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Nick Kyrgios is aiming to put Aussie beer on the global map. There’s a trend taking place across Australian sports where athletes are venturing into entrepreneurship, launching new start-ups and investing in existing ones. More: https://lnkd.in/gxaAnnhq The alcohol category has been a particularly attractive one, and many athletes have been brewing their own brands. More: https://lnkd.in/gabNrceb Among them is Nick Kyrgios who was recently announced as a co-owner and brand ambassador in Stryda Brewing Co, one of Australia’s newest and most exciting beer brands. The Australian beer market is worth nearly $2 billion annually and Stryda is on a mission to capture market share, and expand across global markets. Here's why Nick Kyrgios is perfect fit: 1. Global reach Nick Kyrgios has the ability to turbo-charge Stryda's brand growth. He has: • 4.1M+ followers on Instagram that can generate global exposure (Collaborator posts have been key so far, and the clips that he features in have boosted view counts 100x, reaching hundreds of thousands) • A fast-growing podcast, Good Trouble, and has used product placement to expose Stryda to some of the world’s biggest stars including Matthew McConaughey, Gordon Ramsay, and Mike Tyson • The ability to attract earned media coverage, thanks to his successful tennis career, combined with eccentric, unfiltered and candid personality 2. Brand personality • In Kyrgios' own words: “Stryda aligns with my brand, it’s raw and edgy” • It's the perfect brand partnership - Stryda is aiming to be loud and disruptive, and is unafraid to take on the big guys 3. Youth appeal • Today’s beer drinkers want more than just a good beer - they want authentic brands that reflect their values and lifestyle • The brand personality Stryda is creating alongside Kyrgios aims to fill that gap, and connect with the next generation of beer drinkers 4. Influence • Kyrgios' cultural influence has the ability to positively impact Strda's brand and drive sales on a large-scale • He has strong global networks and can help open doors that Stryda wouldn’t otherwise be able to e.g. partnerships with other top athletes Moving forward Although they're a brand with big plans, community sits at its core. Aligning with this community-centric strategy, Stryda has partnered with Australia's leading equity crowdfunding platform, Birchal, to raise funds to assist with their ambitious growth plans. In combination with its high-profile ambassador and sponsorships, it hopes to attract a community of 1,2,3 thousand investors to help grow the brand. More: https://lnkd.in/gsQ9niZH For Kyrgios, having a stake in Stryda's success means that he will be genuinely bought in to achieving success. Watch this space 🍺 🚀 #sportsmarketing

The National Rugby League launched an outdoor ad campaign around this weekend's Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix event to promote its 2025 season kick-off👏 The high-impact OOH campaign features advertisements in some of Las Vegas' most iconic locations (including Allegiant Stadium), delivering mass exposure, bolstered by the expected 300,000+ fans converging on Las Vegas for the event. The NRL has a track record of producing bold, attention-grabbing outdoor ad campaigns in the US: • Last year, the league displayed an ad on Allegiant Stadium claiming to be “Australia’s biggest sport” - this was viewed as controversial to some, and it quickly caught the attention of the Australian media • The Sydney Roosters previously used billboards in the US to announce themselves as the ‘World champions of football’ ahead of the Super Bowl --- The NRL is on a mission to grow the game in the US... Although they don’t have millions to pour into advertising each year, they’re making an impact by being strategic with their plans. Last year they adopted a range of successful tactics across paid, owned and earned channels. More: https://lnkd.in/gJyrZzK8 What tactics will the NRL roll-out in the lead up to the 2025 season kick-off? Follow Notice to stay updated: https://lnkd.in/g-AQ9A-s #sportsmarketing

