I was at Advertising Week last week at 180 Studios on the Strand. As you’d expect, there was a lot of talk about the year ahead, where brands are placing bets, what’s changing, what’s working, etc. I spent most of my time in sessions focused on partnerships, particularly in sport, which is where my interest naturally sits.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of it centered around what’s coming this summer. The “Summer of Sport” has become a fixture in the marketing calendar with big tournaments, audiences, and opportunities. The types of cultural moments that are easy to plan and justify, and most importantly, to get excited about.
However, it was a non-sport-related panel that got me thinking about looking at opportunities for brands differently. It was during a panel about Wendy’s fast-food chain and just at the last minute of the panel they mentioned they sponsored the Peterborough Phantoms, an ice hockey team here in the UK. A sport that doesn’t dominate headlines, but one with a loyal, tight-knit audience. While everyone was talking about scale with the likes of the World Cup, this was a reminder that not all valuable audiences look the same.
It sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole, which later took on a new dimension when Simon Leslie, chief operating officer of ReachTV, said during his panel: “Don’t let logic kill the magic.”
