You Need To Be Stalking @Lakers Social Media

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

Birthday posts have long been an underrated asset for rights holders.

They’re not flashy, but they consistently drive strong reach and engagement as fans celebrate players and coaches. Plus, owning this content series gives brands a year-round presence with the team—not just during the season.

Often, birthday content feels like a logo slap. But there’s real value in pairing it with brands that fit naturally after “celebrated with”—like QSRs or spirits brands. I’ve seen success with this approach firsthand.

Some teams are taking it even further:

• Portland Winterhawks x ZoomCare: They’ve turned birthday posts into wellness reminders, encouraging fans to schedule annual checkups.

• AFC Bournemouth x Uber Eats: Their birthday posts feature exclusive restaurant offers, tagging both the business and player via Instagram’s collab tool—boosting exposure across multiple audiences.

Building on this, you could integrate your birthday content sponsor into your loyalty program by sending registered users offers from those brands during their birthday month.

Birthday posts don’t have to be an afterthought. With a little creativity, they can drive strong engagement and double as a product storytelling opportunity.

In Today’s Edition:

• LA Lakers Scouting Report 👀

• Padres Patching Into A Trend 🤳

• Sacramento’s Perfect Pump ⛽️

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
It’s Time To Study The Lakers’ Social Media Playbook

You should be stalking the Lakers’ social media.

LA has been on fire this season, proving to be a best-in-class account for both organic and sponsored content inspiration.

I know what you’re thinking—of course, it’s easy when you have LeBron James and just added Luka Dončić at the deadline. Plus, new head coach JJ Redick gets the power of great content.

But make no mistake: this team is putting out outstanding work that brands across sports can learn from.

Fan-Friendly Design

Click over to the Lakers’ Instagram profile. Notice anything?

The team frequently uses text on screen in both thumbnails and baked into Reels and carousels. This is a smart storytelling strategy—just like YouTube titles and thumbnails entice clicks, these create a knowledge gap that makes fans want to see how the action plays out.

Their press conference quote carousels also stand out. In-game photos are far more engaging than locker room shots, and the white text pops against the black background. Love how they play with text in the foreground and background as well.

Another strong move? Adding real-time score updates in videos. The NBA’s Fantastic Finishes series on TikTok does this well, and the Lakers have applied the same approach—highlighting their big comeback win against the Knicks, for example.

From a partnership perspective, their black bottom-bar template is a win. It ensures sponsor logos are clear without distracting from the content.

• Tissot: Time For Greatness

• Fifth Third Bank: Victory Photo Bank

• Visit Nayarit: Lake Show Tipoff

• Siroko: Three Pointer of the Night

All four examples, showcase how the team is maximizing game day moments for sponsorship inventory as well as Michelob ULTRA Ultra Moments.

Side note: Love how the Tissot and Fifth Third Bank series names naturally connect the brands to the content. Another favorite? On The Move, post-game reactions presented by Sixt Car Rental.

This template not only ensures logo clarity and standardizes sponcon activation, but it also makes it easy to rotate multiple partners through the same series. For example, The Entrance (Lakers Player Arrivals) has been sponsored at different times by Toyota, ProBaller Energy Drinks, and Poppi.

The Lakers refreshed their Lake Show Liftoff series with Delta Air Lines, now featuring the road trip schedule alongside footage of players boarding the team plane. They’re also using these tarmac moments for Question of the Day and player personality content, creating even more earned branding for Delta.

Making The Most Of Media Day

NBA teams get one big media day to film content, and the Lakers clearly planned ahead. Their single-camera shoots against a consistent background have rolled out smoothly all season.

Examples include:

• Act It Out: Players answer questions by acting them out

• Auto Focus (Sixt): Players attempt to pronounce German car features

• In His Own Words: Player spotlights

• Lakers Up Close: All-access show

How The Lakers Activate Bibigo

The variety of ways they’ve activated their Bibigo partnership this season has been impressive.

They recently ran a Fan GOAT sweepstakes, going beyond the standard static graphic to capture attention. The prize struck a great balance between once-in-a-lifetime experiences and partner products.

The Lakers also invited artist Simji to a game to trade one of her signature rugs for a player’s jersey. Simji’s mission is to gift a rug to every NBA team, and the Lakers made the swap extra creative by featuring the Bibigo patch on her custom jersey-rug.

They even challenged their players to a Squid Game Dalgona Candy Contest—fun to see how much the players enjoyed it.

Bibigo was also the presenting sponsor of their City Edition games, a natural fit for the jersey patch partner.

Going Global

The Lakers’ global audience is no secret, and they’re fueling fandoms with multilingual content and strategic partnerships.

They run Lakers em português, sharing highlights in Portuguese and collaborating with @lakersbrasil and @nbabrasil on Instagram to extend reach. They also post highlights from their Korean-language broadcast.

One of their biggest international wins? A game-night collab with the Japanese manga and anime series One Piece—the announcement and game week update racked up mid-to-high six-figure like counts.

