Changing the playbook: Sports marketing's next era

With billions pouring into sports marketing this year, the stakes are high for brands. Ahead of the FIFA World Cup, and with more advertisers backing women's sports, We Are Social Sport's Joe Weston and Fuse's Matt Bailey join WARC's Anna Hamill to discuss the emerging trends in sports marketing.

Guests:
Joe Weston, Head Of Sport, We Are Social
Matt Bailey, Managing Partner, Fuse
Anna Hamill, Senior Editor, The WARC Podcast

Chapters:
00:00 – Intro: Why 2026 is a massive year for sport and sponsors
00:09 – Super Bowl to World Cup: The new stakes in global sports marketing
02:17 – Making sponsorships famous: Social-first sports activation strategy
04:10 – Mega platforms: UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup and long-term rights
05:43 – Asynchronous viewing: How to reach fans beyond live broadcast
07:37 – Culture as a brief: Tapping fandoms and social communities in sport
09:42 – Rise of athlete content creators: Players as media brands
11:49 – Athletes owning their narrative: Authenticity, IP and brand partnerships
14:12 – The boom in women’s sport: Why sponsors are rushing in
17:18 – Brand upside in women’s football: Audience growth and safer fan environments
21:49 – Innovation in women’s sport
22:48 – World Cup 2026: Big brand campaigns vs. “win the day” real-time content
27:10 – Creator-led World Cup: 24/7 content, fan hubs and algorithm playbooks
33:33 – Go big vs lots of little

For 40 years, WARC has been providing the marketing industry with rigorous, unbiased evidence and expert effectiveness guidance. The WARC Podcast publishes a new episode every Tuesday and Thursday.

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