17 SPORT AND FUTURE OF SPORT
THE FUTURE OF SPORTS: CELEBRATING THE POWER OF PURPOSE IN SPORTS
For the fourth year in a row, 17 Sport was excited to collaborate with Future of Sport, brought to life by Viva Technology and Global Sports Week. From driving change in the sports industry at a global level to hearing from some of the greatest minds in technology, the event was full of riveting conversations and amazing initiatives for the future. I had the pleasure to represent 17 Sport and offer insights as our Head of Strategy — and a former pro basketball player — by moderating some exciting discussions and hearing from other industry experts. Here’s what I took away from the 2023 edition.
CONSUMER VALUES ARE TRANSFORMING THE SPORTS INDUSTRY
We started off with 17 Sport Co-founder Neill Duffy giving us a look into how people’s values and attitudes are reshaping the world of sports. People are increasingly choosing to engage with businesses that demonstrate a commitment to values beyond merely financial gain. This fundamental shift in consumer attitudes has challenged businesses, including sports brands, to adapt their strategies to remain relevant and competitive.
When putting these strategies into place, calculating the Social Return on Investment (SROI) helps measure the real impact for the business side. Neill pointed out that brands who track their work see huge returns — often by up to ten times. Successful companies in 2023 not only consider purpose, but prioritize it. Athletes are leading the way with this movement as they continue to stand up and promote causes they care about, influencing fans and sports organizations alike to follow suit.
AUTHENTICITY IS THE KEY TO CONNECTING WITH AUDIENCES
To talk more about the shift towards purpose-driven models, Neill was joined by Mya Doelling, Purpose Partnerships Lead from the IOC, and Guy-Laurent Epstein, Director of Marketing from UEFA. Mya emphasized how focused the IOC is on legacy work, priding itself on being an organization that goes beyond sports. For them, it’s essential to weave purpose into every aspect of the work they do.
Guy spoke on the increasing importance of purpose, highlighting how the topic has begun to dominate strategies over the past decade. He expressed that a purpose strategy must be genuine — once an organization decides how they want to make a positive change in society, sharing goals for purpose with partners will increase collective impact and help organizations meet their objectives.
Guy, Mya, and Neill all emphasized the fact that purpose isn’t a trend, but a rising movement that’s here to stay. Ensuring brands are committed and authentic in what they want to do will lead to the desired success.
FANS ARE USING THEIR POWER TO CREATE CHANGE
Finally, I had the pleasure of moderating a meaningful dialogue with Jean-Luc Agboyibo from the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Celine Gilquin from Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and Alix Saumier, our Global Sports Week Young Sport Maker. We discussed the potential of sports fans in driving action and the role partnerships play to inspire audiences.
The combination of education and entertainment played a central role in our conversation, as each guest highlighted some of the great partnerships they’d worked on that allowed them to reach new and engaged audiences. Gen Z was also a focus, as this audience pushes more and more for purpose-driven organizations and demands transparency from their brands. At 17 Sport, prioritizing purpose is a topic we continually see becoming more important for brands — especially once they see the impact they are able to have and the return for their business.
With these great minds working on some of our world’s biggest issues, the future looks bright. We believe that sports have the power to transform the world, and Future of Sport was no exception. Looking forward to many great events and initiatives to come!
SESSION 1THE NEW MODEL REVOLUTIONIZING THE BUSINESS OF SPORTS:
During this session, Neill gave us an exciting peek into the changing world of sports. He discussed how people's values and attitudes are reshaping the industry and offering us a brighter, more inclusive future. Here are his key takeaways:
People are increasingly choosing to engage with businesses that demonstrate a commitment to values beyond merely financial gain. This fundamental shift in consumer attitudes has challenged businesses, including sports brands, to adapt their strategies to remain relevant and competitive.
Neill spotlighted the role of Social Return on Investment (SROI) as a tool to measure how our actions can make a real difference in the world. He revealed an inspiring fact: businesses that step up and consider their social and environmental impact can see their returns increase by up to ten times!
