AFL Gather Round success, brands increasingly using Faux OOH, NRL x MAFS creative cross-promotion
AFL Gather Round success, brands increasingly using Faux OOH, NRL x MAFS creative cross-promotion
Today’s lineup:
AFL Gather Round success
Brands increasingly using Faux OOH to generate exponential reach
NRL x MAFS creative cross-promotion
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Gold Coast SUNS launched “SUNS Active Lab” - a free online fitness companion in a partnership with the Queensland Government and Playbk Sports
Carlton & United Breweries renewed their partnership with Gold Coast SUNS until 2028, and will hero their “Power’s” beer brand which they relaunched last year
Isuzu Ute Australia committed to a 3 year partnership renewal with Surf Life Saving Australia
Gourmet food home delivery service, PROVIDOOR became a major partner of Netball NSW
Telstra announced the roll out of it’s first Footy Country Grants Program funding which will see over $1m to go to 250+ local AFL clubs
Research from Scout found that the wagering sponsorship category saw the highest growth in the latest qtr, ahead of utilities and supermarkets
Victor Wembanyama, who’s been nicknamed “Alien” by LeBron James and who has a US $100m+ contract with Nike, had his new logo revealed
Adelaide Oval became the first major stadium in Australia to accept cryptocurrency, allowing fans to use Crypto.com as the payment method
Reebok Australia launched a new “Moment For Every You” brand campaign, featuring Liv Kelly
The Philadelphia Eagles’ Jordan Mailata announced a visit to Australia later this month
Dylan Buckley and Ellidy Pullin were announced as LIV Golf Adelaide ambassadors
Leading sports marketing & talent management agency TLA rebranded to TGI Sport
Australian functional Group Fitness franchise, Body Fit Training opened its 300th global studio in Spain, and now operates in 9 countries worldwide including Australia, NZ, Singapore, UK, USA and Hong Kong among others
The AFL's Gather Round was back and bigger in 2024... and it plans to go bigger again in 2025
There's a growing trend where sports are partnering with governments to build their major sports event calendar's, to attract tourism, stimulate local economy's and showcase their cities domestically and globally.
These events are no longer purely focused on the in-stadium experience, they've expanded into major festivals and the experience often extends across entire cities.
This year, 265k+ fans are estimated to have attended a game at Gather Round... but for most interstate fans, the experience was much broader than this.
It began immediately after stepping off the plane, and for others it started on the plane:
Virgin Australia treated Carlton Football Club fans to a footy-themed flight, led by Anthony Koutoufides
Footy-themed outdoor ads were displayed via decals, digital screens, wraps and signage across town, at the airport, in the street and on trams to create a city-takeover vibe
Closer to the action, fans were treated to:
Open training sessions
Clinics
Fireworks
Live music & entertainment
Food festivals
Player appearances
This year event management added:
A concert
Food & wine festival
A state league representative game
Gather Round creates endless commercial opportunities for the AFL and their blue-chip sponsors, who get a chance to engage with fans on a deeper level:
McDonald's is the naming rights partner of the Macca’s Footy Festival
The Pepsi Collective was activated – a new venue within the Adelaide Oval for people aged 18+ with live acts including The Presets, John Course and DJ Minx
AFL sponsors such as Toyota, Macca’s, Chemist Warehouse and Telstra invested heavily in footy-themed brand activations at the Footy Festival and at Rundle Mall
The AFL hosted a business lunch with 800+ professionals
Image credit: TGI Sport
SA's government are committed to the concept
Hosting rights reportedly cost the government $14m per year, and they've committed to hosting the event until 2026
The state government and Barossa Council will each contribute $20m for a major redevelopment which will enable a game to be played in the Barossa Valley in 2025
The AFL, SANFL & State government launched a $2m "SA Football Facilities Fund" which will see 42 grassroots clubs receive funding for facility upgrades
The Adelaide Oval's $535m stadium redevelopment has turned the stadium into a world-class venue, forming a core part of the experience
Hosting Gather Round delivers a return
An estimated $85m in economic value was delivered to the SA economy in 2023
SA Tourism set up an online hub showing tourists where to stay, eat & drink and visit, conveniently linking fans to purchase their experiences
The AFL's biggest stars such as Toby Greene, Christian Petracca, Tom Hawkins, Nick Daicos and Lachie Neale featured in content pieces exploring SA's best tourist attractions which were amplified across broadcast & digital media
Next up, Magic Round.
