A blueprint for leveraging star signings
The impact of signing star players and how teams and leagues can effectively leverage them off the field
Not a subscriber yet? Discover specialised sports marketing insights, tailored for sports industry professionals within Australia and across the globe. If you work in sports for an agency, brand or rights-holder then this is for you.
Cricket Australia and Toyota Australia announced a 4-year partnership extension that will encompass all of cricket from the grassroots to elite level, including the Australian Men’s and Women's teams, the KFC Big Bash League, the Weber Women’s Big Bash League and CA’s inclusion and diversity programs
Sydney FC welcomed mobile and internet challenger brand More as its Official Telecom Partnership for the 2025/26 season which will feature on the sleeve of the playing kit for the highly anticipated friendly clash with Wrexham AFC
Sydney FC also secured new partnerships with Gilton Valeo Lawyers which will also feature on the sleeve, and Anytime Fitness which will feature on the back of neck jersey position
Melbourne Storm welcomed Superdry as its new Lifestyle Apparel Partner - the pair will combine to deliver premium streetwear and performance inspired fashion to Storm fans, both on game day and beyond
Wests Tigers secured a new partnership with Tyrepower for the 2025 season which will feature prominently across NRLW match days, including LED signage, media wall, and on the lower back of the playing jersey
Security specialists AVS Security expanded its support of the Gold Coast Titans to now also include the club’s NRLW team - it will feature on the front of shorts for the NRLW team until at least the end of 2026
Lite n’ Easy renewed its partnership with the Newcastle Knights and is returning as a key partner for the third consecutive NRLW season - and for the first time, as a Sternum jersey partner
G.H. Mumm extended its official Champagne partnership of the Victoria Racing Club and the Melbourne Cup Carnival for a further 3 years (bringing it to a total of 18 years) which will see it uphold its renowned presence in the Birdcage Enclosure and naming rights to a key race on Victoria Derby Day
Adelaide Thunderbirds announced a 3-year major partnership with RAA - at the same time the Thunderbirds celebrated a new membership record, reaching over 6,000 members during 2025, the 2nd highest in Suncorp Super Netball
NSW Waratahs announced Viva Leisure as a Platinum Partner which will feature on the back-right of the shorts
Rugby Australia signed Defender as a sponsor of the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour
Obela became an official partner of the Sydney Swans and will offer its nutritious snacks to members and fans throughout the 2025 AFL and AFLW seasons
Visa was named as the Official Global Supporter of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026™
Candice Warner was announced as the official ambassador of the Voltaren City2Surf
Through their Shooting Hoops Foundation, the Adelaide 36ers signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Be Well Co to develop an evidence-based youth mental health and leadership program for students in years 11 and 12
Canberra Raiders announced a 3-year extension with its foundation partner Parbery Consulting, which took the initial leap of faith in having their brand on the front of our NRLW jersey during the team’s first two seasons and will continue to do so
Wrexham AFC players and officials visited Hawthorn FC and front the media as part of their Australian tour
The Victorian Government announced a Lions Series Fan Zone will be set up at Federation Square from 23-25 July, featuring a range of free family activities including roaming entertainment, face painting, skills challenges and signing sessions with star players
Kayo Sports released a new mobile and tablet app (first significant upgrade since its launch in 2018) and unveiled a suite of new features designed to elevate the way fans experience their favourite sports
To activate its partnership of the NSW Blues ahead of NRL State of Origin Game 3, adidas transformed its Pitt Street store in Sydney into the ‘House of Blue’ offering fans complimentary nail art, permanent, NSW-inspired tattoos, and a Locker Lucky Dip (to win things signed jerseys, vouchers and match tickets)
Tennis Australia appointed Atomic 212° as its new media agency which replaced PHD following a competitive pitch process
It was reported that the AFL is considering introducing an NBA Cup-like in-season tournament, with $5m in prize money awarded to the winning team and a potential guaranteed finals spot
Donald Trump is planning to host a UFC match at the White House next year with over 20,000 spectators to mark 250 years of American independence
Guest Writer: Oliver Trenchard
Today we’re welcoming Ollie Trenchard, Growth Director at Engage Digital Partners, as this week’s guest writer!
Ollie is passionate about engaging new and local audiences, having spent a decade working across different continents in the sports industry with rights-holders, sponsors and broadcasters on fan engagement strategies. He currently is Growth Director at Engage Digital Partners, where he leads clients’ growth and fan engagement strategies across the APAC region.
In today’s article, Ollie breaks down the impact of signing star players (e.g. Sydney Sixers signing Pakistani Captain Babar Azam) and how teams and leagues can effectively leverage them off the field.
A Blueprint for Leveraging Star Signings
The Big Bash overseas draft delivered again last month, with a cohort of international stars set to grace Australian shores later this year.
