Influencer Marketing Hub sets itself apart from conventional review platforms through the involvement of Digital Marketing experts such as Werner Geyser, Djanan Kasumovic, Camille Kennedy, Dave Eagle, and other notable industry figures. This expert team brings a profound understanding of the Digital Marketing landscape, assessing tools and platforms with an insider’s perspective on capabilities, experience, and industry acumen. Unlike user-generated review platforms, Influencer Marketing Hub’s evaluations are rooted in extensive firsthand experience and direct interactions with the tools and platforms in question. This ensures that the reviews are not only trustworthy but also deeply informed. High-caliber brands like Viral Nation, SmartSites, and Disruptive Advertising undergo rigorous monthly evaluations, highlighting the platform’s commitment to identifying and showcasing top-tier solutions in Digital Marketing and beyond.
Influencer Marketing Hub has consistently been recognized by leading media outlets for our authoritative data, findings, and insights within the Digital Marketing landscape. Our platform is frequently cited as a trusted source of information, demonstrating the value and impact of our work in shaping industry standards and practices.
Influencer Marketing Hub employs an expert-driven methodology to evaluate Digital Marketing agencies, ensuring that our recommendations are both reliable and comprehensive. This approach is designed to help businesses and individuals find the best agencies to meet their specific Digital Marketing needs. Here’s how we assess the various agencies like Viral Nation, SmartSites, and Disruptive Advertising:
For as long as pro sports and marketing have existed simultaneously, they’ve been a pretty inseparable pair. One of the first examples of this dates back to the 1870s when tobacco companies would include a baseball card in each pack of cigarettes sold. Wheaties put its first pro on a box of cereal in 1934, and if you played in some kind of junior league as a kid, chances are your team was sponsored by a local business only too happy to throw their logo onto the uniforms of children.
We are now in the age of influencer marketing and the sports/marketing link is as strong as ever, giving brands (from sports teams to equipment makers to sports-adjacent businesses) more ways to connect with fans.
Traditional advertising can often seem intrusive, but influencer marketing embeds brand messages within the influencer's personal content, making it feel more organic. We’re thinking of Nike's #BetterForIt campaign, which aimed to motivate women to be more active. The campaign featured a series of humorous and relatable videos starring social media influencers and everyday athletes sharing their fitness experience.
Sometimes the athletes themselves are the influencers: Red Bull’s campaign with extreme sports athlete snowboarder Travis Rice involved creating a visually stunning video series that highlighted his skills in order to promote the energy drink. This content entertains, for sure, but more importantly: it aligns perfectly with Red Bull’s brand image of high energy and adventure.
If this sounds like a lot more than the “Anyone can do it” style of marketing that most people associate with influencer marketing, that’s because it is. The most effective influencer marketing campaigns are typically handled by professional marketing agencies that have the expertise, tools, and industry connections to maximize impact.
These agencies understand how to strategically select influencers, create compelling content, and measure the success of campaigns to ensure brands achieve their marketing goals.
Top Sports Marketing Agencies to Check Out
In this post, we explore the top sports marketing agencies and showcase their strengths, as well as shed light on some fascinating facts and statistics related to sports marketing. Whether you're an athlete, a team, or a brand looking to make a mark in the sports industry, we equip you with the knowledge to make informed decisions and forge successful partnerships.
1. Viral Nation
Viral Nation is a powerhouse in the influencer marketing world, especially for large brands and enterprises across the United States and Canada. They’ve received numerous accolades, including the SXSW 2024 Innovation Award for their AI-powered brand safety solution, VNSecure.
Deloitte Technology named the agency one of the fastest-growing companies in North America and put it on their Fast 500 list. Led by founders Joe Gagliese and Mat Micheli, the agency has over 500 staff members and a reputation as a leader and innovator.
It was no surprise, then, that in September of 2021, they announced the creation of VN Sports, a dedicated division of the agency. A significant part of Viral Nation’s success has always been their talent agency, which represents over 900 diverse creators across 35 verticals. For VN Sports, repping talent is key to their service, and they’ve gone after the many up-and-coming sports stars embracing digital platforms.
Viral Nation’s roster was already impressive, and VN Sports shines—especially after the NCAA’s 2021 policy change allowing collegiate athletes to engage in brand partnerships. The agency’s influence in the sports world was bolstered by recent signings in 2023 and 2024, featuring college athletes transitioning to full-time content creators.
Among these are Division II basketball player Carlos “Famous Los” Sanford (aka Da Funny Sports Analyst), Canadian tennis player Ayan Broomfield, and basketball trainer Devin “In the Lab” Williams.
Another notable addition to their roster in early 2023 was Dalton Chandler, a baseball icon with a strong social media following. With over 916,200 followers on TikTok and 263,000 on Instagram, Chandler is a prime example of how Viral Nation leverages influencer engagement to connect brands with large, dedicated audiences.
In 2023, all these pieces came together when they announced a collaboration with the Harlem Globetrotters aimed at expanding their digital presence and connecting with new audiences. The Globetrotters are a legendary organization fusing sports and entertainment, and VN Sports does the same.
This partnership involves creating original digital content for the Globetrotters’ social media accounts, including YouTube and TikTok and has been a passion project for the agency, allowing them to connect personally with the players. It doesn’t hurt that all of this solidifies Viral Nation as a premiere influencer marketing agency in the sports world.
But Viral Nation doesn’t just connect brands and athletes—sometimes the athletes are the brand. MLB Stars Mookie Betts is a recent notable client, launching his own YouTube channel under the guidance of Viral Nation’s Creator Studio. This came on the heels of their acquisition of Eight Seven Media, a content creation studio with a focus on serving pro athletes.
Notable Sports Campaign
One of Viral Nation’s most talked about campaigns is the one they did for the Chinese multinational Tencent—maybe because this is the one that launched VN as a presence in the sports world.
Promoting Tencent’s new 4×4 Death Match format for their popular multiplayer online game, PUBG, Viral Nation recruited NBA stars De’Aaron Fox, Zach LaVine, and Andre Drummond to participate in a four part web series where they competed against members of the esports organization FaZe Clan, along with PUBG content creators and superfans to round out the competition.
They dubbed the project the “PUBG Superstar Showdown” and exceeded their KPI goals by 35%, with more than 42 million impressions and 9 million views.
Viral Nation
The Global Leader of Social-First Transformation & Commerce
50+
Toronto, New York, Los Angeles
Best for:
Enterprises
Viral Nation
The Global Leader of Social-First Transformation & Commerce
2. SmartSites
Best for: Small and Medium Size Businesses
Location: Paramus, New Jersey
Min. project size: $1.000+
Notable clients: Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center, Agile Data Sites, Anexio.
SmartSites offers a comprehensive suite of services to cater to businesses of all sizes, including small enterprises and Fortune 500 companies. Its sports digital marketing team caters to sporting goods, golf courses, and sports coaching businesses.
The agency offers dynamic website design, sports-specific SEO, and personalized PPC marketing. SmartSites has had the privilege of working with well-established brands, such as PGA Village Golf Resort and sports website builder League Lineup, elevating the promotion of their sports products to new heights.
Awards and Recognition:
- Amazon Ads – Verified Partner
- Google Ad Partner – Premier 2024
- Microsoft Advertising Select Partner 2024
- Meta Business Partner
- HubSpot Certified Partner
- Inc. 5000 – 7 years (on the Inc5000 list of fastest-growing companies from 2017 to 2023)
- BBB – A+ rating
- Klaviyo – Master Champion
Talent and Technology
- SmartSites headquarters is in New Jersey but all staff currently working remotely
- The agency was founded by Alex Melen (Co-CEO and CFO) and Michael Melen (Co-CEO and COO)
- SmartSites uses 33 technology products and services including HTML5, jQuery, and Google Analytics
Notable Campaigns
Fitness Kid Corp Marketing
Fitness Kid Corp Marketing
Fitness Kid Corp provides indoor kids’ gyms to allow for exercise within your home. They initially created and sold the product in Europe before testing the market in the United States.
