Sports Marketers Unite: NBA, Heineken, Puma, IBM, Meta Share Insights

At the recent Sports Marketing Services Summit in Park City, industry leaders from top brands shared their insights on engaging fans and creating authentic partnerships. The NBA's Hope Tannenbaum emphasized that fan influence is foundational to its ID program, highlighting the Dunk Contest's use of creators and live voting to engage younger audiences.

Heineken's Justin Alvis discussed how the Go for Dos campaign successfully owned the two-point conversion moment in college football, consistently reinforcing the brand's message of boldness every week. Puma's Kristina Bayton shared how the brand aligns with athletes' interests, from postpartum advocacy to music and animal rights, to build authenticity and enter new market spaces.

IBM's Monica Ellingson used AI to measure the excitement of individual player shots and automatically generate highlights to personalize broadcasts around fans' favorite players and moments. Meta's Nicholas Robinson discussed using athletes, creators, trainers, and equipment staff to tell stories using wearables to reach consumers.