Written by We Are Social U.S. Director of Sport, Jas Dhami
There’s no question that the power of sport is unrivaled. Sport has long had the ability to unite seemingly disparate groups, influence culture and inspire belief in the impossible.
But while its power has never waivered, the game is changing.
The rapid evolution of social, along with the disruption of the pandemic, has transformed the nature of sports and fandom forever. Where the traditional model of fandom was previously centralized around live events and broadcasts, sports consumers are going digital — developing highly engaged online communities to drive deeper connections with each other, as well as their favorite athletes and teams.
Over the past four years, our global network, led by our colleagues in the U.K., have been building a specialized sport offering, working with some of the biggest names in the industry to rewrite the rules of sports marketing.
But with the largest sports market share in the world, it was time we built that specialized offering in North America.
We launched We Are Social Sport in the U.S. to address the changing landscape of sport and the key challenges sport brands and marketers face today: How to navigate the ever changing and expanding digital landscape and consumption of sports content; how to exploit new technology to enhance your marketing communications; and, how to engage with the next generation of fans – a generation that is quickly turning away from traditional sports.
To mark our launch in the U.S., we brought the New York sport community together – from publishers, brands and rights holders to athletes and creators – to celebrate our work and discuss these very challenges. Joined by our partners – Rawan Eewshah, Senior Director of Social at Major League Soccer, Nandy Misir, Brand Marketing Lead at EA Sports FIFA, and Tyler Stewart, VP of Brand and Experience at Bleacher Report – we led a panel discussion dissecting Gen Z and the Future of Sports Fandom.
As the next generation of sports fans, Gen Z are crucial to our industry and the future of sports, but they demand more than the generations before them.
We Are Social Sport understands how culture, technology and consumer behavior intersect around your sport to produce award winning creative solutions that address these challenges head-on.
How do we do that?
With a team of sports-obsessed researchers, strategists, creatives and producers whose innate passion and understanding of the space and the nuances of each sport and their community allow us to tackle this challenge with agility to offer social-first sports marketing at the speed of culture.
I feel incredibly honored and excited to lead this growing team in the U.S. Over the past twelve months, we’ve produced campaigns for the likes of Major League Soccer (Our Soccer Collective), EA SPORTS FIFA (Ratings Reveal Campaign + Holiday Newsstand Activation), and Under Armour (#FlowStateChallenge).
But, we’re just getting started.
We’re here to explore, innovate and evolve. To partner with athletes and creators at the heart of culture to bring fans closer to the action. To lean into the rise of esports and Web3 to produce new fan experiences. We’re here to change the game.
To find out how We Are Social Sport could work with your brand, contact us here.
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