Stop PR'ing Bad Performance

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

Boston Celtics players have been on a quiet tear with sponsored content, and it’s not an accident.

While Jaylen Brown is putting together another All-Star season on the court, some of the early-season buzz off it focused on his hairline. After Brown cut his hair short, black residue from his sprayed-on hairline transferred onto opposing players’ jerseys, something cameras caught and fans quickly turned into viral clips and memes.

Instead of hiding from the moment, Brown leaned all the way in. He announced a new partnership with Nutrafol, the hair growth supplement, in a video that literally used those headlines as the backdrop. The post generated 1.3M views, turning an internet joke into a brand-safe, culturally relevant partnership announcement.

Meanwhile, Payton Pritchard starred in a post for Lucky Energy that racked up 1.8M views. This partnership was built around a natural fit: Pritchard’s role off the bench is to bring energy, make an impact, and keep the team rolling while star players rest.

Lucky Energy leaned into that story in their November partnership announcement, framing his journey from late first-round pick to NBA Champion and Sixth Man of the Year as proof that success isn’t about luck, it’s about showing up and staying relentless. The video took a comedic approach while highlighting his “no days off” mentality and included a very out of the box approach to delivering a limited-time offer (wait until the end), blending storytelling with a clear performance lever.

Both partnerships worked because they were rooted in something real. Brown’s leaned into a moment fans were already talking about. Pritchard’s reinforced the exact role and mentality that define his value to the team. When sponsored content aligns with authentic player attributes, not just reach. It feels earned, resonates longer, and performs better.

In Today’s Edition:

• Flops Happen, Now What 🩴

• Netflix IP In The Stands 🙃

• Thon-thon-thon-thon-thon 🚗 

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
What To Do When Sponcon Flops

One of the biggest mistakes we make in sports sponsorship is pretending bad performance isn’t actually bad.

Teams will search for any shred of positive data to keep partners comfortable — even when the broader story is clear.

• What gets reported: “That Instagram post had an engagement rate well above benchmark!”

• What doesn’t: Reach was so far below benchmark that engagements made up a higher percentage of total impressions.

Here’s the reality: you don’t need to hide bad results from brand partners. And you definitely don’t need to PR poor performance.

It doesn’t help anyone.

• It locks your team into another year of underperforming assets.

• It keeps partners from reaching their goals.

• And most importantly, it costs you credibility.

The good news? There’s nothing to be ashamed of when sponsored content fails. Nobody bats a thousand.

Sometimes the idea was flawed from the start, a common outcome when partnership and content teams operate in silos. Other times, the idea was sound, supported by strong data, and still underperformed. That happens.

What matters isn’t the miss. It’s what you do next.

If you want to earn trust, and keep it, here’s how to handle underperformance the right way.

1) Don’t Surprise Them

The fastest way to damage a partnership is letting a brand discover underperformance in an end-of-year recap, or even a midyear report.

If early indicators are weak, flag it immediately. Let the partnership activation team know that while the sample size may be small, performance is trending below expectations and you’re actively monitoring it.

This matters for two reasons. First, surprises erode trust. Partners will wonder if you knew sooner, and why you didn’t say anything. Second, early transparency creates time to fix the problem.

This is a partnership. Bring partners into the conversation.

2) Frame the Story With Contextual Data

Once you’ve aligned on when to share the news, the next question is how you share it.

Do not , and I can’t stress this enough, tell a client:

• “The content is bad”

• “Fans don’t like it”

• “We don’t like it”

• “The content isn’t working”

Instead, lead them to that conclusion with context. How is the content performing against benchmarks?

• vs. all content

• vs. all sponsored content

• vs. their sponsored content from last season

Comment sentiment can help too, especially if fans are actively voicing frustration. But the rule still applies: show, don’t tell.

Context removes bias. Data becomes the impartial third party explaining what’s happening, and why.

3) Be Solutions-Oriented

Once the data is clear, the conversation has to move forward.

