KIA Tip Off Sweepstakes, where fans picked winners from primetime games of opening week. The final questions were KIA-related, asking about the type of vehicle they're interested in, preferred model, and if you’ve ever had a KIA. When using this strategy be sure to make the survey quick and easy to ensure fans don’t exit before submission.
   

2. CRM + Lookalike Audience Targeting: Suppose you have a partner selling luxury products and want to generate qualified leads of potential customers. In that case, use your CRM data of fans who've purchased expensive tickets and create a lookalike audience based on that group. This expands your pool of potential participants interested in luxury products.
   

   

3. Level Up Required Fields: Increase your partner's loyalty membership or social following through required fields. American Airlines does a great job of this with their sports partners. They’ve created a perks program where you’re required to submit your AAdvantage number to enter. They’ve clearly thought through the user experience too, including links to either search for your number if you forgot it or to sign up (which is free). Definitely need a great prize in this situation to have fans stick around. A similar tactic can be used to increase social following as seen with the Los Angeles Rams and Avocados from Peru last season. The entry form required fans to submit your Instagram handle. This would make checking if a fan was following the account much easier when awarding the prize.

   

4. Quick Delivery: One of the frustrations for fans in sweepstakes is the waiting period to know if they've won. In most cases, participants are never notified, whether they win or lose. To boost entries, offer fans the ability to instantly discover the results. Minimize the time required to fill out the form, providing instant gratification to participants. Here’s a great example from the Tampa Bay Lightning and Portillo’s where you can spin a prize wheel to win a variety of prizes.
   

5. Keep them on platform: If your goal is to maximize leads and reduce the effort required to design a sweepstakes landing page, consider lead forms. Instead of using paid social to direct users to your website, lead form ads prompt users to complete forms without leaving the social platform. This process automatically includes personal information already submitted on the platform, resulting in efficient lead generation. We gave these a shot back when I worked for the Chicago White Sox. Sixty nine percent of users who clicked on the ad submitted their information and we generated a $0.50 cost per lead.

The Takeaway: If you’re running a sweepstakes for your partner you should be helping them capture fans first party data. If you prioritize a seamless user experience for fans, share the sweepstakes in the right places, and include small steps to improve data quality everyone will go home happy.

🕙 TIMELY TIPS
Sponcon’s Value Rising Amid Ad-Free Social Media Trend

Last Friday X joined Meta and TikTok, by announcing a test of a paid service that offers users an ad-free experience. This is a crucial point you need to highlight in your new business pitches.

This shift was primarily initiated by Apple's privacy controls in iOS 14, which reduced data available to social networks, impacting the quality and effectiveness of their ads.

Consequently, brands may encounter increased difficulties in reaching a wide social media audience. For instance, YouTube Premium, which offers ad-free viewing along with YouTube Music, reached 30 million users in 2020 and expanded to 80 million users in 2022.

As discussed in last week's newsletter, the size of sports teams' highly engaged digital audiences is why brands want to be a part of sponsored content in the first place. If the path for brands to capture attention on social media is narrowing, sponsored content becomes an even more attractive solution.

For brands, success involves more than just a logo slap. Here are some sponsored content categories to target in your sports partnerships:

1. High Frequency Content Series: Offer sponsorships for high-frequency content series published on organic social media. High frequency meaning twice per month or once per game pending the performance per post. They key, is to ensure the connection to your brand is clear, such as through the right name, highlighting why you're sponsoring it. This is a great way to raise awareness of your brand and its affiliation with the team.
   
   Example: MLB x Xbox Game Pass - Video Game Numbers
   

2. Team Podcast: I am bullish on team podcasts! They are excellent for partners seeking product storytelling or offers. Partners can integrate storytelling through pre-recorded ads or live reads, which can appear in full-length video versions of the podcast on YouTube, the team website, or the mobile app. Integrating this storytelling into a sponsored segment is even more effective and can be shared on organic social media platforms beyond YouTube. To drive purchases, you can use unique promo codes and URLs, adding links to promotions in the podcast description.
   
   Example: Old Man and The Three x DraftKings - Sponsored Segment
   

3. Product Integration: Successful product integration on organic social media is achievable with a thoughtful, fan-centered approach. I covered this in a LinkedIn series earlier this year.
   
   Example: Washington Capitals x Apple - ‘Beard Guy’ Feature

💼 CASE STUDY
Sponsored Content of the Week

Kansas City Chiefs players really know how to grab headlines.

Prior to their game against the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday Chiefs' quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, unveiled that his apparel sponsor, Adidas, would be launching a partnership with his alma mater, Texas Tech, in July 2024. This collaboration would replace Under Armour, which had been associated with the Red Raiders since 2006.

The timing and platform for this announcement were nothing short of brilliant. Player arrivals are a vital component of gameday coverage on social media, capturing moments when fashion takes center stage. This moment was ripe for earned coverage, as it blended sports and culture, especially with Mahomes being the face of the league. Notably, this announcement garnered attention from notable publications such as Sports Illustrated, Sports Business Journal, The Baltimore Sun, and many others.

Speaking of earned coverage, the Chiefs were almost certain to showcase Mahomes in his Texas Tech x Adidas shirt, given that Texas Tech is an official partner of the team. As expected, the Chiefs shared Mahomes' arrival on Facebook, X, Instagram, and Instagram Stories.

The team and Mahomes double-dipped on the moment. The post above was sponsored by Oakley, a team and Mahomes partner, showing the star QB wearing Oakley sunglasses.

What makes this announcement even more appealing is the story behind the shirt's design. In 2019, Mahomes covered up the Under Armour logo on a Texas Tech shirt during the NCAA Tournament. The "design" from that moment was recreated this past weekend for the partnership announcement.

In every sense, this partnership was a masterclass in collaboration, involving the team, the player, and the brand.

🔍 SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

The Milwaukee Bucks and Jockey found a clever connection to underwear for some pregame sponcon.

My two cents - you need to propose this idea (or this name) from The Players Tribune to a candle or fragrance brand!

The Chicago Bulls are using a bench cam as a seamless way to show off their warmup jackets that are sponsored by Plus500.

If gameday access for Mic’d Up content is an issue, take a page out of Bleacher Report’s book and bring players to watch another team in town.

You need to be following Stewart-Haas Racing’s #4Ever campaign. Here’s just one of many great sponsored examples with a surprise from Busch Beer.

🚨 ICYMI
Headlines

Food Fight: How Chipotle’s Street Fighter brand integrations show they can work alongside more traditional in-game ads

Testing, Testing: Finally a new social media tactic that could be useful for theme night coverage?

15-Minute TikToks: Showing clips from old tv shows is reigniting fandom. Could a similar approach work in sports? Fifteen Minutes is a whole UFC, non-title fight. Show every out from a perfect game?

Interesting concept for a giveaway “item”: A new Sacramento Kings x Chick-Fil-A partnership will give fans a chance to get a free chicken sandwich at eight games this season.

Easier Creator Collabs: Snapchat launched Creator Collab Campaigns offering new tools for creators and brands to collaborate.