Things worth noticing in sport 👇 Marriott Bonvoy extended its partnership with Tennis Australia with a mutli-year deal, securing the title of Official Hotel Partner of the Australian Open - The AO has secured 50+ sponsors this year, up from 37 in 2024 Qantas and Surf Life Saving Australia entered into a 4-year partnership and will launch a new online training tool called “Beach Passport” that will provide the public with basic water safety knowledge Cricket Victoria and Melbourne Renegades announced a 2-year partnership with Mirvac’s “Olivine - By Mirvac” which will see community cricket initiatives take place at the development project located in Donnybrook, Victoria Gold Industry Group committed to a 3-year, $6M Principal Partnership with Netball WA & West Coast Fever , its highest ever commitment to female sport Online men’s health company Pilot extended its major partnership with the Cronulla Sharks for 2 more seasons and its logo will feature on the sternum of the NRL team’s jersey from 2025 Two other NRL clubs announced new sponsors to the sternum of their jersey’s - Wests Tigers revealed local development and construction company PAMA, and St George Illawarra Dragons welcomed investment firm remara (both were 3-year deals) Yakult Australia Pty. Ltd. agreed to continue its tenure as Essendon Football Club’s longest standing commercial partner by inking a new deal The Melbourne Cricket Ground is undergoing an LED infrastructure upgrade in partnership with Lumen8 Media, which will enhance the stadium’s fan experience and commercial offering The National Rugby League Women's Magic Round will be played in regional locations over the next 3 years, kicking-off in 2025 at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium as part of a new deal with the NSW Government XXXX (Lion-owned) launched a new limited edition can to commemorate the Brisbane Lions’ AFL Premiership win Melbourne Storm announced a partnership with global digital sports platform Fanatics, which will exclusively operate the club’s official online store and gameday retail outlets at AAMI Park St Kilda Football Club became the third AFL club in the past fortnight to complete a rebrand after Gold Coast SUNS and Adelaide Football Club, unveiling a new crest for the first time in almost 30 years and launching an OOH ad campaign to showcase it Wollemi Capital Group and the National Basketball League (NBL) finalised an agreement to acquire a majority interest in the WNBL (Basketball Australia will retain a minority shareholding) Elon Musk’s X is launching a new National Football League (NFL) portal that includes a feed that aggregates tweets from NFL teams, rights partner accounts, and reporters from outlets like NFL Media and ESPN The Jake Paul–Mike Tyson fight generated a streaming record for a live sporting event with 108M live global viewers - the news appeared to help Netflix’s share price which is on a tear More: https://lnkd.in/g-z2Muzx #sportsmarketing

Wait for it… LeBron James x Hennessy’s branded content is worth noticing. Recently, LeBron James and Hennessy announced the launch of a new "Hennessy Limited Edition by LeBron James" collaboration, reimagining Hennessy's iconic bottle with LeBron-inspired details. To activate this new partnership, the pair teamed up with Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam on a social-first campaign that has been rolled-out over recent months via both Hennessy's and James’ owned Instagram channels. The below clip, which has received 8M+ views so far sits among the campaign highlights, alongside another similarly-themed clip featuring James spinning a bottle on his index finger like a basketball, which has received 20M+ views. These clips have both performed exceptionally well. Why? 1. Obvious answer: LeBron James is a mega-star. With an Instagram following of 159K, Hennessy (876K followers) can tap directly into James’ audience via Instagram’s collaborator-post tool. 2. Less obvious answer: Anticipation & surprise. Legendary, Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman explains in his book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" that humans tend to build mental frameworks from their experiences about how the world works. When an event deviates from what we're anticipating, we direct more attention towards to it. When LeBron James shows up handling a basketball in an unfamiliar setting, it catches attention, and anticipation builds around what happens next. Surprise is triggered when a golden cocktail shaker is unexpectedly revealed from the basketball he's handling. Anticipation and surprise are often key drivers of social media engagement, often resulting in likes, comments, and shares. A powerful combination... Hennessy has utilised LeBron James’ mass-reaching channels instead of traditional advertising methods which is impactful for two main reasons: 1.      His extensive Instagram audience is a much more efficient way to achieve widespread, global reach than traditional advertising methods 2.      His endorsement is a powerful brand-building tool that can transfer brand-equity, boost brand consideration & preference, and drive sales This isn’t the first time Hennessy has activated a noteworthy basketball-themed brand campaign – in fact, they’re global leaders in this space. Follow Notice on LinkedIn or subscribe to the FREE newsletter for more. #sportsmarketing