The main problem Fitness Kid Corp faced was that indoor kids’ gyms are a highly niche product. Many parents already have some form of existing setup in their backyard for their kids to play, or they take their kids to parks instead.
They found the demand for the Fitness Kid indoor gyms was highly seasonal – parents are more interested in buying the gyms in winter when they have fewer outdoor options.
They approached SmartSites to create and implement a marketing strategy for them. The campaign returned impressive results. Fitness Kid Corp received a 383% Increase in total site traffic and a 350% Increase in conversions. There was a 64% increase in CTR.
Pleasingly, SmartSites’ strategy led to a 74% decrease in the CPC. Overall, there was a 383% increase in referral traffic.
Strategic Approach
SmartSites authored compelling content that highlighted the benefits of having an indoor gym to allow children to have year-round fun while exercising. They made this part of an ongoing content writing and link-building strategy to increase overall traffic to Fitness Kids’ website.
They also created a PPC campaign for Fitness Kid. This included running shopping ads and remarketing ads simultaneously to capture sales and brand awareness at the same time.
As part of this PPC campaign, SmartSites implemented a responsive and flexible bidding strategy to cater to changes in return on ad spend (ROAS).
Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center
Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center
Dr. Rizio of the Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center specializes in sports injuries of the upper and lower extremities, cartilage repair, and reconstructive procedures of the knee and shoulder. He is a team physician and orthopedic surgeon responsible for treating the injuries of many sports teams in the greater New Jersey area.
The practice found it challenging to attract new patients and promote their services without a strong web presence, so sought out SmartSites’ services to remedy their ailments.
The new website and SmartSites’ other measures led to a 667% increase in total site traffic. Search gave even better results, with a 947% increase in organic search traffic. Page views increased by 405%, and there was an overall improvement of 38% in the CTR.
Strategic Approach
SmartSites opted to create a professional website for the Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center in WordPress, as this would make for easy editing. Currently, 43.4% of all websites are built on the WordPress platform.
As part of this project, SmartSites designed a sophisticated logo to represent the upscale brand.
The agency optimized the site for SEO and pursued an aggressive link-building campaign.
Finally, they set up a PPC campaign in Google, optimizing paid search to increase click-through rates and leads to the site.
Services:
- Pay Per Click Advertising
- Search Engine Optimization
- Email and SMS Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Web Design
SmartSites
Outsmart the competition with best-in-class digital marketing services. With over 1,000 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews online, SmartSites is America's #1 rat...
50+
New Jersey
Best for:
Small and Medium Size Businesses
SmartSites
Outsmart the competition with best-in-class digital marketing services. With over 1,000 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews online, SmartSites is America's #1 rat...
3. Disruptive Advertising
Best for: Businesses of all sizes
Location: Utah, USA
Min. project size: $5,000+
Notable clients: BPI Sports, Being Well with Dr. Rick Hanson.
Disruptive Advertising is a lead generation powerhouse, offering comprehensive ad services across all platforms
Prioritizing long-term growth partnerships with outstanding companies, Disruptive Advertising limits itself to a limited number of clients. This approach allows them to provide undivided attention and create customized strategies aligned with a client’s business objectives.
Disruptive Advertising encourages teamwork, which guarantees their strategies across platforms will produce meaningful results that also reflect the client’s business goals.
With over 1,000 positive reviews, management of millions in digital advertising budgets, and numerous industry awards, they prove that actions speak louder than words.
Awards and Recognition:
- Rated 4.8/5 On Clutch from over 1000 reviews
- Claim to have over 50 local and national awards
- Finalist in two categories (App Growth and International Growth) of the 2023 Google Ads Premier Partner Awards.
- Inclusion in Top 8 of Clutch 1000 2023
- Named among Utah Valley’s 50 Fastest Growing Companies for the fifth consecutive year in 2022
Talent and Technology
- Led by Founder and CEO, Jacob Baadsgaard
- Now has more than 160 employees
Notable Campaigns
Sports Card Zone
Sports Card Zone
Sports Card Zone (SCZ) offers a huge inventory of sports cards covering baseball (2017-2024), Basketball (2019-20 – 2023-24), Football (2000 and 2015-2024), Hockey (2020-21 – 2023-24), and Soccer (2019-20 – 2024). They also stock some non-sports cards (e.g. Pokémon) and a range of sports memorabilia.
Although the company was meeting its goals, they felt they were getting stagnant. They were seeing growth, but not at amazing levels.
They approached Disruptive Advertising to see what they could do to push SCZ’s performance to the next level.
The company spent $14k at a 27k ROA for a month-long PPC campaign.
The PPC campaign ultimately generated $381k in additional revenue for Sports Card Zone.
Strategic Approach
Disruptive Advertising built multiple new PPC search campaigns using a keyword planner. One used competitor terms, another used broader ‘sports card’ terms. They then segmented their Performance Max campaign by sports versus all products. Performance Max campaigns are a type of enhanced Search and Shopping campaign that enable advertisers to reach Google’s entire ad inventory with a single campaign with qualifying objectives.
Thanks to the success of this initial campaign, Sports Card Zone increased its budget, meaning that Disruptive Advertising was able to further expand the PPC ads to include Facebook and Amazon.
Sports Card Zone
Crossover Symmetry
Crossover Symmetry has the mission to bring effective, easy-to-use shoulder rehab directly into your home; to put you in charge of your own rehab. Their dream is to help save 10 million shoulders in 10 years.
The company was looking for someone who could scale their Facebook advertising and increase their revenue while maintaining profitability. They wanted a partner that could grow their current efforts in the United States so they would then be in a place where they could expand to Europe and Canada. On evaluation, Crossover Symmetry decided that Disruptive Advertising could best meet their needs.
Disruptive Advertising’s efforts paid off. In the first three months, monthly revenue from Facebook advertising increased by 158%. This success resulted in Crossover Symmetry extending its work with the agency to include CRO, and expanding Facebook advertising into Europe and Canada.
Strategic Approach
Disruptive Advertising initially implemented a strategy to improve Crossover Symmetry’s Facebook advertising. They began by researching buyer personas and expanding them to include other applicable athletes.
They then introduced dynamic retargeting – Facebook dynamic retargeting ads promote relevant products to customers who have visited your online store. The agency improved the quality of the ads themselves, ensuring that the ad copywriting gave more details on the product. Disruptive Advertising created highly engaging ads, stacking the social proof generated from these ads throughout all campaigns.
Services:
- SEO
- Google Ads / Bing Ads
- Social Media Ads / YouTube Ads / Facebook Ads / TikTok Ads / LinkedIn Ads / Snapchat Ads / X Ads
- Amazon / Google Shopping
- Motion Ads
- Landing Pages / Site Optimization
- Email Management
- Lead Nurture
- Creative Strategy
Disruptive Advertising
New Offer: Try before you buy! First 30 days on us, with a 90-day no risk guarantee. Only qualifying brands. AUTHENTICITY WINS™ Disruptive Advertising is the best performance marketing agency for authentic brands and marketers.
50+
Utah
Best for:
Businesses of all sizes
Disruptive Advertising
New Offer: Try before you buy! First 30 days on us, with a 90-day no risk guarantee. Only qualifying brands. AUTHENTICITY WINS™ Disruptive Advertising is the best performance marketing agency for authentic brands and marketers.
4. NeoReach
NeoReach, founded in 2013 by brothers Jesse and PJ Leimgruber, began as a technology platform at Stanford University’s startup accelerator. Aimed at transforming the influencer marketing industry—this was before self service platforms were an everyday thing—the platform provided tools for brands to build and streamline their influencer marketing programs.
Using Neoreach, brands could search its vast database of influencers, manage campaigns, and analyze results. This data-driven approach allowed brands to optimize their marketing strategies and achieve better ROI through more informed decisions.
As the demand for more comprehensive influencer marketing support grew, NeoReach expanded its offerings to include full-scale agency services. This evolution allowed NeoReach to provide not just the technology but also the expertise needed to manage and optimize influencer marketing campaigns. The transition was gradual, integrating managed services into their existing platform capabilities to provide a holistic approach to influencer marketing.
