What Australian Sports can learn from Amazon
How the Flywheel concept can be applied to sports
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Melbourne Victory FC welcomed Skechers as their Official Footwear Partner who will supply players and coaching staff with football boots and sneakers for for the 2024/25 A-Leagues season
Australian superannuation and investment platform Superhero entered into new multi-year partnerships covering the 2025 – 2027 seasons with the Sydney Swans and Hawthorn FC
IRONMAN Group announced that Garmin extended its title partnership of the Noosa Triathlon for a further 3 years
ASICS extended its long-standing partnership with Events Management Queensland, securing naming rights for the Gold Coast Marathon until 2032
GWS GIANTS announce a new 5-year partnership with New Balance and Belgravia Sports Apparel
Touch Football Australia announced a 4-year partnership with New Balance who will supply high-performance apparel, footwear, and merchandise for participants and supporters
SipEnergy inked a new 1 year partnership with Sydney FC which will see the solar energy company feature on the back-of-shorts, and install solar panels at the Club’s state-of-the-art Sky Park
Baskin-Robbins marked its first collaboration with a sporting organisation in Australia, signing a new deal with the Queensland Firebirds
CG FinTech was announced as Front-of-Shirt Sponsor for Adelaide United Men’s Away Shirt for the 2024/25 Season
The A-Leagues released images of plans for its Unite Round Fan Zone, a buzzing hub of entertainment, activities, and football fever!
Netball Australia partnered with Gemba to help shape a bold and transformative 10-year strategy for the sport
NBL continues to rise in Australia - The NBL25 season is currently experiencing an increase of 34% on average audience on ESPN
TAB hosted NFL legend Marshawn Lynch and NBA royalty Clyde Drexler at the Melbourne Cup
IDA Sports, an Australian women’s football boot startup, raised $2M in a round led by Kynisca, an organization devoted to investing in women’s sports across the globe
Former Richmond FC Captain Trent Cotchin launched a new podcast that aims to dive into the stories & journeys behind some of Australia’s greatest athletes post retirement
Australian Olympic boxer and Grill’d ambassador Harry Garside got behind the counter to serve customers using a baby voice as part part of an uncomfortable challenge
The Sydney Marathon became just the 7th marathon in the world to become an Abbott World Marathon Major joining Boston, Chicago, New York, Berlin, Tokyo and London
SBS announced FIFA+ for SBS On Demand, a new, free ad-supported streaming TV channel offering audiences a curated mix of premium soccer content
What Australian Sports can learn from Amazon
Amazon, the Flywheel, sports
Amazon has grown from an online bookstore into one of the world’s most valuable companies, and Jim Collins’ flywheel concept has been a successful framework adopted by the tech giant during its remarkable growth period over recent decades.
Sports can learn from business - In a similar way, sports can draw inspiration from Amazon, and utilise the flywheel framework to support growth.
What is the Flywheel?
It’s a concept that describes how businesses achieve momentum through a series of strategic, reinforcing actions that create a compounding effect over time.
The idea is based on the metaphor of a heavy flywheel: at first, it takes significant effort to move, but as you keep pushing, it begins to spin faster with less effort due to the cumulative energy. In a business context, this means that by consistently focusing on the right actions, each step adds to the momentum, eventually leading to breakthrough performance. The flywheel emphasises patience, discipline, and alignment of small, consistent actions that together drive lasting growth.
One of the most famous examples of the Flywheel is the one developed by Amazon
In 2001, Jim Collins was invited to a small company in Seattle called Amazon.com.
He was invited to share the ideas of his book “Good To Great” which included his Flywheel concept.
At this point in time it wasn’t clear if Amazon would survive as it was just after the .com crash, but after the presentation they took the Flywheel concept and made the Amazon flywheel.
Amazon’s success since then needs no further explaining.
How can the flywheel be applied to sports?
The Flywheel concept can be applied to sports, and visualised in a similar way - as a cycle where each element builds on the momentum of the previous step, generating a self-sustaining and compounding effect over time.
1. Fan engagement and participation
E.g. Grassroots participation, attendance, broadcast viewership, digital media engagement
Begin by strengthening fan engagement through experiences, content, and interactions that make fans feel valued and connected. Ensure access is widely distributed, convenient and barriers are low. This foundational relationship sparks interest and nurtures loyalty.
2. Traditional revenue streams
E.g. Ticket sales, memberships, merchandise, corporate hospitality, sponsorships, broadcast rights etc.
As fan engagement grows, traditional revenue streams naturally increase due to the higher level of fan participation and enthusiasm towards athletes, teams, leagues and sports in general.
3. Investment in non-traditional revenue Streams
E.g. Property investment & development, investment funds, incubators and accelerators, education programs etc.
