High-impact sponsorship activation with Groblox
The arrival of a new entrant worth noticing, and how brands can activate their sponsorship at Major Sports Events in an impactful way
Today’s newsletter is presented by Global Institute of Sport
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 announced Aussie Broadband as its Official Telecommunications Partner for the next 3 years - the partnership will extend to both the Men’s and Women’s national teams
BHP extended its partnership with the Adelaide Crows for a further 3 years which will see the BHP logo feature on the AFLW playing guernsey, and the partnership extend beyond a decade
Hawthorn FC welcomed Australian-owned women’s fashion label KOOKAÏ as an official partner - as part of the partnership it will style Hawthorn’s female staff and administrators in its corporate apparel, and serve as the club's presenting partner of the AFLW Best and Fairest
Brisbane Lions and Brisbane Broncos launched an unexpected new “Brisbane Partnership” that includes a range of collaborative initiatives such as an inaugural Brisbane Lunch (presented by Tabcorp) which took place on 16 May, starring the sides’ head coaches and biggest names - more here
Protective headgear and body armour for contact sports company SWAARM joined North Melbourne FC as an official partner - its headgear is worn by Caleb Daniel and Tristan Xerri
NSWRL welcomed back leading Australian insurance company GIO as a major partner of the organisation from the Westpac NSW Blues men’s and women’s State of Origin teams right through to grassroots, as part of a multi-year deal
Western Force announced a partnership with global tyre giant Yokohama, which recently acquired Goodyear’s Off the Road tyre division - Goodyear has been a partner of the Force for several years and will retain its brand in Australia and remain on the side panels of the Western Force jersey
Sportswear provider Canterbury of New Zealand extended its partnership with the Queensland Rugby Union for a further 3 years, until the end of 2028
North Queensland Toyota Cowboys inked a new 12-month partnership with the Crisafulli Government aimed at encouraging more women to consider a career in manufacturing
Brisbane Broncos secured a 2-year partnership extension with Complete Business Travel which is offering fans three official ‘Fan Trips’ for season 2025 to the squad’s away games in Manly, Townsville and Melbourne
The Women’s National Basketball League launched its new brand identity, following a series of landmark developments for the league since it came under new ownership
Parramatta Eels officially opened its $70m Centre of Excellence and Kellyville Memorial Park Community Centre, the largest rugby league training precinct in the world
Sydney Swans’ “Match Day Mingle” (sponsored by Jim Beam) event is set to return to the SCG, offering fans another chance “to meet a mate or maybe even spark a date”
To activate its sponsorship of Queensland Rugby League and celebrate the 5th year of its partnership, PUMA launched a campaign (via Bursty) to commemorate the ‘Queenslander’ chant with a focus on two characters that are at the centre of the chant – E and R. More here
Swinburne University secured a $520,000 research grant to harness artificial intelligence to tackle discrimination in sport from the newly established adidas Foundation’s ‘United by Sport’ program
Airbnb became a sponsor of the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes and will launch a series of exclusive experiences for fans along the race route as part of a 3-year deal
Spotify announced a new activation within EA Sports FC 25 for fans and players in Australia and Saudi Arabia which will enable the music streaming service to seamlessly integrate into the FC 25 interface and enable players to listen to their preferred music, podcasts or audiobooks in-game
Elevate your career in sport with a master’s degree taught inside the SCG and Allianz Stadium
We’re excited to partner with Global Institute of Sport (GIS), the world’s leading provider of sports education, for this week’s newsletter.
GIS provide master’s degrees online and on-campus at inspirational stadium learning environments around the world including Wembley Stadium in London, Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium and RSC Anderlecht’s Lotto Park in Brussels. And now they have partnered with the University of Newcastle to establish a cutting-edge sports university campus in Sydney.
The new Sydney campus will offer two master’s degrees: a Master of International Sports Business and a Master of Sports Analytics, along with a Graduate Certificate of Sports Analytics. These programs are the first Australian university degrees with teaching from inside stadiums, and are open to both domestic Australian and international students either full-time or part-time from January 2026.
High-impact sponsorship activation with Groblox
Major sports events in Australia are evolving beyond stadium walls, as rights-holders are increasingly partnering with governments to create new fan experiences outside of the main arena. These events create an immersive/takeover experience that transform everyday public spaces into fan-first festivals that extend across entire cities and states.
This shift isn’t just great for fans or rights-holders, it’s a golden opportunity for brands.
These expanded experiences provide a perfect platform for brands to get active and connect with fans via sponsorship, branded events and creative activations.