NeoReach’s agency services cover all aspects of campaign management, including influencer sourcing, contract negotiation, content creation, and performance reporting. This hands-on approach ensures that brands receive personalized support and strategic guidance, allowing for more effective and impactful campaigns.
NeoReach’s ability to integrate technology with strategic campaign management is evident in their innovative projects. For example, NeoReach worked on campaigns with NVIDIA and A&E to drive brand awareness and engagement through influencer marketing. These campaigns demonstrated NeoReach’s capability to manage large-scale projects, generating millions of impressions and substantial engagement across various platforms.
NeoReach also utilizes its platform’s technological strengths to provide detailed analytics and performance tracking, ensuring that brands can measure the success of their campaigns in real-time. This data-driven approach allows for continuous optimization and improvement of influencer marketing strategies, helping brands achieve their marketing goals effectively.
Their history as a tech platform may have pigeonholed them in terms of public perceptions, but their versatility is evident in its ability to cater to various market segments, and they’re just as comfortable with sports and sports-adjacent clients as, say, a tech or retail brand. This is no small feat since sports clients present unique opportunities for influencer marketing, requiring campaigns that can engage highly passionate and loyal fan bases.
One of NeoReach’s notable clients in this area is the FIFA World Cup. NeoReach managed influencer marketing efforts for promoting the FIFA World Cup 2022. The campaign aimed to generate substantial engagement and reach, showcasing Doha’s capabilities as a host city.
The campaign involved a mix of sports influencers and content creators, highlighting the event’s excitement and grandeur while effectively promoting the World Cup. Travel influencers like Caio Travels and Mariel de Viaje posted content along with more soccer/football-focused accounts.
Former Mexican soccer star Garcia Posti took part, as did Marie Cracks (who runs the Cracks TV soccer channel on YouTube) and fellow football creators Emmanuel Balogen and Andrew Savvy.
The campaign achieved a total reach of 10 million and 127,000 total engagements, a win for FIFA and NeoReach alike.
NeoReach’s path from a technology platform to a full-service influencer marketing agency highlights its adaptability and commitment to meeting client needs. By expanding their services and integrating hands-on campaign management with their robust platform, NeoReach has positioned itself as a leader in the influencer marketing space.
Their successful campaigns with sports and sports-adjacent clients demonstrate their ability to create engaging, impactful marketing strategies that resonate with the right audiences. As NeoReach continues to evolve, their focus on innovation and data-driven strategies will undoubtedly drive further success in the dynamic world of influencer marketing.
Notable Sports Campaign
NeoReach worked with sports betting company DraftKings to boost its presence on TikTok during the NFL season. The campaign involved activating 50 influencers, including TikTok notables like Ross Smith (and his grandmother!), Dang Matt Smith, and Real Dockery, resulting in significant engagement and reach. The campaign’s key metrics included:
- Over 66 million total reach on TikTok
- 34.3 million hashtag views (#MakeItReign and #TouchdownDance)
- 8.1 million TikTok video views
Most importantly, the campaign grew DraftKings’ TikTok follower count by more than 30k, with the campaign providing a 1.83x ROI. This campaign highlighted NeoReach’s expertise in leveraging influencer marketing and leaves no question about its versatility.
NeoReach
NeoReach creates world-class original influencer campaigns for leading brands and Global Fortune 500 companies. Founded in 2013 and managing over $250...
50+
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Tokyo
Best for:
Large Companies
NeoReach
NeoReach creates world-class original influencer campaigns for leading brands and Global Fortune 500 companies. Founded in 2013 and managing over $250...
5. Fresh Content Society
Best for: Mid-sized to Enterprise Businesses
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Min. project size: $10.000+
Notable clients: Coleman Powersports, Intersport Global, Old World Industries.
Fresh Content Society (FCS) is an award-winning, family-owned social media management and sports marketing agency, offering a comprehensive range of services like community management, content production, strategy development, paid media campaigns, influencer management, and detailed reporting.
Founded in 2014, the agency provides expertise in social media management and sports marketing.
FCS distinguishes itself through its commitment to grasping clients’ business objectives and tailoring strategies for optimal online visibility and exposure. With a deep focus on data-driven decision-making and influencer partnerships, they’re an excellent choice for a social media marketing team. Whether you’re a local or global business, FCS can help you build, manage, and grow your social media communities, ultimately increasing conversions.
Content is a vital part of any social media strategy and is particularly important in the high-action world of sports marketing. Your creativity will determine if your community is going to engage with you or not.
FCS produces content calendars and creates short and long-form videos, photos, graphics, memes, and copy. They are a full-service creative social media agency. If you need those high-quality action pics of your sports products in use, to splash across your Instagram or X posts, or TikTok’s featuring athletic stars showing their human side, FCS can be there for you.
Awards and Recognition:
Fresh Content Society doesn’t boast about its achievements, but each year it showcases the year’s results. They achieved the following on behalf of their clients (everybody, not just sports) in 2023:
- 1.5 billion + impressions
- 65 million + engagements
- 750 million + video views
- 5 million + tracked sales
Talent and Technology
- Fresh Content Society’s founder and CEO is Scott Emalfarb.
- 31 people list themselves on LinkedIn as working at the agency
Notable Campaign
World Arm Wrestling League
World Arm Wrestling League
While most people may not think of arm wrestling as a sport, it is actually one of the most universal forms of competition, with matches occurring across the globe. Most of us have tried arm wrestling at some point in our lives.
Chicago is home to the World Arm-Wrestling League (WAL). They claim to be the fastest-growing professional arm-wrestling league in the world, showcasing intense matches, and offering the ultimate fan experience with the sport’s top superstars.
The league tasked Fresh Content Society with building up fan engagement, fan growth, and video views, and enabling monetization from the content produced.
FCS’s work resulted in increased fan engagement and $50,000 in revenue from the monetized content on YouTube and Facebook. One post alone received 100 million video views.
Strategic Approach
FCS scaled the World Arm-Wrestling League’s social content to make it more authentic to the community. They developed a YouTube and Facebook monetization strategy and created long-form videos that resonated with the target audience.
Services:
- Account Management
- Social Media Strategy
- Social Media Content
- Community Management
- Paid Media Management
- Analytics/Reporting
- Influencer/Creator Management
- Campaign Strategy and Management
Fresh Content Society
FCS is your in-house social media management team that helps design, manage, and grow your social media communities. Our award winning agency is family owned and operated and each client is treated like a partner.
10 - 50
Chicago, IL, Portland, California, Texas, Boston,
Best for:
Mid-sized to Enterprise Businesses
Fresh Content Society
FCS is your in-house social media management team that helps design, manage, and grow your social media communities. Our award winning agency is family owned and operated and each client is treated like a partner.
6. Sociallyin
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Min. project size: $5,000+
Sociallyin is a game-changer social media agency, with a decade of experience. The agency was founded in 2011 and excels at creating meaningful online connections. Their services include personalized social strategies, bespoke content, influencer marketing, ROI modeling, and precise social advertising for various industries and niches, including sports and outdoors.
Recognized globally, they’ve partnered with notable businesses, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, the industry giant known for its presence in the sporting world. Dick’s Sporting Goods trusted Sociallyin to shine at the Winter Olympics. The agency didn’t just show up; they put the client in the spotlight with a tailored strategy that embraced new social media opportunities.
Sociallyin’s approach is hands-on and customized to your brand. They measure success through concrete metrics and arrange weekly meetings to foster collaboration to ensure all KPIs are met, and they constantly seek improvement everywhere
Notable clients:
Nikon, Carnival Cruise Line, NetApp.
Sociallyin
SociallyIn offers creative content tailored to each business, offering influencer marketing, social media solutions, social media advertising & more.
50+
Atlanta
Best for:
Businesses of all sizes
Sociallyin
SociallyIn offers creative content tailored to each business, offering influencer marketing, social media solutions, social media advertising & more.
7. Moburst
Moburst stands out in the crowded field of influencer marketing by adopting a holistic and data-driven approach that ensures the alignment of influencers with brand objectives—all while positioning themselves as a mobile-first agency. Based in multiple locations, including New York, Tel Aviv, San Francisco, and London, Moburst has built a reputation for delivering measurable and impactful results for its clients.