Giving Fans Exclusive Access

The Lakers have been maximizing behind-the-scenes access since before the regular season started.

Their Guards vs. Bigs series gave fans the practice coverage they crave—something that would be a natural fit for Nike—or even Gatorade, fueling the moment.

We also got to see LeBron James and Anthony Davis face off in a three-point competition before practice.

While this level of access isn’t always possible during the season (injuries, rest, etc.), the Lakers have kept the momentum going with locker room speeches from JJ Redick. While common in the NFL, it’s refreshing to see an NBA team fully committed to this style of content during a much longer season.

Repurposing Content

As seen above with the moments on the Delta tarmac, the Lakers are experts at repurposing and maximizing content.

Their Bird’s Eye View content from Crypto.com Arena has been used for highlight reels, impact plays (did you catch the @Lakers logo on the sideline?), and a triple-double stat graphic. They’ve also incorporated top-down photos into their Ultra Moments photo series.

This high-angle approach isn’t limited to in-game action. They used it for a Pechanga Casino gameday graphic against the Boston Celtics and a cool high-angle shot of LeBron’s shootaround.

With these different use cases, a brand partner package could stay fresh all season. Ideal categories? Airlines, vision brands, or brands with birds in their name—like how the Dallas Mavericks partnered with Grey Goose.

The Lakers took a similar approach with Insider’s Look, showcasing Anthony Davis’ pregame routine. One version had high production value, while a later version was more social-native.

Theme Nights and In-Arena Moments

The Lakers’ Girl Dad Night was a prime example of great theme night content.

They used an episode of Lakers Up Close to spotlight the Girl Dads on the team. LA also spotlighted assistant coach, Scott Brooks. And of course, the night honored Kobe Bryant, who inspired the movement.

They also do a great job showcasing stadium giveaways on social. Check out this t-shirt giveaway carousel as part of their In The Paint series, celebrating LA-based artists of color.

And when a fan hit the MGM Rewards Big Shot Jackpot, the team was ready to share it on social and tag the partner.

The Takeaway

The Lakers are setting the gold standard for social media, sponsorships, and content strategy.

From maximizing game-day moments to repurposing content across platforms, they’re making every post count. Whether you're a brand, a team, or just a fan of great marketing, there’s plenty to steal from LA’s playbook.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

[Social Value: $14,497] End slates on sponsored content are often an afterthought, but not this one from the NBA’s Tissot Buzzer Beater series. The animation perfectly ties the highlight to the watch brand.

[Social Value: $2,754] The San Diego Padres jumped on a trending challenge tailor-made for product integration with jersey patch partner, Motorola.

[Social Value: $66,331] The Philadelphia Eagles received their new Lombardi Trophy in true style—delivered in a Tiffany bag with a special key to unlock the case.

[Social Value: $36,773] Gameday fan activations are a goldmine for sponsored content. Case in point: a Sacramento Kings fan taking on the Perfect Pump Challenge, presented by Arco.

[Social Value: $112,290] Red Bull Racing kicked off the Australian Grand Prix with an airport conveyor belt video showcasing brand partners. Meanwhile, a Visa roundtable featuring the four Red Bull and VCARB drivers delivered a hilarious contrast in personalities and racing experience.

[Social Value: $166,287] Louis Vuitton made a statement in their first F1 partnership integration, bringing their signature trophy trunk—familiar from the Australian Open—to the podium.

*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

The GR8 Chase: As Alex Ovechkin closes in on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring record, the Washington Capitals unveiled several sponsor initiatives at Capital One Arena, in the community, and online.

Going For Gold: We broke down the success of Topps’ MLB Rookie Debut patches, and now they’re doubling down. MLB, Topps, and Fanatics have launched the Gold MLB Logo Patch program. Six award winners—Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Paul Skenes, Luis Gil, Tarik Skubal, and Chris Sale—will wear a Gold MLB Logo Patch throughout the 2025 season. These game-worn patches will be featured in exclusive autographed Logoman trading cards.

Bracket Or Blast Off: X’s NFL Hub has evolved into the X Bracket Challenge, presented by Uber Eats, just in time for March Madness. Basketball fans can compete for a chance to win a trip to Mars on SpaceX’s Starship for a perfect bracket—or take home a $100,000 cash prize if no one nails it.

AI Tees Off: Mastercard and 9dcc unveiled new AI-powered smart golf apparel at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. This high-tech gear uses body imaging AI for virtual in-store try-ons [h/t Tyler Webb].

Tacos And Tee Times: Bad Birdie and Taco Bell are teaming up to give high school golfers a shot at playing on the pro tour.

Ligue 1 In VR: Paris Saint-Germain and beIN SPORTS are bringing live Ligue 1 matches to US fans in virtual reality.

Stat Of The Week: According to eMarketer, Reddit is seeing the biggest year-over-year gains in time spent per user among all social platforms. US Reddit users are projected to average 34 minutes per day on the platform in 2025 (+3.7%). The only other platform expected to see an increase? Instagram (+0.3% to 35 minutes).