Showing up to a client meeting with bad news and no solutions is a dead end. Bring 2–3 solutions (ideally three). For each one, clearly explain:

• what problem it solves

• why it works

• how it aligns with the partner’s KPIs

This is where collaboration matters most. Partnership activation teams know their clients best. Meet with them to understand goals, past interests, or ideas that haven’t been activated yet.

Alignment internally makes it much easier to realign externally.

4) If There’s No Fix, Swap

Sometimes an asset just can’t be saved, whether you loved the original idea or not. In those cases, the smartest move is to recommend a replacement entirely.

Note - You can access my asset swap playbook here for five tips on navigating these conversations.

There are also moments where clients simply evolve. What they thought they wanted isn’t how they actually want to show up.

For example, during my time at MSG, MSC Cruises came on as a partner. They initially wanted to align with travel-related content, so we landed on Question of the Day videos filmed on the tarmac as the Knicks boarded the team plane.

On paper, it made sense. Question of the Day is a proven format. But the logistics limited production, and early performance was weak. We shared that data quickly.

Through those conversations, the client realized they valued frequency over bespoke execution.

We swapped the asset for post-win highlight reels branded as “Must Sea Moments.” The result? MSC showed up 4–5x more per season and aligned with higher-performing content at moments when fans were happiest.

The Takeaway

Don’t hide from bad results. Adaptability builds trust.

How you handle failure strengthens relationships, improves performance, and dramatically increases your chances of earning that renewal.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

The NBA teamed up with @Tuvok12 to drive awareness for its five-game Christmas Day slate. The two videos (Ep 1 | Ep 2) racked up more than 21M views across platforms.

Over in the NFL, Netflix went all-in on Christmas Day with clever, in-person activations designed to drive tune-in. At Cowboys vs. Commanders, a group of “Elevens” from Stranger Things took over the upper deck. Then, during Vikings vs. Lions, Netflix rented a field-level suite to promote the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie, another example of why sports have become a go-to engine for tune-in.

I’ve been a fan of the New England Patriots’ Do Your Job series presented by Gillette all season. The latest episode, focused on equipment managers, is a great reminder of how important clip strategy is when turning longform into shortform for additional reach and engagement. This carousel used a strong text hook and generated more than 125K engagements.

If you’re working with a brand built around speed (fintech, delivery, auto, etc.), steal this idea from Red Bull. It’s a natural fit for motorsports, but it also works across hockey, baseball, soccer, football, cricket, and more. Include a branded radar gun for baked-in integration.

Toyota partnered with Kristin Juszczyk to outfit Team Toyota athletes in custom Toyotathon jackets for player arrivals, grabbing extra social coverage via team channels. Separately, the brand leaned into culture by teaming up with Sisqó to create the official “Thon Song,” extending Toyotathon beyond the car category and into entertainment.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

F1 Commercial Strategy: Andy Marston spoke with James Bower, Commercial Director at Atlassian Williams Racing, about the thinking behind the team’s record-breaking title partnership, how Williams is standing out commercially in an increasingly crowded F1 landscape, and why its Fan Zones are delivering real value for partners [via Sports Pundit Podcast].

Data That Delivers: Nirupam Singh broke down how Aston Martin’s I/AM fan membership program turns email and first-party data into a true commercial asset, using exclusive drops to deepen fan relationships and deliver measurable sponsorship value beyond social reach [via The Commercial Table Newsletter].

Soccer Sponsorship Breakdown: Zoomph released its North American Soccer Report, analyzing social performance, broadcast brand exposure, and sponsorship visibility across MLS, NWSL, and USL regular-season coverage.

’26 Sports Media Playbook: Dawid Prokopowicz explains why YouTube has become the home base of modern sports fandom—and what broadcasters, leagues, creators, and brands need to understand as 2026 reshapes how fans discover, watch, and spend.

Monetizing Fandom: Neil Horowitz sat down with Lewis Wiltshire, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at IMG, to discuss the agency’s approach to growing, engaging, and monetizing both global and local fan bases [via Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast].