Why sports activations win big for brands
05.28.25
Edan Flynn
Associate Strategist
Why sports activations win big for brands
How sports activations turn passion into loyalty—and why the Olympics are your next big play.
I’ve been a sports fan since my first Golden State Warriors game as a child in 2009. I remember watching my beloved—but at the time, terrible—hometown team get beaten by the Pistons. The one bright spot? A skinny rookie named Stephen Curry who dropped in a few threes and gave the long-suffering Warriors fanbase something to believe in. That game didn’t matter in the standings, but I still remember how it felt. And that’s the thing about sports—the emotion sticks.
This is why sports (individual athletes, teams, and the big events) remain one of the most powerful tools for brand storytelling. Unlike other entertainment verticals, sports deliver unscripted drama in real time. Sports fans don’t just watch passively—they identify with the teams, the athletes, and the shared rituals in ways that create powerful communities and strong emotional bonds. Brands can leverage the passion of sports audiences and events, and thus, insert themselves into cultural moments that people truly care about in ways that feel authentic.
Sponsorship alone used to be enough—slap a logo on a jersey or on the jumbotron, and the visibility paid for itself. But, in today’s crowded and competitive landscape, consumers crave meaningful experiences, and brands must do more than just show up—they must create moments that matter. With audiences exposed to countless brand logos across the sporting world (and all aspects of their daily lives), competition for attention is fiercer than ever.
And modern audiences, particularly Gen Z consumers, expect more than just passive exposure. According to a Boston Consulting Group study, members of this highly prized demographic seek authentic, meaningful experiences with the brands they choose to support. This is where brand activations come into play.
A brand activation is anything that goes beyond traditional advertising in the form of a live, interactive experience. Activations invite fans to engage with the brand emotionally or physically, making the brand part of the memory, not just part of the scenery.
At the Olympics, for example, activations often take the form of brand houses (pop-up spaces where fans can interact with products, meet athletes, and experience immersive storytelling) or brand stunts (unexpected public activations or events designed to surprise and delight and to generate organic media exposure). Instead of simply placing a logo next to the action, activations place the brand directly into the experience.
When that happens, something powerful kicks in. Research shows that emotional experiences are significantly more memorable than traditional advertising (Bajak et al., 2025), and brands associated with these peak moments benefit from a psychological “halo effect.”
Consumers don’t just recall the experience; they also transfer positive feelings to the brands that helped create it. For example, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Samsung’s Galaxy Studio in Olympic Park allowed everyday fans to experience Olympic moments firsthand through virtual reality. Visitors were able to demo Samsung’s latest immersive technologies while “competing” in simulated Olympic sporting events. By giving fans a taste of Olympic competition, Samsung not only showcased its technology but also created lasting memories that consumers associate with both the Olympics and the Samsung brand.
Of course, the emotional impact is only half the equation. Sports activations also deliver serious business value. A staggering 91% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service after participating in a brand experience. Nearly half of all brands that invest in experiential marketing see ROI between 300% and 500% (EventTrack). In addition to sales results, activations generate measurable engagement, including social media amplification, earned media coverage, and direct foot traffic.
However, not all platforms offer the same level of opportunity. Among all global sporting events, no stage is bigger than the Olympic Games. For brands looking to maximize the power of activations, the Olympics—and especially the upcoming LA 2028 Games—represent a uniquely powerful opportunity.
The Olympics are not just a sporting event. They are a global celebration of human excellence, respect, and friendship—values that consumers deeply resonate with. Additionally, unlike other major sports leagues, the Olympics also bring together incredibly diverse audiences across age groups, cultures, and international borders.
The LA 2028 Games present an especially valuable opportunity for American brands. As the Olympics return to the U.S. for the first time since 2002, brands can tap into a unique combination of national pride and global viewership. LA28 is also aligning itself with modern values such as sustainability and equality, which opens the door for brands to tell stories that authentically relate to these themes. In short, Olympic activations are not just about marketing—they are about cultural participation on a global stage.
As brands look to create more meaningful, memorable connections, sports activations offer a powerful way to take advantage of already-existing passion. And with moments like LA28 on the horizon, the opportunity has never been bigger. Keep an eye out as Invision continues to explore the power of sports activations and how brands can leverage them to drive fan passion, loyalty, and ROI.
For more information, reach out to info@iv.com.