The agency’s methodology is rooted in the extensive use of audience data and performance metrics, which allows for the selection of influencers whose followers align perfectly with the client’s target demographic. Though they don’t operate with any organizational focus on sports, their overall approach makes the industry of their client a secondary concern.
At the core of Moburst’s operations is the belief in the power of data to drive decision-making. Anyone who’s seen the movie “Moneyball” (or read the book) knows that this is an idea near and dear to a sports organization’s collective heart. A data-centric approach enables the agency to bridge the gap between brands and creators effectively.
By utilizing audience insights and historical performance data, Moburst ensures that every influencer selected for a campaign is not only a good fit but also poised to deliver optimal results—the right creator for the right time. This selection process involves vetting potential influencers based on hundreds of parameters, ensuring that the chosen ambassadors have a genuine connection with their audience, which translates into higher engagement and conversion rates.
Moburst offers a comprehensive suite of services that cover every aspect of influencer marketing. These services include research, influencer recruitment, campaign management, content creation, and performance analysis. The agency’s involvement doesn’t end with the identification of the right influencers; it extends to crafting compelling content and managing the entire campaign to ensure consistency and authenticity.
Moburst understands that the authenticity of the influencer’s voice is crucial in maintaining the trust and engagement of their followers. This is why the agency works closely with influencers to develop content that resonates well with their audience while effectively communicating the brand’s message.
The success of Moburst’s approach is evident in its impressive client portfolio and the results it has achieved for them. The agency has worked with numerous high-profile clients, including Google, Samsung, Uber, and Reddit, helping them to enhance their products and maximize key performance indicators (KPIs).
For instance, Moburst’s campaigns have led to significant increases in app installs, improved conversion rates, and greater brand visibility. The agency’s case studies highlight achievements such as a 1400% growth in results for Samsung and substantial boosts in app exposure and keyword rankings for clients like Reddit and Uber.
Moburst’s excellence has not gone unnoticed in the industry. The agency has received multiple awards, including the Most Effective Video Campaign by the Masterclassing Awards and recognition from Adweek as one of the fastest-growing agencies. These accolades are impressive, but none speaks more to Moburst’s credibility as a mobile first agency than the Mobile Marketing Association naming them the Digital Agency of the Year in 2023.
In addition to its influencer marketing prowess, Moburst offers a wide range of digital marketing services. These include social media marketing, user-generated content strategies, talent management, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) management, email marketing, and more. The agency’s global footprint and partnerships with major platforms like TikTok and Google enable it to provide VIP support and leverage the latest tools and techniques to achieve unparalleled results for its clients.
Notable Sports Campaign
Moburst’s campaign for Titanbet, a sports betting app, showcased the agency’s ability to significantly enhance app performance through data-driven strategies and creative execution. It also highlights their comfort level with just about any vertical—the agency can speak the language of the sports fan and reach them just as effectively as it did for Samsung, Reddit, and Uber.
Titanbet approached Moburst with the challenge of improving its app store performance and increasing user engagement. Moburst implemented a comprehensive approach that included advanced keyword analysis and creative content strategies to boost visibility and downloads.
One of the key elements of the campaign was the selection and collaboration with top influencers. Moburst’s team meticulously researched and identified influencers whose audience demographics aligned with Titanbet’s target market. These influencers were not only chosen based on their follower count but also their engagement rates and authenticity.
By leveraging these influencers, Moburst was able to create a series of compelling and authentic content pieces that resonated with their followers and effectively communicated Titanbet’s brand message.
The results of the campaign were remarkable. Moburst’s efforts led to a 60% improvement in Titanbet’s average daily organic download rate. The campaign also enhanced Titanbet’s keyword performance by 40 times and increased overall keyword traffic by an impressive 3900%. This significant boost in visibility and engagement translated into higher conversion rates and a substantial increase in app installs, showcasing Moburst’s expertise in delivering tangible results through strategic influencer marketing.
Moburst
Harness the power of influencers to achieve your growth goals with Moburst, a leading global performance influencer marketing agency that helps brands over-achieve their goals and become category leaders.
50+
New York, Tel Aviv, San Fransisco, London
Best for:
Startup & Enterprise
Moburst
Harness the power of influencers to achieve your growth goals with Moburst, a leading global performance influencer marketing agency that helps brands over-achieve their goals and become category leaders.
8. Thrive Internet Marketing Agency
Location: Arlington, Texas
Min. project size: $1.000+
Founded in 2005, Thrive Internet Marketing Agency is a digital marketing powerhouse that lives up to its name. It collaborates with various industries, including the sports and eCommerce sectors. Thrive delivers expert online marketing with impressive results as they firmly believe in the importance and undeniable leverage of a powerful website and an effective online marketing strategy.
Thrive offers a wide range of services, including SEO, PPC, social media management, web design, and reputation management. With a team of experts and a track record of delivering tangible results, Thrive is a top choice for businesses looking to harness the power of the Internet for growth. Their clients have experienced substantial growth, with organic traffic surges of up to 500% and a 300% increase in online leads. Notably, they have also assisted brands like Western Sports and Rakkasan Motorsports in promoting their sports equipment.
Thrive stands out for its intentional focus on relationships and results. The agency sees itself as an extension of its clients’ teams, fostering professional yet personal collaborations. Thrive promises integrity, transparency, award-winning expertise, a proven process, and unwavering dedication to client delight. As a Google Premier Partner, Google Analytics Technology Partner, Bing Ads Accredited Professional, and more, Thrive’s credibility is undeniable.
Notable clients:
Sneaker Boutique, Petersen Games, Geoforce.
Thrive Internet Marketing Agency
Thrive Internet Marketing Agency is a full service agency specializing in SEO, PPC, Social Media Management, Web Design, Link Building, and more.
50+
Arlington, Texas; Los Angeles, California
Best for:
Enterprises, Large and Small brands
Thrive Internet Marketing Agency
Thrive Internet Marketing Agency is a full service agency specializing in SEO, PPC, Social Media Management, Web Design, Link Building, and more.
9. Stryde
Location: Lehi, Utah
Min. project size: $1.000+
Based in Utah, Stryde is a boutique marketing agency that works with a select few industries of which the sports and outdoor industry is one. Their team will craft a customized digital strategy that incorporates various digital channels to get the attention of your ideal target market.
Stryde’s key focus areas are paid social, email marketing, SEO, and ads management.
Some of the brands that they’ve helped to sell their sports equipment and outdoor gear are Rustico, Canyon Sports, and Inbox Fitness. For example, when Inbox Fitness wanted to boost its organic traffic, Stryde analyzed the retailer’s website, competitors, and keyword trends to uncover opportunities. The results — organic traffic growth more than doubled.
Notable clients:
Lizard Tail Belts, Cellercise, Skywalker Trampoline.
Stryde
Tap into an existing and engaged audience with the support of an influencer
1 - 10
1633 W. Innovation Way, 4th Floor, Lehi Utah, 84043
Best for:
Midmarket, Small Business and Enterprise
Stryde
Tap into an existing and engaged audience with the support of an influencer
10. 53Six
Locations: Dublin, Ireland, and London, UK
Min. project size: $25,000+
If you specifically want to focus on video marketing and performance marketing, check out 53Six. This award-winning sports marketing agency’s goal is to help businesses operating in the sports industries use video to convert their fans into customers. From hour-long documentaries to short clips for social media, they can create various types of branded video content.
To boost the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales of athleisure brand Gym+Coffee, Fifty-Three Six’s in-house editing and design team created bespoke video content, static imagery, motion graphics, and gifs to prospect and retarget clients. Not only did they help to double the website traffic, but also the average order value per customer.
Video production is one of their core specialties, but their team can also come up with a holistic digital strategy. They’ll look closely at your current online presence and create a digital marketing and content strategy to help achieve your specific business goals.
Notable clients:
The Rugby Network, Locker app, Football Association of Ireland, PlayerData.
