LIV Golf takes over town, the iconic "shoey", an in-stadium activation goes right, eye-catching sponsorship activation
Today’s lineup:
LIV Golf takes over town
When an in-stadium activation goes right
A simple, but eye-catching execution from Pirate Life Brewing to announce their 2024 LIV Golf Adelaide partnership
The "Shoey" has become so iconic at LIV Golf, and its popularity has organically sparked a highly-valuable new sponsorship
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.
TAFE Queensland partnered with the Brisbane Lions to create the Brisbane Lions Institute of Business & Sport program that will offer a double Diploma of Sport and Diploma of Leadership & Management
Cadbury extended its partnership with Rugby Australia to become the principal partner of the Wallaroos for the next 6 years, through to Australia’s home Rugby World Cup in 2029
Crown renewed their partnerships with West Coast and Fremantle, and announced a new one with the GWS Giants
The NBA announced that Australia ranked no.1 globally (outside of the US) for NBA League Pass viewership, watch hours and League Pass subscriptions for the 2023-24 season
Old El Paso announced its team of athlete ambassadors ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics that includes Logan Martin, Mackenzie Arnold and Patty Mills
NIB extended their joint-major partnership with Richmond FC to include the Tigers’ wheelchair team for the 2024 season
The WSL announced the return of Snapper Rocks to the WSL Championship Tour schedule in 2025, thanks to a 4-year deal with City of Gold Coast and Tourism and Events Queensland
URBNSURF announced it’s opening its new 3.6-hectare wave park in Sydney on May 13
Nature valley extended their AFLW co-major partnership with Hawthorn through a new multi-year partnership
Football Australia announced QLD, NSW and WA as the proposed states to host the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which is estimated to generate $260m in economic impact
Liz Ellis was appointed to the Netball Australia Board as a Director
F45 launched FS8, a program that combines pilates and yoga into a 45 min workout
Portland Trailblazer and Australian Boomer star Duop Reath paid a visit to the Fremantle Dockers
Optus Stadium launched a permanent sensory room for individuals with sensory sensitivities, following trials held by the Purple Hands Foundation and Fremantle Dockers, and feedback from a Dockers member
Cricket Australia launched a 10-year plan that aims to drive growth in women’s cricket via a shorter WBBL and new state-based T20 comp, along with $121m in revenue by 2034
KOJO acquired Prince PR, a boutique sports and entertainment consultancy
The Daily Aus announced the launch of a new sports newsletter
A record-breaking crowd of 94,000 fans attended Adelaide’s recent LIV Golf tournament
The NFL announced it will open an NFL Academy in September 2024 at A.B. Paterson College in the Gold Coast as part of efforts to develop new pathways for international talent
"What LIV Golf will get from the SA Government and the SA people is a sense that this tournament takes over the town and the state."
Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia, via TikTok
Adelaide just hosted another successful LIV Golf tournament, where the fans showed up, and the city and its key stakeholders got behind the major sports event to help deliver the LIV Golf city-takeover that was promised by the Premier.
Similar to AFL Gather round that the state hosted only weeks earlier, the LIV Golf experience extended well outside of the playing arena, and festivities were expanded across the entire city via:
A welcome party
Outdoor advertising
Cross promotions
Player appearances
Brand activations
Business lunches
The SA Government are showing an appetite to build its economy and profile through a growing major sports event portfolio, and it’s using its small population as a competitive advantage – to create a city takeover vibe, that is much harder to achieve in bigger cities.
Fueled by the state’s $40m Major events fund, the aim of investment in major sports events it to:
Drive economic growth
Underpin confidence amongst businesses & consumers
Make SA a more attractive place to live, work, visit and invest
The strategy appears to be working:
The Commonwealth Bank just ranked the SA economy as the number 1 performing economy in Australia (ahead of WA & VIC) for the 2nd quarter in a row - This is a status SA has never achieved before and the Premier appears to be attributing this feat to its increasing commitment to its major sports event ventures
LIV Golf 2023’s inaugural event in Adelaide attracted 77,000+ attendees, and contributed $65 million to the SA economy
Golf tourism is lucrative - the average domestic and international golf traveller spends significantly more per trip than non-golf travellers in Australia
Although the economic impact is often the key measurement of success, it's recognised by Peter Malinauskas that the benefit goes far beyond this...
“The real power with these events, comes from having the international media, and the national media all training their focus on our city and our state” - Peter Malinauskas, Premier of South Australia, via TikTok
In 2023, 276 million households in 69 countries were able to watch the broadcast of the event
The world’s top golfers have millions of social media followers and often post organically about their unique Australian experiences
The LIV Golf Tournament event is a “breakthrough” tournament and SA are trying to breakthrough.
LIV Golf Adelaide's success has been noticed by other states...
QLD and WA have reportedly put forward aggressive bids for LIV to expand in Australia, but LIV Golf CEO, Greg Norman says he's rewarding SA’s initial risk and has declared that Adelaide will be the sole host of the event in the foreseeable future.
When an in-stadium activation goes right...