The AFL’s process to build and launch the season fixture is worth noticing. Ever wondered how the AFL - Australian Football League creates its annual fixture? They don’t sit around a table and do it manually, or use an Excel spreadsheet. Why? Because with 18 clubs, playing 23 games each across 24 rounds, it’s a complex mathematical problem that has TRILLIONS of possible solutions. A quick overview… There are three key stakeholders that need to be considered: >Fans – make it convenient to watch and attend, maximising interest >Players & teams – ensuring a fair competition and a minimum 5-day break   > Broadcast – maximising viewership to ensure value is delivered to Seven Network and Foxtel Group as part of their $4.5 billion deal In addition, there are so many other things that need to be considered:  •      Venue availability •      Marquee games •      Prime time TV slots  •      Numerous club requests •      An even spread of home & away games … the list goes on. AI to the rescue Like many of the other major sports leagues across the globe, the AFL uses AI to build its fixture. The process is led by the AFL’s Head of Broadcast Operations and Scheduling, Josh Bowler, and Rick Stone, who founded Optimal Planning Solutions (OPS) which provided game-scheduling software and consulting to some of the world’s biggest leagues such as the NFL, MLB and MLS. OPS was recently acquired by sports technology company, Fastbreak.ai, where he’s now the Chief Scheduling Officer. Fastbreak.ai works with the world’s biggest sports. In January, Fastbreak.ai announced a multi-year agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA) which comprised of two key elements: 1) Incorporating Fastbreak.ai’s cutting-edge SaaS solution into the NBA’s scheduling process 2) The NBA investing in Fastbreak.ai via its investment arm (NBA Investments), joining a $5.2m seed financing round The software has been around for ~25 years and it’s evolved substantially over time. As part of the AFL scheduling process, it uses 400+ rules and constraints to help guide the league to the best possible outcome. Once the fixture is finalised, it's time for the reveal. Increasingly, sports are developing new strategies to stay relevant during their off-seasons, and fixture-reveal announcements have increasingly become a tent-pole moment. AFL Media & Marketing teams recently got creative with their fixture reveals, and below are links to each club's reveal announcements, and how they were rated. Nine https://lnkd.in/dmi8vyfZ News Corp Australia https://lnkd.in/dBhKh9Jn Notice's pick? Port Adelaide FC's Tony Hawk-themed reveal 👏 https://lnkd.in/dQ8Grrec Which reveal was your favourite? #sportsmarketing

The recent Los Angeles Rams x Uber Eats in-stadium AR activation is a sign of things to come. The LA Rams and Uber Eats recently partnered to deliver a unique AR activation at SoFi Stadium, giving 70,000+ fans the opportunity to participate in a shared experience via their smartphones which was broadcast on the stadium’s giant “Infinity screen”. The activation enabled 2,500 fans to unlock food and beverage deals which were instantly redeemable at the stadium. It was delivered in partnership with ARound (part of Stagwell), a leader in large-scale AR experiences that has been expanding the roll-out of this experiences across sports. The technology that underpins it uses 3D spatial computing to localise content, allowing fans to point their smartphone at the field to open up a universe of AR effects they can interact with alongside fellow fans in real-time. ARound’s technology was first piloted in August 2022 with the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Since then, it’s expanded its deployment across multiple sports: ·        MLS - Minnesota United FC ·        MLB - Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals ·        NBA - Cleveland Cavaliers ·        NFL - Los Angeles Rams This innovation is not only great for fans, it creates a new platform for brands to activate their sponsorships, and a new revenue-asset for rights-holders: > The LA Rams also recently partnered with Princess Cruises to create a “Touchdown Treasure” activation, transforming the stadium into cruise line destinations like Mexico and Alaska > Target also previously partnered with Minnesota United FC which became the first MLS team to use the technology Over time, the technology has been developed to provide a seamless fan experience that encourages mass-fan participation. It was once delivered via an app (downloading it was a barrier), but ARound recently entered into a partnership with Immersal to introduce technology that makes it easier for fans to get involved via automatic camera integration. The LA Rams and ARound have set a new benchmark, and others will likely follow. “This is the future of sports entertainment – AR integrated with live broadcasts to create a multi-layered, immersive experience for fans and brands in the stadium” according to Kathryn Kai-ling Frederick, Chief Marketing Officer, Los Angeles Rams. To deliver this experience smartphones are currently key, but brands such as Meta and Apple have been vying for leadership in this space, developing new devices (e.g. glasses and headsets) that cater for these types of AR experience. Whatever device reigns supreme, this type of activation appears set to expand as ARound scales-up, competitors emerge, and expectations for innovative and immersive fan experiences continues to evolve globally. Will we see this in Australia soon? If so, which sport will introduce it first? #sportsmarketing