11. Samba Digital
Location: Miami, Florida
Min. project size: Undisclosed
Samba Digital is a global sports and entertainment digital marketing company founded in Brazil whose main markets are clubs, betting companies, and leagues in Europe, Africa, China, the United States, and Latin America. On top of that, it also operates as an iGaming marketing agency and helps brands enter the eSports market.
Combining its passion with its mission to help its clients connect with their fans, the agency has worked with sports governing bodies like World Rugby, tournaments like Roland-Garros (or the French Open), and clubs such as Liverpool and Chelsea to generate impressive ROI. For example, when long-time client Roland-Garros needed online media support in developing tennis in South America, Samba Digital used the power of video marketing to spread the word about its tournament to be held here. The result? The Facebook content created by Samba drew over five million video views.
From paid media to public relations support, Samba Digital offers a long list of marketing services. What’s more, if you specifically want to leverage influencer marketing, they also offer their own sports influencers platform that can connect you with influencers in this niche from all over the globe.
Notable clients:
Kansas City Chiefs, Bayern Munich, Inter Miami CF, French national football team, French Ligue 1.
12. Wasserman
Locations: Global – in 65 cities, across 27 countries and 6 continents.
Min. project size: Undisclosed
In previous versions of this post, we looked at CSM Sport and Entertainment, which delivered end-to-end marketing services to brands in sports and entertainment.
In October 2023, global sports, music, and entertainment company Wasserman acquired CSM Sport & Entertainment, rebranding it as Wasserman.
The “new” Wasserman now operates globally. The only part of the world that has yet to see the rebranding is the Middle East. The agency now focuses on sports, music, entertainment, and culture.
The Sports division represents elite sports and media talent, broadcasters, coaches, sports executives, speakers, and creators who play integral roles across every major global sport, spanning all six continents.
Their clients cross the sporting spectrum, including action and adventure sports, baseball, basketball, boxing, cycling, global football (soccer), golf, hockey, NFL, Olympic sports, and rugby.
The sports services that Wasserman provides are too extensive to itemize in detail here but include talent sales & marketing, event creation, content development, contract negotiations, IP licensing, performance analytics, public relations, social media management, speakers, and much more.
So far, the revamped agency has put together $5B in marketing deals for clients.
Notable clients:
HBO Max, Unilever Personal Care, AIA, American Express, NFL, AEG, Chicago Bears, UEFA.
13. Fuse International
Location: London (headquarters), China, Portugal, Poland, Norway, Italy, Germany, France, Czech Republic, New Zealand
Min. project size: Undisclosed
Founded in 2008, Fuse is an award-winning global agency that serves brands and rights holders in the sports and entertainment industries. Brands can either make use of their fully integrated approach to plan and activate partnerships or turn to the agency for only specific services.
Its team offers strategy as well as content and asset development. Then, to evaluate the success, they can also measure outcomes.
This is exactly what they’ve done for Vodafone. Fuse was asked by Vodafone to boost brand awareness and consideration by making Vodafone a critical component of the 2021 British and Irish Lions Tour. Even the fact that the world was still dealing with the pandemic didn’t prove too much of a challenge. Not only did they create the first example of gamification in rugby sponsorship, but they also created over 600 hundred pieces of news coverage which helped to increase brand affinity by over 80%.
Notable clients:
Royal London, The Football Association, Sportsbet.io, Barclays.
14. Peter Jacobsen SPORTS
Location: Portland, Oregon
Min. project size: Undisclosed
Peter Jacobsen SPORTS (PJS) is a full-service sports and entertainment marketing agency that was founded by Peter Jacobsen, a seven-time PGA Tour winner, in the late 1980s. The agency is behind hundreds of events across the world and has worked with over 60 clients.
If you’re thinking that number is rather low for a company that’s been in operation for over three decades, keep in mind that its client relationships span over a decade on average. Some of the agency’s current clients include Lexus, Chevron, and Lowe’s.
PJS is driven by its core value — fun. Its areas of specialization include sponsorship consulting and activation, talent relations, and event management.
Notable clients:
Oregon’s B.U.L.L. Session Golf Tournament, Nike, Toyota.
15. Creative Arts Agency (CAA)
Locations: Los Angeles (headquarters), New York, Nashville, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Denver, Jacksonville, Memphis, outside the US: London, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, Munich, Geneva
Min. project size: Undisclosed
Founded in 1975, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) offers decades of experience and has helped brands and talent like Apple TV+ and Man City to build their presence across multiple platforms. During its 30+ years in business, they’ve achieved several firsts which include being the first sports talent management agency to build a sports and brand marketing services business.
One of its unique selling propositions is that each client gets represented by the whole agency. Considering that it boasts a team of over 200 execs across the globe, this is a huge benefit.
With the help of proprietary tools and data, the agency can make strategic decisions to help their clients get the most value. From logo making to key messaging to website design, the company helps brands express themselves so that they too become an iconic name like CAA.
Notable clients:
Madison Square Garden, Formula One, Reebok.
16. WePlay
Locations: London, UK and Kaunas, Lithuania
Min. project size: $5,000+
WePlay describes itself as a D2C growth marketing partner for the sports and entertainment industries. From the agency’s offices in the UK and Lithuania, it offers end-to-end digital and creative marketing to accelerate audience and revenue growth.
WePlay’s focus areas are strategy, creative production, communication, media, and technology. Its team will draft strategic blueprints for all digital and social channels, including email. If you want to leverage the power of paid media, its team can help with buying ad space across all media environments, including search and social.
Then, to measure the success of their marketing, they turn to The Bench — their proprietary analytics platform. This way, clients can also visualize their data easily.
Some of the brands that they’ve worked with include Yokohama Tyres, ESPN, and Dunlop Sport. For example, when Dunlop approached WePlay to activate their number one ball, its team created and managed daily content for two weeks and engaged with consumers on social media. In addition to its community management efforts, the agency also partnered with eight popular Italian tennis influencers who shared branded content on social media. WePlay didn’t drop any balls and generated millions of social impressions and video views.
Notable clients:
Longines Global Champions, UFC, FIFA, International Boxing Association, IRONMAN Group, AC Milan, Utah Jazz.
17. SPORTFIVE
Locations: New York, London, Sydney, Paris, Hamburg, Budapest, Barcelona, Haarlem (the Netherlands), Lausanne (Switzerland), Warsaw, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore
Min. project size: Undisclosed
SPORTFIVE believes the five vital elements in sports marketing—brands, rights holders, media platforms, fans, and the agency— can feel like “winners” through a well-executed strategy that brings them together in every campaign.
Moreover, the agency says its trust-based, collaborative approach produces transparent, innovative, and engaging marketing campaigns. Combine this with its in-depth understanding of the sports industry and its unwavering desire to keep moving forward and your brand can also “win the battle for attention”.
SPORTFIVE first seeks to understand your goals and hurdles before conducting a thorough analysis of your brand, market, rivals, and target audience. Then it develops a long-term strategy to help you achieve your goals and stay ahead of the competition. Finally, the agency leverages its extensive network to connect brands and organizations with athletes and fans.
Notable clients:
AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup, Los Angeles Lakers, golfer Jon Rahm, Racing Club de Lens.
18. Endeavor (formerly IMG)
Locations: New York, Beverly Hills, Atlanta, outside the US: London, Singapore, Sydney
Min. project size: Undisclosed
The story of Endeavor dates back to 1960 with what many have labeled as the start of modern-day sports marketing. Fast-forward half a century later, WME acquired the agency and rebranded WME-IMG a few years later to Endeavor.
If you specifically want to use events to market your brand, Endeavor and your company would be a great match. The combined 800+ events it runs or represents are “content-rich experiences” that form lasting connections. In addition to events management, it specializes in licensing, media rights negotiation, and talent representation.
As you would expect, their client list is impressive. FIFA, The Premier League, and Wimbledon are all Endeavor clients.
Other notable clients:
Belgian Pro League, Confédération Africaine de Football, Premiership Women’s Rugby.