Lastly, Neill expressed a fascinating vision for the future of sports. He believes athletes are becoming champions for social and environmental causes, and this commitment to making a difference will soon influence their choice of team or organization. It's an inspiring thought - that the future of sports may not just be about where to play, but also about how to change the world.
SESSION 2SPORTS PROPERTIES EMBRACE A NEW PURPOSE-DRIVEN MODEL:
In this engaging session, moderator Neill facilitated an enlightening conversation between Mya Doelling, Purpose Partnerships Lead from the IOC, and Guy Laurent, Director of Marketing from UEFA. They discussed the exciting shift towards purpose-driven models in sports organizations. Here's what was shared:
Mya explained that at the IOC, purpose is defined as the organization's reason for existing, who it wants to be for its stakeholders, and the legacy it wants to leave for future generations. The IOC prides itself on being an organization that goes beyond sports. Purpose has to be woven into everything they do.
The shift in approach for the IOC stems from their 2020+5 Agenda that will take them through to 2030. This framework drives them to ground everything they do in the commercial team to what the organization itself stands for - for the IOC, their mission is to build a better world through sport - and find the values alignment with all of their partners as well. Purpose brings value to the TOP programme and has been a key pillar in the past 4-5 partnership deals the IOC has signed.
Guy expressed that a purpose strategy must be genuine and authentic. It starts with deciding how they want to make a positive change in society, and then sharing this goal with their partners to increase their collective impact. This focus on purpose has become a key part of all their partner discussions and deals, a change that he’s witnessed over the past 5 - 10 years, whereby 10 years ago, purpose wasn’t even in the conversation.
When it comes to putting purpose into practice, both speakers shared the following:
Mya noted that nowadays, we must think differently about activations. Long-term impact should be at the forefront of planning. For example, Allianz and the IOC are working together to engage more young people in sports. They're tackling this systematically, starting with research projects to understand the benefits of youth engagement in sports.
Guy shared a couple of concrete examples from the UEFA side; a partnership with Pepsi around the UEFA Champions League final focusing on reducing waste and a circular approach to food and packaging driving towards zero waste. Additionally, Guy discussed an initiative with Visa during the Women's Euros 2022 tackling online abuse of women athletes.
Both Mya and Guy emphasized the importance of being genuine and making 'purpose' the heart of everything an organization does, rather than just an added extra.
Neill concluded the session on an inspiring note: purpose isn't just a trend; it's here to stay. The future winners in sports will be those who put purpose at their core and use it as a strategic force for good, benefiting both people and the planet.
SESSION 3EMPOWERING THE FANS TO PLAY THEIR PART: AFD AND THE BAL PARTNER TO INSPIRE FANS TO TAKE ACTION:
During this session, moderator Brianna navigated a meaningful dialogue with Jean-Luc from the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Celine Gilquin from Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and Alix from YSG. They discussed the potential of sports fans in driving action and the role of inspiring partnerships. Here are some of the exciting insights they shared:
Celine explained that AFD started its journey in sports development in 2018, aiming to fund sports to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Prior to partnering with BAL, AFD had collaborated with the NBA to boost their sports and development initiatives. When the league formed in Africa, it resonated with AFD's mission, making it a natural choice to join forces with BAL to promote development in the region through sports.
Jean-Luc talked about how BAL and AFD have merged entertainment and education into a unique concept. They wished to showcase the power of sports as a platform for social well-being. The partnership between BAL and AFD stands apart from other sponsor relationships as it's centered around making sports more accessible and inspiring their fans.
Celine went into detail about the specific impacts they aim to make: raising awareness about the SDGs among Africa's youth, using sports to boost quality education and employment rates, and promoting gender equality through their academies to empower girls and challenge stereotypes.
To wrap up, Alix stressed that when everyone agrees, we can always evolve to make things better and create a positive societal impact. She emphasized that through communicating and sharing via sports, great things can be achieved. Alix also noted that for Gen Z, these issues are increasingly relevant, and she hopes that the example of BAL and AFD will inspire more such partnerships in other continents.
CONTRIBUTING AUTHOR
By Brianna Salvatore Dueck