Things worth noticing in sport 👇 JD Sports Australia & New Zealand became the National Rugby League’s Official Presenting Partner of Rugby League Las Vegas for seasons 2025 and 2026, as well as becoming the Official Sports Retail Partner of the NRL Premiership BYD Australia & New Zealand signed a 5-year deal with the Sydney Roosters and will feature prominently across the Roosters’ NRL and NRLW home & away playing jerseys Gold Coast SUNS unwrapped a new 3-year deal with Zambrero who will feature on the top-back of the club’s 2025 playing and training guernseys Brisbane Roar FC welcomed Guzman y Gomez Mexican Kitchen on board as an Official Partner for the 2024/25 season and will offer healthy food options to all A-League Women’s players and staff on match days Ben McKay, Harrison Jones, Jye Caldwell and Mark Harvey featured in a creative clip (below) to announce PUMA Group as the new Official Apparel Partner of Essendon Football Club's AFL team and the Official Footwear Partner of both the men’s and women’s programs as part of a 4-year deal Cricket Australia announced a 3-year purpose-led partnership with UNICEF Australia that aims to raise awareness of the millions of girls around the world who are denied their most basic rights like education, health, nutrition and access to safety Cronulla Sharks have started their search for a new naming rights partner for their stadium following the end of their 6-year partnership with PointsBet David Warner teamed up with Tourism Australia to showcase his favourite Australian holiday destinations on his 10.8m-follower Instagram, issuing a warm welcome to Indian fans ahead of the upcoming 5-Test series between Australia and India GameAbove Sports, a company focused on global sports business development and strategic investments, acquired a meaningful ownership stake in the Brisbane Bullets Basketball Club, who welcomed NBA Hall of Famer George Gervin to its ownership group The AFL - Australian Football League Gather Round fixture was announced - 2 x matches are locked in to be played at the new $40m recreation space in Barossa Valley, one of Australia's premier wine regions Visit Victoria announced that Kabaddi is coming to Melbourne - Pro Kabaddi Melbourne Raid will be held at John Cain Arena / Melbourne & Olympic Parks on 28 December after Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India TEG Sport announced they’re bringing the Beach Volleyball World Championships to Adelaide in 2025 in partnership with the South Australian Tourism Commission The A-Leagues competitions are off to a great start on Network 10 - So far, 1.28 million Aussies have been reached, up 34% YoY Whoopi Goldberg launched the world’s first 24/7 global women’s sports channel, All Women’s Sports Network, and bought the rights to broadcast the WNBL in over 65 countries To view more and have this update delivered directly to your inbox: https://lnkd.in/ggbMaupb #sportsmarketing

Stan. PR Lead - Sport  https://lnkd.in/g67KBwsx UniSuper Brand and Sponsorship Lead  https://lnkd.in/gSFdcn37 Football Australia Executive Officer to the COO, AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 LOC Office  https://lnkd.in/gE-krA8p GWS GIANTS Commercial Content Lead https://lnkd.in/gCW2C-b5 Cronulla Sharks Digital Content Producer https://lnkd.in/g5M9KqdQ Foot Locker Asia Pacific Digital Insights Analyst https://lnkd.in/gQ3c7nMH AFL - Australian Football League Strategy Secondment  https://lnkd.in/gXGmiFHq Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Events and Fan Experience Manager https://lnkd.in/gmTB_Ebp Melbourne Football Club Senior Events Executive  https://lnkd.in/gdM74YYZ Melbourne Storm Media and Communications Manager https://lnkd.in/gxCby4rv Melbourne Victory Football Club Head of Media & Communications https://lnkd.in/gkCcAifZ Fremantle Dockers Executive General Manager of Commercial  https://lnkd.in/gfziUdT5 West Coast Eagles General Manager Brand, Marketing and Digital Growth https://lnkd.in/gZBiwTB9 Port Adelaide FC Events Executive https://lnkd.in/gKQpHsAh Brisbane Lions Event & Match Day Coordinator https://lnkd.in/gWtQaKn7 IMG Sales Manager, Media https://lnkd.in/gVf3f2A4 Nike Senior Manager, Digital Platforms & Growth - NDDC Pacific https://lnkd.in/gHYakkZs PUMA Group Field Account Manager Sports Licensing  https://lnkd.in/gwpV9cux Seven Network Sports Sales Executive  https://lnkd.in/gaDbCBDp JD Sports Australia & New Zealand Digital Support Lead  https://lnkd.in/gCfT54X9 Manchester City Football Club Senior Program Manager - Partner Schools, Australia https://lnkd.in/gG5QBajs THE ICONIC Planner - Sports  https://lnkd.in/g8qykNVH Amazon Web Services (AWS) Account Manager, Media, Entertainment, Gaming and Sports  https://lnkd.in/gsySGbFT Les Mills Asia Pacific Marketing & Communications Lead  https://lnkd.in/g4YQ8ZSx Want to view more jobs and have this update delivered directly to your inbox? https://lnkd.in/ggbMaupb #sportsmarketing

