International marketing network Stagwell challenged us to cement their brand as a leading and innovative marketing group on a global stage. They wanted to bring together marketers, brand partners, agencies and athletes for an experience beyond the expected — something totally different from the usual cabana-style beach activations at Lions.
Together, our teams galvanised sport and fandom to curate Sport Beach–an experience that broke the typical networking mould and saw business born out of play. After overwhelming success, Sport Beach returned to Lions for a second year; bigger, better, and bolder than before.
Welcome to Sport Beach.
Our Approach
Sport is a universal language.
Play has a unique ability to disarm the audience.
Those were the guiding principles behind Sport Beach.
Building on the year-on-year success of 2023, our unique activation brought fans out of the stands and into the game itself to break down barriers and build long-lasting partnerships right there, on the court.
C-suite marketers could be found playing ball with NBA stars whilst A-list delegates worked out alongside NFL legends. On and off the court strangers became teammates, allowing brands and athletes to team up like never before.
The relaxed, open atmosphere inside Sport Beach made the experience even more enticing for a busy Lions audience. From open spaces created with co-working and networking in mind, to sponsored booths dedicated to business deals, every inch of Sport Beach was optimised to improve interactions.
More sports. More athletes.
A sponsored climbing wall.
A week-long workout programme.
Onsite podcast studios (two… for good measure)
A beer and wine festival.
A sunset networking deck.
A sea view business lounge.
Three seated dinners.
A Euros fanzone.
An NBA-regulation basketball court
+ more.
Content was at the forefront of design, from the podcast studios overhanging the basketball court, to the main stage hosting industry leading talks about marketing, sport and the intersection of the two.
Speakers included; NFL players Travis and Jason Kelce, former NBA player and household name Carmelo Anthony, former soccer star Roberto Carlos, former WNBA star Sue Bird, all-star rock climber Alex Honnold, and Golden State Warriors Draymond Green.
Across the week, Sport Beach transformed from day– to play– to night. VIP guests enjoyed sponsored dinner on the court, joined by the sports stars they’d played alongside earlier that day.
The Impact
Ad World is tired of rose-fuelled networking events. The ripple effects of a different kind of experience saw an unprecedented level of traffic on the registration site, with programming oversubscribed all week. Meanwhile, onlookers lined up outside the beach to try and catch a sneak peek.
Guests came and did not leave.
From golf to beach football and back again, the daily two-hour open play slot was so popular it had to be extended to meet demand. We even created an eSports nook for the gaming fans — play extends beyond a court!
The stadium became the epicenter of culture-driving conversation and brand partnership at Lions; a total slam dunk for Stagwell and one of our most successful brand experiences to date.
The Hot Facts
- 6.4 Billion earned media impressions.
- 7,434 Guests attended the event, making Sport Beach the epicentre of the Cannes Lions Festival.
- Over 160+ content studio interviews were conducted onsite, with 32 additional main stage panels celebrating 170+ speakers.
- 30 top athletes were featured across the week, drawing significant audience and media attention and adding star power to the event.
‘Sport Beach exceeded expectations and the general consensus is that we ‘won’ Cannes. In many ways, that is down to Cheerful Twentyfirst.’
—Chief Brand and Communications Officer, Stagwell.
‘Good vibes, good people, good wine.’
—Carmelo Anthony via Instagram.