19. Infront Sports
Locations: Zug, Switzerland (headquarters), Salzburg, Boulogne-Billancourt (France), Frankfurt am Main, Milan, Monaco, Singapore, Istanbul, London
Min. project size: Undisclosed
Infront is rated as one of the trailblazers in sports marketing and offers a 360-degree suite of services to emerging, as well as established spectator and participation sports. If you need an event partner, its global team can help connect your brand with consumers and fans.
In addition to events, the agency provides content development, sponsorship, and digital marketing. For example, if you want to reach a younger audience, they can create extra touch points like hyper–casual games.
Notable clients:
ADAC Motorsport, Lega Basket, BMW Berlin-Marathon, International Tennis Federation, eSerie A TIM.
20. Crafted
Locations: Miami, Florida and New York City, New York
Min. project size: $25,000+
Crafted is an award-winning digital creative studio that has worked with major brands like Nike, the NBA, and Under Armour. One of its core services is sports website development, ensuring its designs are created from a mobile-first perspective.
The agency’s service suite also includes brand management. From target audience to tone, its team can help you create various elements after completing a full analysis. When Aaptiv, a leading audio fitness app, turned to Crafted to rebrand their whole platform, they increased keyword volume by over 100 times and traffic to their digital magazine by 200%.
The agency also creates custom solutions for other digital marketing processes and needs. From SEO to social marketing, Crafted uses various channels to help your brand get ahead in the race. What’s more, it’s also happy to work with businesses of all sizes.
Notable clients:
NBA, Clemente’s Baseball and Softball Academy, ASICS.
21. Excel Sports Management
Locations: New York (headquarters), Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, outside: London
Min. project size: Undisclosed
Excel Sports Management is rated as one of the leading names in sports marketing. It represents talent in various fields, including basketball, baseball, football, and golf, as well as individual sporting codes, and has recently added names like Tim Anderson and the Chicago White Sox shortstop, to its talent roster.
Meanwhile, its partnerships with Gordon Sargent and Rose Zhang reportedly inspired college golfers to sign up with Excel.
In addition to talent (including sports commentators) management, its seasoned sales pros, and marketers can help strike up partnerships between brands and sports teams, rights holders, and leagues. The agency helped Zenni, an online eyewear retail leader, gain more brand exposure by helping it partner with Call of Duty League and the Chicago Bulls.
Other notable clients:
Justin Rose, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, Nike, Levi’s, Oakley.
22. rEvolution
Locations: Chicago (headquarters), Indianapolis, Detroit, outside the US: London, Henley-on-Thames, Singapore
Min. project size: Undisclosed
rEvolution is an integrated sports marketing agency that has been setting the standard in sports sponsorship and marketing services for over 20 years. They specialize in crafting authentic campaigns and experiences around sports, entertainment, food, and even video games, seamlessly integrating brands into the spotlight.
With a range of services including sponsorship consulting, brand strategy, media services, marketing communications, live events and experiential marketing, corporate hospitality, and more, rEvolution provides end-to-end solutions for brands looking to engage with fans through sports.
The agency has built a strong reputation for cultivating partnerships and capturing the magic of sports, as demonstrated through its successful campaigns with clients such as Continental, American Family Insurance, and Land Rover. Their commitment to delivering “can’t buy” experiences and creating unforgettable brand-to-fan engagement has earned them recognition as part of the best sports marketing campaigns in the world.
rEvolution’s expertise extends to various niches, including soccer, gaming & eSports, and automotive, where they excel at authentically connecting luxury brands to fans. With a team of passionate professionals, rEvolution is dedicated to helping brands navigate the global sports landscape and create campaigns that resonate deeply with their target audience.
Other notable clients:
Ligue 1 Uber Eats, Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, AEG, Lamborghini.
23. Creatitive
Locations: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa, Gilbert in Arizona
Min. project size: $5,000+
Creatitive is a full-service marketing agency with a focus on sports marketing. Its service range includes market discovery, search engine marketing, social media marketing, and advertising. Creatitive helps businesses leverage the most out of today’s technology with tools designed to maximize online reach and visibility. Its fresh and modern digital services will boost your rankings and make a positive ROI for your business.
As a trusted provider of sports marketing services, Creatitive connects athletes, gym businesses, and sports brands to their fans with tried-and-tested online athlete business marketing practices. The agency offers a full spectrum of athlete marketing solutions, from brand discovery to web design, SEO, and SMM. Creatitive’s strategic sports marketing provides athletes and sports businesses with professional results that generate interest in your products and services, ensuring a winning digital sports marketing campaign.
Trust Creatitive to build a unique website that captures your fans’ or customers’ attention, while providing a winning digital sports marketing campaign. With its focus on individualized insight, better branding, fan-focused websites, and streamlined marketing strategies, Creatitive is the ideal agency for your sports marketing needs.
Notable clients:
Fitometry, Mike Kafka, Hit Big, Upcoming Wellness.
24. SMA
Location: Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
Min. project size: Undisclosed
Through the power of sports and entertainment, SMA is transforming the perception of mental illness and substance use disorders. This sports marketing agency bridges the gap between corporations and professional athletes, entertainers, and community leaders to raise awareness and eliminate the stigma surrounding these health issues.
SMA provides tailored services for corporations and non-profits, including engaging content creation, events, and experiences. Its Sports Impact Series features meet and greets, panel discussions, and sports-influenced corporate and community events anchored by its flagship Sports Impact Luncheons. SMA also facilitates engagement opportunities for athletes and personalities, including NIL agreements.
In addition to its main services, SMA has established SMA TV & The Digital Network, which reaches over 10 million people through traditional and social media.
This platform produces unique and proprietary media content, including interviews with current and former professional athletes who share their personal experiences with mental illness and substance use disorders. Through its Community Partnership Initiative, SMA fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and raises awareness about these critical issues. Overall, SMA is an exceptional sports marketing agency with a meaningful social mission.
Notable clients:
DeAndre Swift, Barry Sanders, Braylon Edwards.
25. Allied Sports
Locations: New York (headquarters), Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago
Min. project size: $15,000+
Allied Sports, a full-service sports marketing agency, has successfully positioned itself at the intersection of culture and creativity. It has expertly guided brands in sports through its next partnership success story. With a focus on storytelling, the agency helps modern marketers of all sizes leverage the power of sports sponsorship to create impactful narratives that resonate with their audiences.
Allied Sports boasts a team of award-winning leaders who have decades of experience in creating, negotiating, and activating innovative sports partnerships.
Allied Sports’ expertise, execution, and engagement have set them apart as a nimble agency that knows how to put stories into action. By leading the shift from sponsor to storyteller, it offers a truly integrated solution for brands looking to make a lasting impact in the world of sports marketing.
Notable clients:
National Women’s Soccer League, National Football League Players Association, D.C. United, Orlando Magic.
26. KemperLesnik
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Min. project size: $10,000+
KemperLesnik specializes in forging a deep emotional connection between brands and fans through the power of sports. It excels in public relations, event marketing, and sports marketing, delivering unforgettable experiences that drive real business results. Its expertise also extends to content marketing and eSports marketing.
KemperLesnik’s portfolio includes an impressive collaboration with McDonald’s and NASCAR, which featured a virtual reality experience allowing fans to join the pit crew. This demonstrates the agency’s dedication to innovative fan experiences that create lasting connections between brands and their audience. KemperLesnik’s diverse client roster includes notable names like Aon, NFL Draft, and the Maui Invitational, demonstrating its ability to deliver effective campaigns across various sports and industries.
The KemperLesnik team is led by a group of accomplished industry professionals dedicated to fostering talent and staying ahead in the ever-changing sports marketing landscape, making it a top choice for brands seeking a powerful impact in the sports arena.
Other notable clients:
LPGA’s International Crown, KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, BMW Championship.
27. Alliance Sports Marketing
Locations: Nashville (headquarters), Anchorage, Indianapolis, Denver
Min. project size: Undisclosed
Alliance Sport Marketing is an agency specializing in multi-team and venue sponsorships, with a keen focus on building strong connections between brands and sports teams across the United States. It works with major league and minor league teams to coordinate tailored, one-stop managed campaigns that cater to the sponsor’s objectives, offering an end-to-end solution from campaign coordination to final reporting.
