The best sports marketing campaigns aren’t on the sidelines—they’re changing the game.
And they’re playing to win. This year alone, the Entertainment Lions for Sport at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity saw entries rise by 15.2%. Topping the category was ‘Haaland Payback Time’ for Clash of Clans, launched in spring 2024 by DAVID New York.
As competition heats up in 2025, which campaigns will run the best plays this year? Let’s look at three early standouts.
Adobe and NFL Partnership
The NFL is betting on AI-enhanced content to deepen fandom during the 2025 season. The software company huddled up with official NFL partner Adobe and announced it’s expanding its partnership to deliver a new level of AI-powered fan experiences. The news broke before the season’s kick-off, and fans are ready to rush in and take part.
With the partnership, fans can expect initiatives like access to new NFL-themed templates in Adobe Express to celebrate their fandom and elevated interactive experiences that go the extra yard. The partnership will also connect fans across the digital field, from NFL.com to the NFL App to NFL OnePass, scaling personalization at every touchpoint (or should we say touchdown?) with the help of AI.
One of the NFL’s annual standout activations is “My Cause, My Cleats,” where players design a pair of custom cleats worn on the field representing a cause or organization of their choosing. This year, select NFL players will be invited to draft their designs using Adobe products, adding a creativity boost to the beloved tradition.
Why it Works
The season may not kick off until September, but we can already tell this partnership is headed for one of the best sports marketing campaigns of 2025. When we assessed what’s in and out for 2025 marketing trends, it was clear that AI-powered personalization is in.
Nearly 27% of B2B marketers already use AI to personalize content, and consumers continue to expect more.
Plus, AI makes it easier to scale, making it a win-win—marketers score more in optimization, and customers get more personalization.
Related reading: 2025 B2B Marketing Trend Check: What’s In, What’s Out
QuickBooks’ Power Moves Campaign
View this post on Instagram
The Intuit-owned software company, QuickBooks, is entering the sports arena—but with a special focus: leaders from the business side of women’s sports. In a five-part video series, QuickBooks spotlights women entrepreneurs from the sports world to discuss their business and how the software helps them run it.
When you think of sports marketing campaigns, you often think of those on the field or the court. This campaign shows powerful leaders are making big plays off the field, too, inspiring athletes who may want to pursue entrepreneurship and non-athletes who want to work in sports but not necessarily play. And here’s a fun detail: All the videos were filmed at women’s sports bars across the country, giving the series a fitting backdrop.
The women featured include:
- Allyson Felix: Seven-time Olympic gold medalist and founder of women’s sports management firm Always Alpha (featured in the video above)
- Jen Barnes: Founder and CEO of The Rough & Tumble sports bar in Seattle
- Jacie deHoop and Ellen Hyslop: Co-founders of sports media company The Gist
- Jasmine Maietta: Former pro basketball player and founder of sports lifestyle and apparel brand Round 21
- Jax Diener: Owner of Watch Me! Sports Bar
- Jenny Nguyen: Founder and CEO of The Sports Bra, a women’s sports bar in Portland
- Tobin Heath and Christen Press: USWNT icons and co-founders of lifestyle brand and media company re—inc
Why it Works
This campaign is complete with an empowering message and a savvy media strategy. QuickBooks worked with She Media to distribute content across its platforms, reaching potentially 74 million unique viewers a month. Collaborating with a media company already tapped into your target audience can amplify your impact, increase your reach, and drive more meaningful engagement. Add to that the fact that video is increasingly a powerful channel for B2B and B2C marketers, and you’ve got a winning combination.
Related Reading: 4 Short-Form Video Trends for B2B Marketing in 2025
All England Lawn Tennis Club and IBM Partnership
The All England Lawn Tennis Club tapped IBM to serve up new and enhanced AI-powered digital experiences for this year’s Wimbledon Championships. Ahead of the 2025 matches, the duo released ‘Match Chat’, an interactive AI assistant that responds to fans’ questions in real time during live singles matches.
Match Chat invites tennis fans to take a swing with pre-written prompts or ask their own questions and is available on the Wimbledon App and wimbledon.com. Responses, alongside a match analysis, are instantly generated, offering insights to enrich the fan experience. Built using watsonx Orchestrate, a gen AI and automation solution from IBM, Match Chat is trained on the Wimbledon editorial style and the language of tennis, ensuring each reply hits the mark.
Outside of the IBM partnership, it’s worth noting that the All England Lawn Tennis Club has been courting a new generation of tennis fans on social media. It appears to be working—and even inspiring the tending ‘tenniscore’ aesthetic. According to The Guardian, the club’s official TikTok account more than doubled its views and engagements compared to last year’s championships.
At the time of their report, the club’s Instagram following had reached 6.5 million—now, it’s grown to 6.7 million.
Ace.
Related reading: Report Looks at Consumer Expectations of Brands on Social in 2025
Why it Works
The AI-powered partnership between IBM and the All England Lawn Tennis Club delivers complementary experiences that engage new and longtime tennis fans worldwide. By providing instant answers to fan questions during Wimbledon’s singles matches, it meets viewers where they are, literally, and allows them to stay more connected to the action on court and build confidence in their growing tennis knowledge. It’s fan engagement, well played.
Honorable Mention: Chase’s The C.O.A.T.
We have to give it up for Chase for their latest 30-second spot in their long-standing ‘Cashback Like a Pro’ campaign. In ‘The C.O.A.T.,’ reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson joins Stephen Curry and Kevin Hart as they dribble through a debate on who’s the “greatest cashbacker of all time”—a clever nod to the GOAT (greatest of all time).
The ad itself does more than showcase the perks of the Chase Freedom Unlimited card; it spotlights Chase’s push into women’s basketball and connects to customers through fandom, earning it extra points. (And press coverage in outlets like Adweek and Marketing Brew.)
