In an age of fractured attention and algorithm-driven consumption, sports remain a rare bastion of live, unfiltered engagement. From courtside cameos to co-branded campaigns, marketers across sectors are seizing the moment not just to sell, but to belong.

At The Lead Summit, a panel of brand leaders gathered to unpack how sports partnerships are evolving from logo slaps to cultural touchpoints. The discussion, featuring senior voices from New Balance, Nuna, and Veronica Beard, made one thing clear: in a world of scroll fatigue, sports are still sticky.

Disruption Is a Discipline

Tracy Knauer, VP of Marketing at New Balance, recounted how the brand has evolved from having “no athlete sponsorships” to building one of the most discerning portfolios in sport. “We never aimed to be the biggest,” she said. “We want to be the most intentional.” Partnerships, she added, are not transactional, they’re familial. If a prospective athlete can’t embody the brand’s values, the deal doesn’t close.

Rachel Goldflam, former SVP at Veronica Beard and incoming CMO at an undisclosed brand, echoed that sentiment from a fashion lens. For her, relevance is not about chasing mass but understanding context: “What does the American woman want from her apparel when she’s at a game, heading to the office, or dropping her kids at school?” Recent collaborations with Head Tennis and influencer-athletes are aimed at bridging style and functionality, a quiet revolution from “jersey culture” to polished game-day aesthetics.

The Taylor Swift Effect and Other Culture Collisions

The panel wasted no time invoking Taylor Swift’s NFL appearances, not as pop trivia but as a marker of shifting demographics. “We saw a 50% female viewership spike,” said Goldflam. That data point catalyzed Veronica Beard’s pivot into elevated fanwear, meeting demand for styles that play on and off the field.

The takeaway? Culture is no longer adjacent to sport. It’s embedded.

That universe is becoming more complex. Young athletes are now accessible from their teenage years, thanks to NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals. Brands like New Balance see that as an opportunity not to capitalize early, but to build mutual understanding before stardom reshapes priorities.

Beware the “Unsubscribe Event”

Not every collaboration lands. “If the partnership feels forced, the audience notices,” Hodges warned. “It’s like a bad unsubscribe moment they breathe it in.”

Successful integrations aren’t about reach. They’re about resonance. From luxury-level athlete wardrobes to co-branded bagel drops with NFL teams, the best campaigns, the panel agreed, feel less like marketing and more like memory-making.

That requires rigor. “We have internal frameworks for evaluating partnerships,” said Knauer. “You need to know what you’re trying to achieve brand affinity, access, emotional impact and be ready to walk away if the fit isn’t there.”

Goldflam added a cautionary tale: a past executive once scrapped a thriving sports initiative, only for the company to relaunch a similar strategy a year later. “People forget that athletes are influencers too,” she said. “And they come with a whole ecosystem of fans, creators, and culture-makers.”

Emotional ROI

Ultimately, sports marketing isn’t about impressions. It’s about imprinting.

The best moments, on field or on feed, evoke something deeper. As Hodges reflected on a moment from his Portland youth, watching a star athlete fall just feet from him, he revealed the tension at the heart of the business: “I didn’t feel anything. I was too busy worrying whether he wore the right shoes.”

That, perhaps, is the final lesson: don’t let the mechanics of the partnership dilute the magic. “Let your team be fans,” he urged. “Let your consumers be fans. That’s where the real connection lives.”

🍷 Join Us for Drinks Tomorrow

ClickZ is hosting an exclusive drinks gathering tomorrow evening to close out The Lead Summit—and we’d love to see you there.

We’re bringing together some of the smartest minds in commerce for one evening of sharp conversation and good wine in NYC’s FiDi district.

If you're serious about what’s coming next in commerce, this is where you’ll want to be.

Spots are limited, grab yours below.

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