With Australia’s major sports calendar becoming more crowded, and more innovative each year, brands are ramping up their involvement.
Australia’s major sports events calendar continues to evolve and brands are increasingly getting active
Sports is a powerful platform to deliver brand moments. For decades, major sports events have sat at the core of some of the world’s most creative, memorable, and high-impact brand experiences.
Increasingly, infrastructure such as airports, train stations and bus & tram shelters have become common sites for rights-holders and brands to activate at when a major sports event comes to town. It’s also common for brands to host their own events at private venues and show up in some of Australia’s most prominent public spaces:
Melbourne – Federation Square
Adelaide – Rundle Mall
Sydney – Martin Place
Etc.
Why brands select sponsorship, and keep coming back
Yes, sponsoring and activating around major sports events comes with a price tag. But the return is hard to beat.
Here’s why sponsorship remains one of the most effective marketing tools in the brand playbook:
1. Brand reach & awareness
Australia’s biggest sports events deliver unrivaled exposure via attendance, broadcast, and social. Here’s a snapshot:
The Australian Open 2025
1.22 million attendees (record-breaking)
13.07 million broadcast reach across 9Network
LIV Golf Adelaide 2025
102,483 attendees at The Grange Golf Course
2 million viewers on Seven (1.85m FTA + 211k via 7plus)
*2024 - Global broadcast reach of 500M+ households across 80 territories
Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix 2025
465,498 attendees across four days
3.6 million viewers reached nationally via 10, 10 Bold and 10 Play (+97% YOY on BVOD)
Victoria Racing Club - Spring Racing Carnival 2024
Nearly 600,000 attendees
Themed Rounds
AFL Gather Round 2025: 269,000+ match attendees
NRL Magic Round 2025: Nearly 150,000 match attendees
These numbers are only a fraction of the overarching level of fan engagement these events attract - Thousands more fans get involved in broader themed round festivities outside of the stadium.
Major sports sponsorships can deliver a positive ROI for brands not only because of the large audiences they reach…
2. Sponsorships can help create new associations and strengthen positive brand perceptions.
Big sponsorships send a signal. As Richard Shotton, author of The Choice Factory, explains:
“Advertising (which could include sponsorship) known to be expensive signals the volume of the resources available to the advertiser… the advertiser has either persuaded lots of people to buy his product already, a good sign, or has persuaded someone to lend him lots of money to finance the campaign…
and that this
…neatly explains why famous sponsorships are effective. The context demonstrates a costly and, therefore, honest belief in the strength of the advertised product.”
In addition…
Emotional Connection
Australians are passionate about sport, and there’s a phenomenon known as ‘affect transfer’ that explains why aligning to things people are passionate about, can positively impact brand equity. In this article, Professor Hume Winzar from the Macquarie Business School explains that:
“…your emotions towards one object becomes associated with another object.”
So what do lots of brands do (or should they do) if they sponsor a major sports event? Drive as much awareness of it (particularly among fans who love the sport) as possible. How?
Experiential brand activations are a powerful way to activate a sponsorship.
If you’re sponsoring a major sports event, your job doesn’t end with a logo on the screen, arena or jersey. You need to show up in a way fans will notice, remember, and love. That’s where experiential activations come in – immersive, on-the-ground brand moments that make an impact. Whether it’s inside the arena or out in the streets, smart brands are building high-impact real-life experiences fans can see, touch, and share… and now they can do this with Groblox.
Groblox - A new entrant worth noticing
Groblox is a new player within the Australian market and is all about turning big ideas into bold spaces.
What’s Groblox? Think of it as LEGO® for grown-ups, but way cooler.
With interchangeable blocks that bolt together, brands and rights-holders can create anything from a cozy pop-up shop to a jaw-dropping multi-level structure. (Check out the video here or by clicking the image below)
You may have come across Groblox before without knowing it.
Its structures have already been used by top brands and agencies - here are some worth noticing:
Asahi Super Dry at Australian Turf Club / Royal Randwick Racecourse
Haier x Australian Open (via Twenty Sport & Entertainment)
Check out the video here
LIV Golf Adelaide 2025 (via 54 Agency)
Waterdrop at the Australian Open (via Twenty3 Sport & Entertainment)
Check out the video here
Mecca Max Beauty Pit Stop at Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix 2025
Why are Groblox’s branded structures such a great way to activate a sponsorship at a major sports event?
Groblox’s branded structures can help with:
1. Brand Awareness: Act as a giant, high-impact billboard for the hundreds of thousands of fans attending major sports events (at a minimum). These structures and sponsorship activations are often amplified via broadcast integrations and social media, further enhancing reach.