There’s a Faux OOH trend that brands are increasingly activating to create an optical illusion that grabs your attention, and generates exponential reach on Instagram and TikTok
In the lead up to Gather Round the AFL produced the below eye-catching TikTok which has been viewed 208k+ times and has been one of their recent top-performing clips.
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Giant-jumper unveiling’s over the top of iconic stadiums has become a common theme, and below are some other examples of successful executions that have generated a significant uplift (2x - 200x) in views:
Chelsea FC - 5.2m views
USA Basketball - 6.3m views
Portuguese Football Federation - 4.8m views
Juventus FC - 32m views
Although this tactic has proven to be successful so far, early adoption is key.
As it becomes more common for brands to execute using the Faux OOH tactic, the novelty and surprise-element will likely wear off, resulting in lowered social media performance.
Nine are creatively utilising their NRL IP rights to support their regular program lineup, and audience growth & retention goals
Over recent year’s Nine has steadily committed to building its annual sports broadcast calendar, investing heavily in rights:
NRL: $650m, 5-year deal (2023-2027)
Australian Open: $425m, 5-year deal (2025-2029)
Rugby Australia: $30m per year until 2025 ($100m 2020 – 2023)
Olympics: $305m, Olympics between Paris 2024 – Brisbane 2032
Free-to-air networks such as Nine rely heavily on sports to underpin their ratings performance, and with the numerous global streaming giants (Amazon, Netflix, Apple, Disney) posing a continuous threat, they need to do everything in their power to leverage their IP.
The NRL broadcast is a strong platform for cross-promotion...
NRL games draw large audiences, which may include people that don’t normally watch Nine’s broader TV programs.
This creates a unique opportunity for Nine, who are able to expose this audience to popular shows such as MAFS. The fans exposed, may then become more likely to watch other programming on the channel, and this assists Nine with their audience growth & retention goals, which helps drive ad revenue.
A well-executed NRL x MAFS cross-promotion...
Video credit - Ryley McKay, Senior Publicist & Digital Manager - Sport, Nine
Nine have creatively combined NRL & MAFS IP to successfully create something novel & unexpected, that captures attention, and is memorable.
Over time people’s brains have become wired to know what to expect when encountering an ad break, and this makes us often tune out or not remember what we’ve consumed.
When competing for attention amongst the sea of brand messaging, a great way to stand out is surprise and novelty.
People are used to seeing MAFS ads, and NRL ads, but not a combination of both.
The above ad is not only worth noticing because of its unique ability to capture attention, it’s also useful because of its high-relevance for NRL and MAFS ad breaks, making it appropriate for frequent cross-promoting during Nine’s most watched programs.
ARC’TERYX - Community Marketing Coordinator
Australian Sports Commission - Research and Innovation Officer
Bastion - PR Senior Account Manager
Collingwood FC - Partnerships Executive
Cricket Australia - Communications & PR Specialist
Essendon FC - Community Engagement Coordinator - Early Years Education
Fanatics - Retail Event Manager
Fitstop - Head of Marketing
Football Tasmania - Digital Marketing Specialist
Football Victoria - Executive Manager - Commercial
Fremantle FC - Brand and Marketing Team Lead
Gemba - Account Manager
Gold Coast Suns - Commercial Development Manager
Lululemon - Brand Operations Specialist (12 Months Contract)
M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment - Resource Manager
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles - Digital Content Coordinator
MKTG Sports + Entertainment - Business Development Manager - Sports Media
My Muscle Chef - Product Marketing Manager
Neilsen - Client Service Executive, Sports
Netball Australia - Broadcast and Media Partnerships Lead
Netball NSW - Fan Development & Membership Coordinator - GIANTS Netball
NRL - Marketing Executive
Optus Sport - Owned Channels Marketing Specialist - Optus Sport
parkrun Asia Pacific - Head of Event Delivery
PepsiCo - Brand Manager – Gatorade
PGA Australia - Partnership Development Manager
Red Bull - Head of Gaming and Esports
Seven West Media - Sport Content Operator
South Sydney Rabbitohs - Events Executive
Sports Entertainment Network - Senior Partnership Manager
St Kilda FC - STK Education Program Coordinator
Surfing Australia - Partnership Specialist
Sweat - Senior Social Media Specialist
Tennis Australia - Head of Experience Design
Victoria Racing Club - Marketing and Communications Administrator
Western Bulldogs - Head of Marketing Business Development
Western Sydney Wanderers - Multicultural Engagement Officer
Not yet a subscriber? 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.