This year’s international draft was dominated by big name Pakistani cricketers, with the likes of Shaheen Afridi (Brisbane Heat), Mohammad Rizwan (Melbourne Renegades) and Haris Rauf (Melbourne Stars) drafted in the platinum category.
However, it was the Sydney Sixers acquisition of former Pakistan captain Babar Azam that produced the biggest splash across digital channels.
The signing of Babar Azam generated unprecedented levels of engagement across the Sydney Sixers’ social media channels
In the week of his signing alone, the Sydney franchise accumulated close to 1 million engagements across their TikTok content - more engagements in that week than they had amassed in the entire history of the account to date.
Indeed, Babar is big news. His 5,000,000+ following across Instagram - 15x than that of any AFL player - is testament to this.
Each of the top nine most-engaged video posts across the Sixers’ social media channels are all centred around the signing of the Pakistan star.
The engagement converted into new followers, adding close to 350,000 new followers across all platforms in the week following Azam’s signing - a total follower uplift of close to 25%.
Cynics would argue there would have been an uplift in engagement and followers across the Sixers channels due to Azam regardless of content output given his profile. However, the franchise produced a suite of content surrounding the signing that maximised fan engagement.
Outside of the teasers and highlight reels, it was a longer-form behind the scenes content piece that showed the decision making process behind Azam’s signing that truly peeled back the curtain and allowed die-hard Babar fans a glimpse into the variables and processes surrounding the BBL draft, spearheaded by Sixers’ General Manager Rachael Haynes.
We’ve seen this show before in Australia - It is not the first time a big name international star penning paper with an Aussie club
A rising star at the time, LaMelo Ball brought increased eyeballs to the NBL upon signing for the Illawarra Hawks ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Record crowds tuned into broadcasts of Hawks games across social media in addition to turning up in the stands to set league attendance records at the time in what was a key turning point for the Australian competition.
Other notable international arrivals into Australian sports leagues include:
Kai Sotto to the Adelaide 36ers (NBL)
Rafael Struick to Brisbane Roar (A-League)
Keisuke Honda to Melbourne Victory (A-League)
Douglas Costa to Sydney FC (A-League)
Many of these saw similar results to the Sixers, Heat and other BBL franchises in significant audience growth from the player in question’s home market.
The engagement levels that Brisbane Roar witnessed on posts featuring Indonesian striker Rafael Struick compared to other players was astronomical.
Most recently, Sydney FC’s purchase of Brazilian Douglas Costa paved the way for Brazilian soft drink Guarana Antarctica to become the club’s official soda partner.
So how do teams in the BBL - and more broadly across the sports industry - ensure they fully reap the off-field benefits of signing star players?
Merchandise & memberships
Merchandise sales would be the first revenue stream that comes to mind for many when pondering the benefits of signing star players - a glance at your local sports retailer selling Inter Miami kits with ‘Messi’ or Al-Hilal jerseys with ‘Ronaldo’ and the number 7 on the back is a timely testament to star players propelling clubs to a global audience.
Could we see Sixers’ jerseys on the rails of Karachi sports shops in the near future? Could Babar Azam turn the whole of Pakistan pink?
If expanding into retail is a step too far for now, BBL franchises could explore diversifying membership package offerings and tailoring packages around their star signings that help long-distance fans feel part of the club. The inclusion of a club scarf or small merchandise item for an overseas fans goes some way to bridging the gap of not being able to physically attend games.
Broadcast & sponsorship
A nation of 250 million - almost 10 times the population of Australia - will be eagerly tuning in to watch the seven Pakistan players picked in the BBL 2025-25 draft.
This naturally presents the BBL additional leverage when negotiating international broadcast agreements to secure rights locally in Pakistan.
The increased broadcast viewership in Pakistan will likely be of interest to domestic sponsors too, wanting to grab a slice of the action and tap into an avid audience of cricket-lovers in Pakistan with a multitude of partnership possibilities, ranging from local broadcast sponsorship to logos on team kits. It would be no surprise to see Pakistan brands sign with both the competition itself and franchises later this year in a regional sponsorship category.
European football leagues have grown increasingly commercially savvy with their matchday LED perimeter boards in recent years, investing in digital overlay technology to tailor the LED board ads to the local broadcaster, and in turn increasing international commercial possibilities while offering global fans a more localised experience. This may be an avenue the BBL opts to explore as a next step in the maturation of an international commercial programme in line with increased international demand for the product.
Localised digital content
There are ample opportunities for local sponsor integration across digital channels too.
The Argentina Football Association has built a highly engaged digital audience in India through the launch of a localised social media account that targets Indian fans. Through localised memes, pop culture and reference points, the account has grown to 1 million followers on Instagram alone and paved the way for several local sponsors partnering with Argentina including Kingfisher beer.