Foot Locker Asia Pacific has been getting active in Australia and basketball has been part of the plan. Here are some of Foot Locker's basketball moves worth Noticing: 1) New partnerships Foot Locker has key basketball partnerships across all levels of basketball – from local courts to the national stage. These include:  > Australian Boomers > NBL, WNBL & NBL1  > Summer Jam  > Australian Junior Championships, Schools Championships, U18s Club Championships Its elite-level partnerships deliver widespread brand exposure (via in-game, national broadcast and earned media) and its community-themed partnerships enable the brand to connect with the basketball community on a deeper level.  2) In-store  Foot Locker stores have hosted major announcements and provided basketball fans with an opportunity to connect and engage with the stars. > The Australian Boomers partnership announcement took place in June at the Foot Locker store at QV Melbourne in June and featured appearances from the Boomers squad > The press conference to announce Foot Locker's new WNBL partnership for the 2024-25 season took place at its new “Reimagined" store at Melbourne Central > A host of high-profile basketball stars have visited stores, including NBA legend Carmelo Anthony who made an appearance earlier this year 3) Brand campaigns / content > To mark its 50th anniversary, Foot Locker launched a local brand campaign, celebrating culture and basketball, across OOH billboards, street furniture, in-center media, social media, in-store and online > Branded content and collaborations with high-profile Australian Boomers such as Dyson Daniels, Jock Landale, and Jack McVeigh has been key on social media 4) Events / Experiential Foot Locker has ensured a physical presence at key events via: > Australia’s biggest street basketball competition in Australia, Summer Jam, which it is a Presenting Partner > Pop-up activations, including at Sneakerland in Sydney where they installed a fully-branded half-court at Carriageworks  -- Basketball in Australia is widely popular and continues to rise:   > 1.2+ million people play basketball in Australia and it’s the 2nd most popular sport to play behind soccer > AusPlay, an annual national survey conducted by the Australian Sports Commission, recently found that Basketball is the most popular team sport for 15-24 yo's > The National Basketball League (NBL) season is currently experiencing an increase of 34% on average audience on ESPN Read more on the NBL’s rise : https://lnkd.in/gv9Vq3_y > The National Basketball Association (NBA) is also a contributor - Australia delivered record-breaking viewership for the 2023-24 NBA season, ranking 1st globally for NBA League Pass average viewership, watch hours and subscriptions Read more on the NBA’s growth in Australia: https://lnkd.in/g__jpC3V With basketball on a positive trajectory in Austraila, Foot Locker is well placed to grow with it. #sportsmarketing

Skechers has been making significant moves in sports across the globe and this is showing up in Australia, signalled by a recent new partnership with Melbourne Victory Football Club. Founded in 1992, the Skechers brand is well-known, but predominantly as a lifestyle footwear brand. It’s now looking to evolve beyond its comfort-first, day-to-day identity and is making moves to scale-up its performance division and become a serious sportswear contender. To do this, athlete sponsorships/endorsements are proving key. Here are some things worth noticing about Skechers’ moves in sports. GLOBAL Skechers designs, develops and markets 3,000+ footwear styles for men, women and children and can be found in 180+ countries worldwide. • Harry Kane, FC Bayern München striker and captain of England signed a lifetime deal with the brand in 2023, becoming the first pro soccer player to compete in Skechers when we unveiled his new Skechers boots, SKX_01 • A number of The Premier League athletes followed, such Mohammed Kudus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Anthony Elanga followed, inking deals to wear Skechers' boots • In the National Basketball Association (NBA) Joel Embiid, Julius Randle and Terance Mann have helped build the brand’s presence in basketball and each of them have featured prominently across global brand campaigns • Skechers received mass earned media coverage at the Paris Olympics, when they presented Joel Embiid with a pair of Gold Sneakers to celebrate his gold medal with Team USA, and when Snoop Dogg donned his golden Skechers whilst carrying the Olympic torch • Skechers also has a presence in golf, baseball and emerging properties such as pickleball AUSTRALIA Locally, Skechers: • Recently became the Official Footwear Partner of Melbourne Victory for the 2024/25 A-Leagues season, and are supplying Melbourne Victory players and coaching staff with both football boots and sneakers • Announced a new partnership with Hawthorn Football Club in 2022 - the Skechers logo features on the front of the jersey on the neckline Skechers’ strategic push into sports is paying off. Skechers’ brand growth is evident in its rising online interest. Google Trends data shows a steady increase in search interest over time - Over the last 5 years its set a new benchmark, increasing from regular a <50 score range (pre 2021) to a consistent >75 score range from 2021 onwards.   Global sales have been strong and in the company's most recent quarter, they posted record quarterly sales of $2.35 billion, a 15.9% increase. The Skechers share price has also experienced steady growth, up approximately 100% to $62 since its $31 low in October 2023. Moving forward, Skechers has plans to achieve $10 billion in annual sales by 2026 and is committed to investing in brand (which includes sponsorships/endorsements), to help achieve this goal and continued growth thereafter. #sportsmarketing