LAST WEEK TODAY: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Missing sponsorship news?

Check out the blog every Monday for a weekly roundup of the past week's most exciting and industry-altering news. These stories cover July 23-29, 2018.

Expect the unexpected. You don't have to be a trendsetter to succeed in sponsorship or experiential marketing - but you do have to find a positive way to stand out. Follow the trends, adapt those applicable to your campaign or market, and go for it wholeheartedly. Be the first to apply a new activation to your industry that's worked well elsewhere. Music festivals can apply how sports sponsorship has worked, and sports sponsorship can tweak based on the experiential marketing trends happening in tech.

1. Were you able to make it to San Diego Comic Con? #jealous
   • Moderne did a quick overview of the best activations at this year's SDCC. Pretty sure Taco Bell is our favorite.
   • The Hollywood Reporter contents SDCC is one of the major reasons experiential activation's rise to prominence.
2. Are you an auto racing fan? Which sport do you prefer - F1 or NASCAR? Either way, both made the news last week.
   • This looks amazing - F1's Milan Festival is scheduled for the end of August. TBH, we're way too excited read about the associated activations from sponsors.
   • What will we see next from NASCAR? Forbes contends the brand is in transition - what's your prediction?
     • In related news, our #SponsorSpotlight last Thursday was Target, who chose to end its NASCAR partnership in 2017.
3. From rugby in San Francisco to rugby in the UK, two English Premiership teams have announced new or extended kit sponsors: Worcester Warriors with MPlant (sleeve) and the Bristol Bears with a team effort from Poplar Insulation (back of shirts), BS3 Services (shorts), RedRock Consulting (shirt collar), Heat Recruitment (chest), and Blackstar Solutions (right sleeve).
4. Like FIFA and the 2018 World Cup, it appears Beijing 2022 will have some sponsors from the energy sector - but not, perhaps, clean energy: the LOC signed a new deal with CNPC and Sinopec Group as Official Oil & Gas Partners.
5. The LSU Tigers baseball team has a new outfitter - the team announced a deal with Marucci Sports as its new baseball equipment provider.
6. How does your property decide the types of sponsorship that are and are not allowable? What types of deals fit with your brand? Does your brand allow for large presenting and title sponsorships, like the Kentucky Derby, presented by Woodford Reserve? Or are you going for a Green Bay Packers-Lambeau Field-type aesthetic, with no title to overtake the team's? LOVELOUD Festival is on the #KYDerby side of things, recently announcing a "powered by" sponsor in AT&T.
7. If you're a Milwaukee Bucks fan, you'll soon be heading over to the Fiserv Forum for home games. We're excited to see what Giannis Antetokounmpo can do here.

Did we miss any? Tweet @be_tandem - we hate being behind the times just as much as you do.

Look out next Monday for this week's game-changers.