3X BRANDS REWRITING SPORTS SPONSORSHIP

Sport’s global stage is about to dominate again. Between the FIFA World Cup and the LA 2028 Olympics, billions will tune in and the biggest brands will take centre stage. But some are finding power in the periphery. 

Here are three brands finding new energy in the emerging communities where sport and culture collide:

HYPEGOLF X MICHELOB ULTRA REWRITE COUNTRY CLUB RULES

Golf is getting its swing back with a new generation of players and fans. Justin Bieber has been spotted teeing off in Scotland, and streetwear brands are reshaping the fairway aesthetic. Michelob ULTRA joined the movement with Hypebeast’s Hypegolf, opening The Hypegolf Clubhouse in New York which is part retail space, part social hub.

Built around collaborations with golf’s new wave - Malbon, Metalwood and others - the space balanced heritage with hype, connecting the sport to a younger audience fluent in both design and community.

For Michelob ULTRA, it was a move from sponsorship to scene-building, a reminder that the future of sport marketing will be built on belonging as well as branding.

SEPHORA × GOLDEN STATE VALKYRIES BEAUTY TAKES FLIGHT

To launch the Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA’s newest franchise, Sephora brought theatre to halftime. Parachuting their signature black and white striped bags from the rafters, Sephora made sure they would land directly in fans’ hands.

The moment turned sponsorship into participation. What could have been a courtside placement became an in-arena spectacle that reached social feeds within minutes. 

Around the venue, branded beauty vending machines invited fans to ‘get their game faces on,’ positioning Sephora as part of the game-day experience, beyond signage.

Sephora didn’t borrow from the energy of the game, it added to it. The activation positioned the brand as a cultural player in women’s sport and showed how modern sponsorships can drive relevance through creativity rather than scale.

818 TEQUILA × TONI BREIDINGER DRIVE CULTURE FORWARD

While Formula 1 dominates the grid with heritage names like Louis Vuitton and Dior rallying for pole position, 818 Tequila’s partnership with NASCAR driver Toni Breidinger stands out as one of the most aligned in motorsport.

A female-founded tequila brand backing a female driver in a male-dominated sport feels more like a statement than a sponsorship, voicing their opinion on who should get to drive performance culture forward. 

A masterclass in co-branding, Breidinger’s custom 818 car, helmet and gloves carried the brand’s sand-toned minimalism, a visual restraint that cut through NASCAR’s saturated aesthetic.

In a sport built on horsepower, 818 and Breidinger made restraint the new power move.

Together Michelob ULTRA, Sephora and 818 show how the smartest sponsorships are shifting from visibility to value. The brands that win next will be the ones that show up with intent, design with cultural fluency and play less like sponsors and more like fans.

Words by Kat Towers, Culture.

SEEN is our monthly-ish newsletter about brands, trends and creativity. Subscribe by getting in touch here: hello@lovecreative.com.