As storytellers, it is hard to overlook the month of February, which delivered a trifecta of major sports events: Super Bowl 60, the Winter Olympics, and the NBA All-Star Game.
Each event not only generated wall-to-wall entertainment, but storytelling and communications opportunities for individuals, brands, and causes.
From Bad Bunny’s performance at the Super Bowl that fueled a multi-day conversation spanning politics, fashion, and entertainment to the Olympics, which chronicled the heroic stories of the U.S. Hockey Teams who won gold, Lindsey Vonn’s heartbreaking injury, and Elana Meyers Taylor and Kallie Humphries — two medal-winning bobsledders who are also working moms.
Our colleague, Jon Hammond, Principal and Head of Media, Sports, Entertainment, and Technology at our sister firm, Sloane, explores how major sporting events can inform brands on how to build relevance and connection with modern audiences.
Jon shared some important takeaways and what brands should be integrating into their strategy moving forward, including:
- Build layered storytelling that unfolds across events: Instead of showing up once and disappearing, think about how a narrative can evolve from the Super Bowl to All-Star Weekend to the Olympics. Each moment becomes a chapter — not a reset.
- Use the spotlight to shift or expand the narrative: When attention spikes, so does the opportunity to highlight the parts of sports we rarely see: the culture behind the athletes, the science, the preparation, the unexpected human moments. These windows let brands draw focus to stories that don’t usually get airtime.
- Look for organic opportunities amid all the paid noise: In a month where advertising dominates headlines, organic storytelling can cut through — real-time content, creator-driven moments, behind-the-scenes access, athlete-led narratives. These are the threads that feel native to fan behavior and add dimension beyond the big paid placements.
- Meet fans where they actually are: Brands that understand how to engage younger audiences on their native platforms will win the marketing effort.
Doug Thornell is the Chief Executive Officer at SKDK.