SPORTS MARKETING

VaynerMedia

It might feel like you’ve been hearing your neighbor talk about their pickleball habit since, well, forever. But it’s only been about five years since the first Major League Pickleball (MLP) matches.

Your neighbor likely isn’t a pro, but it’s still a fast-changing space, and racket sports are rapidly becoming more and more popular in the US—so it follows that the state of pro pickleball sponsorships is also in constant flux.

In the early years of the sport’s popularity surge, more than 150 brands rushed to get involved, seemingly without much rhyme or reason. By last year, after continued growth and a merger between MLP and the PPA Tour, pickleball sponsorships began to resemble deals in other pro sports, with big-name brands like DoorDash and Anheuser-Busch buying up league, team, and tour naming rights.

This year, the sport has shifted even closer to mainstream sponsorship structures, with growing interest from brands in individual team deals, an indication that pro pickleball’s audience size could be reaching a tipping point—though pro pickleball is still young enough to flex outside of sponsorship norms.

“Last year, we were just in a different place with how many people were fans and aware of professional pickleball,” MLP commissioner Samin Odhwani told Marketing Brew. In the early days of emerging sports, marketers can be hesitant to get involved because they’re not sure a new league will last, he said. Now, with pickleball, “it’s just a question of, ‘How big are we going to be?’ I think that’s really helped unlock a new set of partners.”

Continue reading here.—AM

      

Sponsored By Zoom

If you’ve got webinar data just collecting dust in cyberspace, you’re wasting a pretty big opportunity to uncover real buyer intent.

That’s because webinars tell you a *lot* about your audience. Every poll response, question asked, or moment when someone drops off tells you exactly why your audience came to your webinar in the first place.

The tricky part is decoding the behavioral signals that indicate buyer readiness. Zoom can help. Their e-book, From metrics to meaning, shows you what signals to look for and how you can use those signals to inform the rest of your marketing stack.

Spot the right patterns to help your sales team target the prospects that are primed and ready with this e-book.

SOCIAL & INFLUENCERS

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photo: Adobe Stock

Meta’s ready to pay up.

On Wednesday, the social media giant agreed to pay more than $17 billion and implement additional child safety measures as part of a settlement with 47 states, ending a landmark federal trial.

The settlement, which was announced two weeks into testimony, is the culmination of a yearslong legal battle in which the participating states, US territories, and District of Columbia alleged that Meta intentionally designed its platforms to be addictive to children and downplayed the mental health effects they created for young users, as first reported by outlets including the Wall Street Journal. The lawsuit also alleged that Meta illegally collected data on children under 13 without parental consent.

While $17 billion could be considered a drop in the bucket for a company that made more than $200 billion last year, it has drawn comparisons to the Big Tobacco cases of the ’90s and could be a sign of more legal action to come.

What happens next? In addition to paying out billions of dollars over the next 10 years that will, in part, help fund a variety of children’s services around the country, Meta announced that, pending judicial approval, it will make a series of changes to Instagram and Facebook users under 18.

Read more here.—KH

      

Sponsored By Snapchat

Influence is moving beyond the feed. Yes, discovery may still happen in feeds, but trust deepens in conversations, replies, and more personal spaces—the environments where influence is more likely to turn into action. Snapchat has both the wide reach and the intimate spaces to help these conversations and conversions thrive. Read their POV on creator marketing’s opportunities.

BRAND STRATEGY

Richard Baker/Getty Images

There’s no debating that shoppers today love a good deal and are increasingly value conscious, but when it comes to their favorite brands, there are certain exceptions.

YouGov’s latest Profiles data found that while only 24% of consumers across the US said the label was important to them when purchasing clothes, they were a valuable audience because they spent more money and cared more about quality.

In fact, 30% of “brand-conscious” shoppers spent more than $200 on clothing in the last three months, compared to 15% of price-conscious shoppers.

Likewise, 28% of those identifying as brand-conscious ranked product quality as the biggest consideration, compared to 17% of price-conscious consumers. Meanwhile, price-conscious shoppers lean the other way, with 26% prioritizing price, compared to 15% of brand-conscious consumers.

Read more on Retail Brew.—JS

      

Sponsored By Marketing Architects

Downstream decisions. CTV attribution, targeting, and fees rarely work the way marketers assume. That’s why Marketing Architects is digging into the data at their upcoming free webinar with Adweek Sept. 24. Attendees will learn why the numbers they get don’t always hold up. RSVP here to save your spot.

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Morning Brew

There are a lot of bad marketing tips out there. These aren’t those.

Turbo mode: Understanding how “boosting” on Meta works, plus tips on how to utilize the feature.

Ridin’ solo: A guide to managing a brand’s social media presence as a team of one.

We’re going shopping: How an e-commerce brand can optimize for and advertise in Google AI Mode.

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Jobs

Real jobs shared through real communities. CollabWORK brings opportunities directly to Marketing Brew readers—no mass postings, no clutter, just roles worth seeing. Click here to view the full job board.

• Marketing Manager at Henkel
• Brand Manager at Warner Music Group
• Program Manager, Brand Management at Whirlpool Corporation
• Paid Media Strategist - Schwarzkopf at Henkel
• VP, Business Development Officer, Small Business Lending at Banc of California

WISH WE WROTE THIS

Morning Brew

Stories we’re jealous of.

• Bloomberg wrote about how commissionable links are spreading beyond influencer posts and into everyday conversations.
• Vogue Business wrote about the “booming influencer economy” reshaping tennis tournaments like the US Open.
• Adweek wrote about the latest round of brand apologies from Neutrogena, Target, Good Good Golf, and Callaway—and whether any of them will make a difference.