With improved revenue from traditional sources, sports organisations can reinvest in innovative, non-traditional revenue streams. These new channels help to diversify income and reduce dependency on traditional sources.
4. Commercial revenue
Enhanced fan engagement and diversified revenue streams strengthen balance sheets and the overarching financial position.
5. Athlete performance investment
As commercial revenue grows, the organisation can invest in things like better players, facilities, and more training & support staff, enhancing the team’s competitiveness and appeal.
6. Improved athlete performance
This investment results in improved athlete performance, building excitement and optimism around the team’s potential.
7. Increase fan affinity
As the team’s success and popularity grow, fan affinity improves, making the team a preferred choice, which attracts new fans, greater loyalty and fandom in general.
8. Fan acquisition Initiatives
Leveraging this momentum, sports can invest in fan acquisition initiatives to bring in new fans.
The cycle repeats
Back to Fan Engagement – New fans are brought into the community, which helps fuel the cycle and build more momentum to help the flywheel to turn faster and stronger.
Over time, each part of this flywheel drives the next, creating a powerful, compounding effect that fuels sustained success and growth.
Things to know about the Flywheel
Growth is achieved not through one big push or breakthrough, but through consistent, disciplined effort over time, much like pushing a heavy flywheel.
Initial effort is hard: At first, pushing the flywheel is slow and requires a lot of effort - Growth feels like it's moving incrementally
Consistent pushes build momentum: With persistent effort, small successes accumulate - Each push adds more momentum, and the flywheel begins to turn faster with less effort
No single defining moment: There's no single action or decision that causes a breakthrough - Success comes from the cumulative effect of many small, well-executed steps
Momentum leads to breakthrough: Eventually, the flywheel is spinning so fast that its own momentum helps drive things forward, making it difficult to stop and easier to sustain progress
Positive feedback loop: As the flywheel picks up speed, it attracts more resources, customer loyalty, and internal confidence, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of growth
Warning: The Doom Loop
The Doom Loop is the opposite of the Flywheel’s positive cycle. Instead of positive momentum, it’s characterised by a vicious cycle of missteps and responses that creates negative momentum and works against a sports’ long-term success and stability.
Want to know more about the Flywheel?
Ironically, you can purchase the book on Amazon.
AFL - Senior Events Executive
Amazon Web Services - Account Manager, Media, Entertainment, Gaming and Sports
Bastion - Group Client Director
Bellroy - Partnerships Specialist
Bet365 - Brand Manager
Brisbane 2032 - Head of Government Relations
Cricket ACT - Business Development Manager
Cricket NSW - Venue Business Development Manager
Delaware North - Manager Marketing, MCG (MCG Events)
Easygo - Sponsorship Esports Lead
ESPN - Client & Brand Solutions Executive - 12 month contract
ESPN - Senior Sales Manager
Foot Locker - Digital Content Coordinator
Foot Locker - Digital Operations Manager
Foxtel Group - Engagement Campaign Specialist – Kayo Sports BINGE
Foxtel Group - Marketing Manager - Main Event
Foxtel Group - Sports Screens Coordinator
Fremantle Dockers - Executive General Manager of Commercial
Gold Coast SUNS - Social Media Coordinator
GWS Giants - Head of Marketing & Experience (8 Months contract)
GWS Giants - Marketing Coordinator
Hawthorn FC - Community Programs Manager
JD Sports - Business Analyst
KOJO - Account Director
Manchester City FC - Senior Program Manager - Partner Schools, Australia
Melbourne & Olympic Parks - Marketing Campaign Advisor
Melbourne Victory FC - Head of Media & Communications
Netball Australia - Events Coordinator
Netball Victoria - Data & Insights Manager
Netball Victoria - Events & Engagement Specialist
Nike - Senior Manager, Digital Operations, Digital Commerce Pacific
Northern Territory Cricket - Head of Events, Communications and Marketing
Optus Stadium - Senior Events Manager
Pepperstone - Brand and Sponsorship Coordinator
Racing Queensland - Partnerships and Development Advisor
Seven West Media - Head of Club Relations
Sport NSW - Advocacy and Communications Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - Group Partnership Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - Partnership Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - Partnership Manager (Melbourne)
Sports Entertainment Network - Partnerships Coordinator
St Kilda FC - Community Participation Lead
Stan. - PR Lead - Sport
Sweat - Digital Marketing Manger
Tasmania Academy of Leadership & Sport - Educator - Tasmania Academy of Leadership and Sport
Tennis Australia - CRM Coordinator
Tennis Australia - Junior Commercial Analyst
Tennis Australia - Media Rights Project Support
TGI Sport - Account Executive (Media Talent)
Two Circles - Sponsorship Sales Executive
Under Armour - Senior Professional, Visual Merchandising
West Coast Eagles - General Manager Brand, Marketing and Digital Growth
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.