One of Alliance’s core strengths is its ability to connect brands with the teams they love. The agency has successfully worked with numerous clients to launch effective, focused sports campaigns that resonate with fans and elevate brand recognition.
Alliance Sport Marketing is always on the lookout for new talent to join their team, showing their commitment to growth and staying ahead in the competitive sports marketing industry. With a proven track record of creating successful brand and team partnerships, Alliance Sports Marketing is a reliable choice for businesses looking to boost their brand presence in the sports world.
Notable clients:
DirecTV, Governor’s Highway Safety Association, Drydene.
28. The Shelf
The Shelf is a full-service influencer marketing agency known for its innovative and data-driven approach to designing, executing, and optimizing influencer campaigns. Headquartered in New York, with a branch in Canada and additional offices in Atlanta, The Shelf specializes in crafting performance-focused influencer strategies for a wide range of industries, including outdoor and footwear brands with athletic and sports-driven audiences.
Founded with the mission to create genuine connections between brands and their audiences, The Shelf leverages its in-house SaaS platform to discover and vet influencers. This platform provides clients with a real-time campaign monitoring dashboard, ensuring transparency and effectiveness throughout the campaign process.
The agency has a track record of delivering high engagement and ROI for its clients through creative and customized influencer campaigns. Notable clients include really big names like Walmart, Hanes, Hershey, The Honest Company, Pepsi, and Live Nation. The Shelf has received numerous accolades, including being featured on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America.
As an agency, The Shelf goes beyond influencer marketing, handling their clients’ social media marketing while also overseeing branding and marketing strategy. The agency’s proprietary technology aids in demographic analysis, brand affinity detection, and fraud prevention, ensuring that the influencers selected are a perfect fit for the brand’s goals.
The Shelf has executed successful campaigns for brands like Lenox, Blued, and Famous Footwear, achieving significant engagement and reach. The Shelf Famous Footwear campaign in particular showcases The Shelf’s expertise. As it was primarily focused on the back-to-school season during the pandemic, the campaign aimed to promote new styles for the fall season while also reassuring customers about the safety of in-store shopping. The Shelf enlisted parent influencers to showcase their shopping experiences at Famous Footwear stores, highlighting safety measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing. These influencers created engaging content across platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and blogs, promoting unbeatable prices and trendy new styles for children.
This approach resonated well with audiences, leading to high engagement rates. For instance, blog posts outperformed typical expectations, generating over 659,546 engagements. The campaign also achieved a strong in-feed post engagement rate of 2.77%, well above the industry average, with significant interaction on Instagram Stories and other social media platforms.
Notable Sports Campaign
Sports isn’t always about the professionals, as The Shelf demonstrated in its collaboration with Moosejaw, an outdoor gear and apparel company. To develop a comprehensive influencer marketing campaign aimed at engaging outdoor enthusiasts and promoting Moosejaw’s diverse product range, they needed to highlight the athleticism of their influencers to appeal to their audiences. By selecting influencers who are avid hikers, campers, and outdoor adventurers, The Shelf was able to create content that genuinely reflected an active lifestyle, thereby connecting more effectively with the target audience.
A key component of the campaign was the creation of visually appealing and inspiring content. Influencers shared their outdoor experiences using Moosejaw products across various social media platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. They posted high-quality photos and videos of themselves using Moosejaw gear in stunning outdoor settings, which not only showcased the products but also told compelling stories of adventure and exploration—to say nothing of fitness.
To maximize reach and engagement, The Shelf implemented a strategic mix of macro and micro-influencers who created a total of 445 posts. Macro-influencers with large followings helped to amplify the campaign’s visibility, while micro-influencers, who often have higher engagement rates, fostered deeper connections with niche audiences. This balanced approach resulted in more than 20 million potential views and over 237k engagements.
The Shelf
The Shelf is an industry-leading, full-service influencer marketing agency that designs, executes, and optimizes data-driven campaigns from start to f...
1 - 10
New York
Best for:
Medium and Small Size Brands
The Shelf
The Shelf is an industry-leading, full-service influencer marketing agency that designs, executes, and optimizes data-driven campaigns from start to f...
29. The Goat Agency
These days, the acronym GOAT is pretty well known. But even just 10 years ago, it was a more niche term, generally used only for LeBron James or Tom Brady. The Goat Agency launched in 2015 with aspirations of becoming the Greatest Of All Time, and there’s at least one massive British multinational holding company that thinks they are. WPP acquired The Goat Agency in 2023 after eight years of one success after another.
They offer a comprehensive suite of services centered around influencer marketing. The primary focus is on developing creative, end-to-end campaigns that use the power of social media influencers to connect brands with their target audiences. This includes everything from creative strategy, identifying and partnering with the right influencers, and amplifying content through paid media, to measuring the impact on key metrics like awareness, engagement, consideration, and conversions. They also provide services such as paid social media advertising, content production with in-house video and design teams, and social commerce strategies tailored to platforms like TikTok Shop, Instagram Shop, and Amazon Live.
Some of The Goat Agency’s more notable clients include major brands you’ve definitely heard of. For instance, they have worked TurboTax, achieving over 2.2 million views, surpassing their media views target by 126%. Other high-profile clients include Kraken Rum, Tesco, ODEON, and Nivea, for whom they have delivered highly successful campaigns with impressive engagement and return on ad spend. These collaborations highlight the agency’s ability to drive significant results and ROI for their clients, making them a trusted partner for many leading brands.
The agency has since grown significantly, boasting over 400 employees and a presence in the UK, USA, and Singapore. They have delivered thousands of campaigns across various platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch, for clients in more than 70 countries. Their data-driven approach allows them to guarantee results, making them a preferred choice for brands looking to maximize their marketing ROI.
The Goat Agency has received numerous accolades for its excellence in influencer marketing. They were recognized as the 4th fastest growing global agency by Adweek and earned the title of Social Media Agency of the Year from The Drum. Additionally, they made it onto LinkedIn’s Top Companies list. In 2022, they were shortlisted for the Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards. Notably, in 2019, Adweek named them Europe’s fastest-growing agency. These awards underscore the agency’s significant impact and success in the influencer marketing field.
Notable Sports Campaigns
Since 2019, Major League Baseball has hosted a “London Series” each year in its attempt to convince non-Americans that baseball isn’t boring. In 2023, the Goat Agency undertook a significant campaign to introduce Major League Baseball (MLB) to the UK audience. The challenge was to make “America’s favorite pastime” resonate with UK viewers. To achieve this, Goat enlisted seven influencers from diverse verticals such as fashion, food, music, and sports. These influencers attended fan events, participated in an interactive “Home Run House” event, and shared their experiences through Instagram Stories and TikTok, creating a buzz around MLB’s London Series.
The campaign also included post-event activities to maintain the momentum. Influencers customized MLB merchandise, hosted giveaways, and promoted the World Series and 2024 ticket sales. The campaign’s success was evident in its results: over 3.1 million impressions, 175,132 engagements, and an earned media value exceeding £32,000. Additionally, the total media views surpassed expectations by 310%, highlighting a significant increase in interest in baseball among the UK audience.
This campaign demonstrated Goat’s expertise in leveraging influencer marketing to create cultural relevance and engagement for a traditionally American sport in a new market. But it also shows how powerful influencer marketing can be when you’ve got a clever agency creating your strategy.
The Goat Agency
Goat is a global, award-winning social media and influencer marketing agency. We've worked with some of the world's most exciting brands including Del...
50+
London, New York, Singapore
Best for:
Medium and Large Brands
The Goat Agency
Goat is a global, award-winning social media and influencer marketing agency. We've worked with some of the world's most exciting brands including Del...
The Impact of Sports Marketing on Brand Engagement
In our hyper-connected era, standing out from the competition can be a challenge. However, businesses have discovered a constant amidst ever-changing trends—the passion and excitement generated by sports, particularly the star power of athletes. So, how can aligning your brand with sports help you achieve your brand engagement goals?