2. Brand Consideration, Preference & Loyalty: Provide a platform for brands to deliver deeper, positive experiences which can help make your brand more memorable, and help build stronger associations between your brand and the sports they love (which can make fans want to purchase from you down the track)
3. Lead Generation & Conversion: Provide a vehicle to sell, sample and/or distribute products such as water (Waterdrop), beer (Asahi Super Dry), cosmetics (Mecca), electronics (Haier), technology etc.
Why should you partner with Groblox on your next sponsorship activation project?
Groblox has been engineered in response to what brands, agencies and rights-holders were asking for:
Competitive Pricing - Budgets aren’t growing, expectations are. The industry is asking for partners who understand how to deliver at scale, without inflating costs at every step. Groblox helps you deliver this.
Australian Made with Operations Australia-wide - local production and full supply chain visibility ensures every block is made with care, compliance, and conscience.
Bigger Builds, More Freedom - Its block is the tallest in-market and double blocks are deeper and wider, meaning fewer columns, no cross bracing, and more creative freedom.
Fully Scaleable - From a single block to multi-storey builds, Groblox grows with your vision, whether it’s a small but punchy activation or a full-scale setup at the Australian Open or Formula One.
Sustainability - It’s 100% reusable structures offer a smarter, cleaner alternative to traditional building methods.
Groblox is Powered by Grove Group, the largest privately owned producer of modular buildings in Australia which has been operating for 25+ years across everything from construction sites, large-scale government schools, hospitals and residential developments to small-but-mighty shop fit-outs.
Moving forward
If you haven’t already come across any of Groblox’s structures, it’s likely you will in the near future. Groblox is on a mission to work with brands, agencies and rights-holders who want to push the envelope and build standout experiences.
Want to know more?
Accent Group - Community Specialist - HOKA (VIC)
Amer Sports - Retail Marketing Manager
ASICS - Retail Marketing Executive
AusCycling - Head of Events (Road and ESport)
Australia Post - Community Relations and Partnerships Manager
Australian Sports Commission - Project Officer
Basketball Victoria - Marketing Coordinator
Bastion - Strategic Partnerships Manager
Brisbane Broncos - Head of Community Partnerships & Government Relations
Carlton FC - Video Producer
Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs - Events Coordinator
Chemist Warehouse - Partnerships Manager
Delaware North - Senior Manager Innovation, Marvel Stadium
Foxtel Group - Digital Video Producer – Fox Sports (Casual)
Gold Coast SUNS - Digital Content & Engagement Manager
Gold Coast SUNS - Media & Communications Manager
Golf Australia - Marketing Automation Lead
Golf Australia - Strategic Communications Manager
Hawthorn FC - Design Manager
HOKA - Marketing Lead
Invictus Australia - Corporate Partnership Manager
ISC Sport - Marketing & Digital Executive
Isuzu UTE Australia - Partnership Coordinator
M+C Saatchi Sport + Entertainment - Partnerships Account Director
New Balance - Key Account Marketing Specialist
New Balance - Sports Brand Marketing Coordinator
Newcastle Knights - Corporate Hospitality Executive
Octagon - Account Director - Integrated Creative Campaigns & Events
Octagon - Executive Creative Director
Octagon - Senior Account Executive
OpenBet - Sports Trader Analyst
Queensland Academy of Sport - Chief Executive Officer
Queensland Academy of Sport - Head of Communications and Media
Red Bull - Field Marketing Specialist, Sport
Rowing Tasmania - Chief Executive Officer
Running Warehouse - Marketing Manager
Sportsbet - Campaign Lead - Premium
Sportsbet - Internal Communications Manager
Sportsbet - Marketing Compliance Specialist
Sportsbet - Performance Marketing Specialist (Apps)
Sports Entertainment Network - Senior Events Manager
Supercars - Event Marketing Manager - Fixed Term Contract
Tabcorp - Sponsorship & Events Manager (NSW/ACT)
Tennis Australia - Media Sales Coordinator
Tennis Australia - New Partnerships Lead
Tennis Australia - Precinct Operations Lead
THE ICONIC - Head of Sports
Trek Bicycle - Marketing Manager
Two Circles - Digital Insights Manager
Two Circles - Sponsorship Sales Lead
Two Circles - Sport Web Producer
Victorian Institute of Sport - Public Affairs & Marketing Manager
Volleyball Australia - Marketing, Communications & Community Engagement Specialist
World Rugby - Senior Manager - Team Services (Men's RWC 2027)
World Rugby - Senior Program Manager
YouGov - Senior Research Manager, Sport
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.