There will be much interest throughout Pakistan about the endeavours of the seven Pakistani players in the BBL. Do the competition franchises have a localised content strategy to leverage this interest across digital channels?
What about here in Australia though? How can clubs use a large overseas signing to boost local market awareness?
Some lessons can be found 17,000km away, when global social media sensation Ilona Maher penned with Premiership Women’s Rugby club Bristol Bears in the UK last year.
While the Bears and competition’s digital channels naturally experienced an almighty spike in engagement and social audiences following Maher’s arrival, it was the work off-field in the media circuit from the Olympic medallist that helped elevate the league further.
Maher helped in a large way to put women’s rugby - and the PWR competition - on the map through appearances on popular prime-time TV programmes such as the One Show, and permeation into both rugby and sports podcasts. In essence, she made people care more about women’s rugby.
As a result, the Bears witnessed record crowds, forcing them to even switch venues for matches due to increased ticket demand.
Some may argue cricket doesn’t need as much comparative help in Australia. Yet there is always work to be done in one of the most competitive sports markets in the world, with every sport vying for back-page newspaper and top-of-the-hour TV news coverage.
The hype around Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan may just help the BBL do exactly that.
ACT Brumbies - Graphic Designer & Brand Coordinator
AFL - Head of Consumer Product
Amer Sports - Senior Marketing Manager - Wilson
Amer Sports - Social Media & CRM Specialistn - Wilson
Australian Sports Commission - Assistant Director, Platform Services
Australian Sports Foundation - Fundraising Support Executive
Australian Turf Club - Event Manager
Australian Turf Club - Marketing Manager - Media & Brand
Bursty - Social Media Coordinator
Bursty - Videographer
Brisbane Broncos - Multimedia Designer
Coles - Events & Partnership Manager
Cricket Australia - CX Operations Coordinator
Cricket NSW - Head of Content & Strategic Communications
Cricket NSW - Partnerships Manager - Sydney Thunder
Dabble - Acquisition Marketing Specialist
Diageo - Events & Sponsorships Manager QLD/NT
Drummond Golf - Senior Marketing Manager: Digital, CRM, Data
FANZO - Digital Marketing Executive
Football Australia - Fan Experience Coordinator - AFC Women's Asian Cup 2026 LOC Office
Football Australia - Sports Presentation & Fan Experience Manager - AFC Women's Asian Cup LOC Office
Gold Coast SUNS - Commercial Partnerships Executive
Golf Australia - Fundraising & Events Manager - Australian Golf Foundation
HOKA Australia - Marketing Lead
JD Sports - Retail Marketing Coordinator
KOJO - Content Producer
Little Athletics Australia - Digital Strategy & Delivery Manager
lululemon - Community Programs Lead
Melbourne Storm - Project Marketing Manager
Moshtix - Business Development Manager - Events, Attractions & Sport
NBL - Event Marketing Manager
Netball Australia - General Manager - Tournament Revenue & Experience (Netball World Cup)
Newscorp Australia - Sponsorship Manager
Oaks Hotels, Resorts & Suites - Business Development Manager - Golf & Sporting Groups
Octagon - Event Manager (Fixed-Term Contract)
Octagon - Executive Creative Director
Octagon - Project Director - No2ndPlace (12 months fixed-term contract)
Paralympics Australia - Partnerships Coordinator
Puma - Key Account Manager
Queensland Cricket - Commercial Operations Coordinator
Racing Victoria - General Manager - Content & Broadcast
Red Bull - Field Marketing Specialist, Sport
South Sydney Rabbitohs - Corporate Sales Executive
Southern Cross Austereo - Social Media Content Producer - LiSTNR Sport
Special Olympics Australia - State Manager - SA
Sports Cloud Australia - Marketing and Business Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - Digital Strategy & Campaign Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - Partnership Coordinator
Stan. - Sports Digital Content Producer
Surfing Australia - Events Specialist
Surfing Australia - Head of Participation & Community
Surfing Australia - Marketing Specialist
Transport Accident Commission - Partnerships Program Advisor
Tennis Australia - Patron Communications Manager
TGI Sport - Creative Strategist
TGI Sport - Senior Communications Manager
TGI Sport - Senior Event Project Manager
THE ICONIC - Head of Sports
Touch Football Australia - Senior Marketing Manager
Two Circles - Sponsorship Sales Manager
Victoria Racing Club - New Business Development Executive
W Sports & Media - General Manager
WA Cricket - Marketing Manager
Not a subscriber yet? Discover specialised sports marketing insights, tailored for sports industry professionals within Australia and across the globe. If you work in sports for an agency, brand or rights-holder then this is for you.