Sports Marketing Can Widen Your Market Reach
Sports transcends geographical boundaries. 67% of consumers worldwide regularly follow sports through various media, according to YouGov’s latest “The Global Sports Media Landscape” report. The 18 to 24-year-old age bracket makes up the majority (74%) of engaged sports fans, which the report later refers to as "sports engagers."
Meanwhile, Activate's Technology & Media Outlook 2024 report shows that "Super Users"—the segment spending the largest share of time and resources on sports—in the U.S. make up 24% of the national population. Their media consumption is 18:35 hours, double that of other users (9:25 hours).
75% of fans aged 55 and up prefer TV for live sports, while social media is the top choice for viewers aged 18 to 34.
Gen Zers—66% of whom turn to platforms like Twitch for live sports streaming and sports content—have already registered 8.01 million hours of watch time on Twitch's Sports category in 2023.
Sports Marketing Encourages Active Engagement
Facilitating sports sponsorships and endorsements throws you into the web of fan engagement. Loyal supporters—especially younger viewers—do other activities on mobile devices (known as second screening) while watching sports events, including sending messages or chatting to friends (54%), searching for information related to what they're viewing (32%), and searching for products to buy (31%).
Deloitte's "2023 Sports Fan Insights" reports that around half of fans across generations watch live sports events with others, making it a communal experience. The same document adds that about the same percentage (50%) of Gen Zers join social media interaction while watching ongoing games. On TikTok alone, users said sports viewing allows them to join cultural conversations (62%) and feel a sense of belonging (61%).
Also, thanks to social media, fans can read their favorite players' and teams’ social posts and comment on them in real time, deepening connections that can promote patronage for brands their idols represent. Thus, being part of sports moments can improve your brand image as you become associated with something fans love.
Sports Marketing Improves Brand Association
Sports marketers can use storytelling to build emotional connections between fans and their sports idols. Brand ads can portray an athlete's or team's life challenges in ways that tug at fans' heartstrings. This strategy of humanizing sports stars can nurture loyalty. At the same time, the positive traits of sports teams and players highlighted in these ads (such as excellence and resilience) cast a halo effect on sponsoring brands.
Recent Studies Highlighting the ROI of Sports Marketing Initiatives
The connection between an athlete or team and a brand sponsor has a significant impact on sales and other opportunities for revenue-generating collaborations. A Tegna survey shows that 81% of sports fans trust sport-sponsoring brands, with such deals lifting the public's purchase intent by as much as 10%.
How Brands Are Winning
Nike, PepsiCo, Coke, and Red Bull have scored big financial wins as sports sponsors. See how other companies nailed their sports campaigns:
Hisense
This Chinese consumer electronics and home appliance manufacturer entered a partnership with Italian Serie A club Inter Milan and American MLS (center-back Walker Zimmerman) and NFL (Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco Johnson) stars (in the lead-up to the World Cup) in 2022.
Hisense attributes its January to April 2023 sales growth in TV sets (over 70%) and washing machines (nearly 64%) to its sports agreements. The company also says that since it invested in sports marketing in 2016, brand awareness rose to 50% by 2021.
Louis Vuitton
The luxury goods brand's "Victory is a State of Mind" campaign in November 2022 featuring soccer greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly generated over $10 million in adjusted ad value for the company. The amount is based on the social media impact generated by the ad— which drew 100 million engagements—showing the two players playing chess over a checkered Louis Vuitton suitcase.
The image appeared on the players' respective accounts hours before the FIFA World Cup 2022’s official kick-off.
Hally
In early 2023, at-home hair color brand Hally signed NIL agreements with 100 Baylor University student-athletes across various sports who had at least 1,000 social followers. On the first day of the campaign—when they promoted the brand's Shade Stix temporary hair dye product line—Hally reported a 56% week-on-week increase in Amazon sales. The product launch featured green and yellow variants—Baylor's school colors—which Hally describes as "makeup for your hair."
Final Thoughts
The global sports market is projected to reach a staggering $629.8 billion by 2028, with a significant portion of that growth attributed to sports marketing. This figure highlights the immense potential and importance of sports marketing.
Just like how athletes aim to push their limits and reach new heights, these agencies are doing the same when it comes to sports marketing. With their innovative strategies and creative campaigns, they have helped some of the biggest names in sports rise to the top.
But it's not just about the big names – these agencies also specialize in nurturing rising stars and helping them become the next big thing. Whether you're a sports brand, an athlete, or a sports influencer, these agencies can be the perfect partners to help you achieve your goals and reach a captive audience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Comparing Sports Marketing Agencies
These agencies specialize in various sectors, including Sports and Entertainment, Brand Sponsorship, Athlete Representation, Event Management, and Fan Engagement, among others. Explore the sections below for an overview of digital Marketing Agencies suitable for brands in the sports and eSports industry:
- Top 15 Sport Talent Management Agencies to Help You Sport Your Skill
- Top 31 Influencer Marketing Platforms for Finding Sports Influencers
- Top 12 Gambling Marketing Agencies for Winning Campaigns
- 18 Talent Management Agencies for eSports
- Top 13 Gaming Marketing Agencies for Data-Driven Marketeers
- Top 6 Twitch Talent Management Agencies for 2024
- Top 9 Gaming Influencer Agencies to Supercharge Your Strategy
- 14 Leading eSports Agencies for Influencer Marketing Managers to Know
Can sports marketing agencies help with sponsorship deals?
Yes, sports marketing agencies often assist clients in securing sponsorship deals. They can identify potential sponsors, create proposals, and negotiate contracts on behalf of the athlete or team.
How do sports marketing agencies create fan engagement?
Sports marketing agencies create fan engagement through various strategies, such as social media campaigns, experiential marketing, and collaborations with other brands. They also develop unique content that resonates with the target audience and generates excitement around the sport or athlete.
What are the costs associated with hiring a sports marketing agency?
The costs of hiring a sports marketing agency can vary greatly depending on the scope of work, agency reputation, and specific services required. Some agencies may charge a flat fee, while others work on a commission or retainer basis. It's essential to discuss pricing and payment structures with prospective agencies upfront.
How do sports marketing agencies help athletes and teams?
Sports marketing agencies help athletes and teams by creating marketing strategies that promote their talents, elevate their public image, and secure sponsorship deals. They also assist in negotiating contracts, developing branding, and managing public relations.
What Are The Best Sports Marketing Agencies in the UK?
Some of the best sports marketing agencies in the UK include Fuse International, known for its strategic partnerships and content development, and WePlay, which excels in D2C growth marketing for the sports and entertainment industries. SPORTFIVE is also a top choice, with its comprehensive approach to connecting brands, rights holders, and fans through innovative campaigns. Additionally, 53Six stands out for its expertise in video marketing, helping sports brands convert fans into customers through engaging video content.
What Are The Best Sports Marketing Agencies in New York?
Some of the best sports marketing agencies in New York include Endeavor, renowned for its expertise in events management, licensing, and media rights negotiation within the sports industry, and Crafted, an award-winning digital creative studio that excels in sports website development and brand management. Moburst is another top agency, specializing in mobile and digital strategies to help sports brands scale and achieve significant growth. Additionally, Allied Sports stands out for its innovative sports sponsorships and creative storytelling that resonate with audiences.
What Are The Best Sports Marketing Agencies in Los Angeles?
Some of the best sports marketing agencies in Los Angeles include Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a global leader in sports talent management and brand marketing services, and Wasserman, which excels in representing elite sports and media talent across various global sports. NeoReach is also a top choice, known for its data-driven influencer marketing campaigns tailored to the sports industry. Additionally, Excel Sports Management operates in Los Angeles, providing comprehensive services in talent representation and brand partnerships within the sports sector.
What Are The Best Sports Marketing Agencies in Chicago?
Some of the best sports marketing agencies in Chicago include rEvolution, an integrated sports marketing agency known for crafting authentic campaigns and experiences across sports, entertainment, and gaming. KemperLesnik also has a strong presence in Chicago, specializing in public relations, event marketing, and sports marketing with a focus on creating deep emotional connections between brands and fans. Additionally, Allied Sports operates in Chicago, offering expertise in sports sponsorships and creative storytelling that resonates with audiences.
