With this Saturday set to mark the milestone 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Louisville’s storied Churchill Downs Racetrack, both longtime partners and new sponsors are harnessing this prime opportunity to capture audiences’ attention with singular experiences and brand activations surrounding America’s most-watched horse race. 

Kentucky-based bourbon distiller Woodford Reserve, the Derby’s Presenting Sponsor and a partner since 1999, has unveiled a limited-edition commemorative bottle to honor the landmark anniversary. With a label featuring Kentucky native Wylie Cahill’s painting “Adorned in Roses”––depicting a red rose-covered thoroughbred against a multi-colored rose background––the 2024 special edition, designed to dazzle fans of the whiskey and the race alike, captures the essence of the event’s unrivaled heritage. The homegrown bourbon titan will also play host at a new luxury club flanking the newly renovated, $200M paddock: For the first time ever, the Woodford Reserve Paddock Club will offer guests access to the paddock circling ring via an exclusive underground tunnel.

Not to be outdone, Swiss watchmaker Longines––Official Partner, Timekeeper, and Watch of the race since 2011––debuted a new Mini DolceVita watch model to celebrate the monumental occasion, limited to 150 pieces. Epitomizing elegance and precision––two hallmarks of the “Run for the Roses”––each watch is engraved with the Derby’s anniversary logo, along with a “One of 150” inscription. The venerated luxury brand, whose rarefied ties to the equestrian world date back to the 19th century, also partners with the Breeders’ Cup and serves as title sponsor of the Longines Global Champions Tour, a worldwide show-jumping competition. 

Meanwhile, California winery Kendall-Jackson, the Preferred Wine of the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs since 2021, will host this year’s largest West Coast Derby watch party at its sprawling estate in Santa Rosa, CA––a ticketed, all-day affair complete with live entertainment, Southern cuisine, and plenty of its popular vintages, with all proceeds benefiting local nonprofit Farm to Pantry.

To memorialize this year’s momentous event, the winemaker has released two limited-edition wines nationwide––a 2022 Mendocino County Chardonnay and 2021 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon––as well as an online-only, three-vintage vertical of Kentucky Derby Cabernet Sauvignon, showcasing the 2019, 2020, and 2021 vintages in a commemorative box. Kendall-Jackson also made headlines last month with the April 4th announcement of its new multiyear deal as the Official Wine of the NBA, the league’s first-ever wine partnership.

In new Derby sponsor news, The Unwell Network––a Gen Z-focused content production company led by influencers Alex Cooper and Alix Earle––has partnered with Churchill Downs to host an exclusive infield activation that will include a live interview between the two podcasters, whose combined social following exceeds 15M, in an effort to engage younger, more digitally driven Derby fans. Other infield activations aimed at a more youthful Derby demographic include an Old Forester bar with DJ entertainment, a White Claw Derby-inspired art installation and photo opportunity, a Red Bull kombi bar experience, and a Q Mixers cocktail club. 

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The Tour de France 2023 came to a thrilling conclusion last weekend, with Jonas Vingegaard of Team Jumbo-Visma emerging as champion for the second consecutive year. Along the storied race’s 2,115—mile route, fans eagerly awaited the arrival of the famous Caravan, which offers participating brands an incomparable marketing platform.

Since its inception in 1930, "la Caravane Publicitaire" has become an integral part of the Tour de France experience. The lively two—hour opening parade precedes the cyclists during the race’s 21 stages, delighting fans lining the roadsides with captivating spectacles and giveaways all the while.

This year's race featured an impressive lineup of more than 35 brands participating in Caravan activations. Notably, TikTok made its grand Caravan debut alongside esteemed global and local brands like E.Lecler, Le Gaulois, Haribo, LCL, and Tourtel Twist, as the boisterous parade amplified the excitement and anticipation of passionate race—watchers eagerly awaiting the cyclists’ arrival.

Team Jumbo-Visma of the Netherlands, this year’s winner, boasts deals with nearly 50 brands. Fourteen percent of its sponsors—including Graze, Dole Food Company, Maurten, Grand’Italia, Virtuoos, and Campina—hail from the Food Products category and have signage on the cyclists’ bikes and jerseys.

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The 2023 Winter X Games, held last weekend in Aspen, provided unique opportunities for brands–including Monster Energy, Pacifico, Jeep, and many others–to activate on Buttermilk Mountain. Following is our roundup of highlights from this year's games–both brands and athletes–as reported by our team on the ground taking in all the action.

Brand Activations:

Pacifico operated two separate Beer Gardens, where fans aged 21 and older could grab an ice-cold beverage.

The two-story Monster Energy bar/lounge featured music and “Monster” girls doling out its popular drinks to thirsty fans.

Jeep loomed large at the Games, with products displayed all over the mountain. The Jeep Theater offered an indoor/outdoor space where attendees could kick back and watch the events taking place on the big screen, with two Jeep vehicles parked right outside for visitors to peruse.

Athlete Endorsements:

Chinese-American freestyle skier, Eileen Gu, has 15 endorsement deals, having collaborated with high-profile brands like Tiffany & Co, Louis Vuitton, Red Bull, IWC, and more. A whopping 546% increase in followers over the last year to some 2M followers across all social media makes her the 21st most followed Extreme & Action Sports athlete worldwide, with a total engagement of 3.5M.