Last weekend LIV Golf's Henrik Stenson hit a "hole in one" to a win a random Port Adelaide FC member a new MG car, valued at $18,990.
Match day activations like this are an effective way to activate a sports sponsorship for multiple reasons:
Competitions with such large headline prizes such as "Win a car" grab people's attention
Reach is generated in the lead up through pre-promotion
Fans within the seating bowl have minimal distractions so become easily engaged
Reach is often amplified if the participant achieves the highly-unlikely successful outcome
The above video from the match day announcer, Jarrod Walsh quickly went viral across social media and was amplified further when Port Adelaide released the footage from stadium presentation on their Instagram.
This activation is a win-win-win for:
The fan (new car)
The team (fan engagement & happy sponsor)
The brand (activation & exposure)
Although MG are giving away a valuable prize and likely encountering a loss, brands are often able to limit their potential losses by employing specialist promotional agencies and insurance to reduce prize redemption risks.
A simple, but eye-catching execution from Pirate Life Brewing to announce their 2024 LIV Golf Adelaide partnership in the lead up to the tournament...
Located in the heart of Adelaide, Rundle Mall is the longest and one of the busiest malls in Australia.
The Spheres aka 'Mall's Balls' is Rundle Mall's most iconic feature - they feature in the Rundle Mall logo, and they're synonymous with Adelaide.
As a beer brand founded locally in Adelaide, Pirate Life created their own set of balls on Instagram to honour their local roots, and mark their return as the Official Beer Partner of the LIV Golf Adelaide tournament.
To activate their sponsorship at the course, they served fans a special LIV Golf x Pirate Life collab beer - The dimpled can resembled a golf ball and the beer was brewed specifically for the event.
No doubt a number of these ended up being consumed via a shoey…
The "Shoey" has become so iconic at LIV Golf, and its popularity has organically sparked a highly-valuable new sponsorship.
Best-known as a superstar DJ, FISHER is also the co-founder of HardFizz - an alcoholic seltzer brand that was launched in 2020 with the support of 40+ investors who privately raised $4m.
During last year's tournament, FISHER made global headlines when he challenged Cam Smith to do a shoey at the Watering Hole (which he declined) and then again at the afterparty during his DJ set (which he accepted).
Off the back of this unplanned PR stunt and the massive coverage it received, Hard FIZZ became the official alcoholic supplier of the tournament and this year FISHER is back at it again, this time with a Hard FIZZ-branded shoe.
So far, his 2 x shoey-themed video's on Instagram have had 1.5m+ views each, and his branded shoe's have been embraced by golf fans.
FISHER + Hard FIZZ's partnership with LIV Golf delivers a massive value exchange
FISHER is hugely popular among young audiences, and his association, presence and massive social media following helps expose LIV Golf to a non-traditional audience, and delivers a highly-differentiated golfing experience
Hard FIZZ has quickly become one of the largest seltzer brands in Australia but it's been built almost entirely on social media - Their new sponsorship with LIV Golf can help further fuel its growth by introducing the brand to a new local & global audience
The partnership is the perfect platform to put Hard FIZZ cans in people's hands - 30,000 cans of Hard Fizz were expected to be sold at the tournament, and they've also teamed up teamed up with Coles Liquor (tournament partner) to stock 500,000 across their Australian shelves
Australian Football League - Growth & Engagement Lead - NT
Aware Super - Sponsorship Lead
Aligned Leisure - Manager, Stadiums
AusCycling - Head of Events (Mountain Bike and CX)
Bastion - Strategic Partnerships Lead - National Football League (Secondment)
Brisbane Bullets - Corporate Hospitality Manager
Bursty - Account Director
Carlton FC - Commercial Business Connector
Fanatics - Senior Licensing Manager
Football Australia - Digital Content Lead - Men's Football and Competitions
Football Australia - General Manager - Procurement & Contract Management
Golf Australia - Head of Women & Girls Engagement
Hawthorn FC - Match Day and Marketing Coordinator
Melbourne Storm - Retail & Merchandise Manager
MKTG Sports + Entertainment - Business Development Manager - Sports Media
MKTG Sports + Entertainment - Senior Event Manager
National Basketball League - User Experience Designer
National Rugby League - Grant & Policy Manager
Netball Australia - Events Manager
North Melbourne FC - Marketing Manager
Penrith Panthers - Foundation & Community Executive
Perth Glory - Events Manager
Red Bull - Sports Event Manager
Richmond FC - Marketing Manager
Softball Australia - National Marketing & Growth Manager
Sportsbet - Digital Product Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - Senior Partnership Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - National Sponsorship Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - Commercial Manager
Stan - Sports Programmer - Olympics
Supercars - Partnerships Manager
Tennis Australia - Communications Coordinator
Tennis Australia - Marketing & Inclusion Manager
Tennis Australia - Senior Digital Product Manager
Victoria Racing Club - Senior Sales Executive
Western Bulldogs - Commercial Partnerships Manager
Western Bulldogs - Business Development Executive
Wests Tigers - Head of Consumer
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.