The eighth most followed person in Austria, snowboarder Anna Gasser boasts a combined social following of 661K and total engagement of 1.1M. Her 8 brand partnerships include Red Bull, Skullcandy, Audi, and Burton.

David Wise–who won gold in the Monster Energy Men’s Ski SuperPipe–is sponsored by 15 brands, including Visa, Toyota, P&G, and Monster. The American freestyle skier has 84K followers and a total engagement of 30K across all social platforms.

Aussie snowboarder Scotty James won his 5th X Games snowboard halfpipe, and counts Oakley, Red Bull, Samsung, and Tommy Hilfiger among his 10 sponsors. His 24% YoY follower growth brought his social following to 324K, with a total engagement of 427K.

UFC 280 took place over the weekend in Abu Dhabi, and 20+ brands were spotted activating during the Pay-Per-View broadcast including these frequently seen brands:

- DraftKings

- Crypto.com

- VeChain

- Monster Energy

The 109th edition of the Tour De France wrapped up in Paris on Sunday, with Team Jumbo-Visma winning the championship title and the UAE team, sponsored by Emirates, taking second place.

Team Jumba-Visma has over 45 sponsorship deals, most of them in the Leisure & Recreation category. The fact that 14 of those brands belong to the Athletic Equipment subcategory isn’t surprising, given the plethora of gear–namely bikes, helmets, goggles, shoes, and apparel–that cyclists don in competition.

Skoda Auto served as the official main sponsor of the tour for the 19th time, providing 250 vehicles for use during the event. Beyond this marquee partnership, 20% of its portfolio–7 deals –were sponsorships of the Tour’s participating teams.

Swiss watchmaker Tissot’s Tour sponsorship marks its largest deal by number of assets, though the brand has partnerships with many other properties–including multiple NBA teams, as Official Timekeeper of the NBA since 2015.

The Tour also showcased some head-turning signage that’s been cropping up lately in the cycling world. NamedSport Superfood’s 15+-foot inflatable activation drew spectators’ attention, offering better exposure than barrier signage could, considering the crowded convoy of athletes racing at an average 25mph. Given these assets’ prime visibility, chances are we’ll see more of these 3-D activations from major sponsors in the future.

Another marketing bonanza wowing the crowds: the famous Tour de France caravan, a 45-minute string of vehicles that rolls ahead of the race peloton, first conceived by Tour organizer Henri Desgranges in 1930. Featuring a slew of advertisers–including food & beverage brands and Française des Jeux, France’s only gaming (lottery) brand–the one-of-a-kind activation offered scads of freebies and coupons to cheering spectators, including collectible cards from Arkea, an elite French women’s cycling team. Sponsors changed as the race crossed borders, with Danish brands leading the charge in Denmark, the northernmost country ever to appear on the Tour.  

Meanwhile, GPS navigation software maker Waze, another Tour partner, mapped out the event’s nearly 2,500 miles of closed roads, start and finish lines, parking lots, and live traffic speeds, to help drivers better navigate around the race.

As the X Games Summer '22–which kicked off Wednesday in San Diego–streams live on ESPN+, it’s a prime time for a closer look at the dynamic sponsorship market for extreme sports.

Nearly 450 brands are actively investing in the extreme and action sport athlete space, where athletes/influencers average 5 sponsorship deals each, and 47% have 5 or more. A whopping 89% of these deals leverage social media as a key component: Instagram image and video posts rank first and third, respectively, as utilized assets.

Sportswear manufacturer Oakley, a favorite of competitive snowboarders and skiers, tops the list of brands continuing to grow in this market, followed by Vans, which sponsors skateboarder Tom Schaar and BMX biker Kevin Peraza. Toyota, LEKI, and Smith Optics round out the top 5 spots.

Not surprisingly, Apparel & Accessories, Non-Alcoholic Beverages, and Leisure & Recreation comprise the top 3 industry categories, each with three times as many deals as Retail, fourth on the list. Energy drinks like Monster Energy and Red Bull dominate the beverage category, with more than 90% of total endorsements.

On International Surfing Day we highlight one of the most dominant Pipe surfers of his era, John John Florence.

100% of Florence's partnerships include social content, where he averages over 57,000 engagements per brand.

In one of the craziest Kentucky Derby. finishes ever, Rich Strike took home 1st at 80-1 odds, the largest in Derby history. The broadcast on NBC saw a 14% increase in the number of brands leveraging the over 15 million viewers this year, an 8% increase in viewership.

BMW was the newest addition to the Derby’s sponsorship list signing on as the Official Luxury Vehicle. With BMW entering the race for the first time, which brands have been capitalizing on the Derby’s viewership the longest?

Woodford Reserve has been the Official Bourbon of the Derby since 1999, the longest partnership to date. Longines and Vineyard Vines have also been Derby sponsors for over a decade with partnership starting in 2011.

*Photo From Churchill Downs Website

During the Derby, Churchill Downs owned brands TwinSpires and Brisnet also saw exposure throughout the race and events before and after.

A sponsor since 2020, Ford was visible at multiple points throughout the race including at the starting line for all to see. Ford was also visible across barrier signage throughout the course as well as on a large fixed wallscape on top of the stable.

The 174th annual running of the Grand National horse race took place at the Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool this weekend, with between 500-600 million viewers worldwide.

Over 50 brands across 19 categories were seen partnering with the three-day race, including UK based brands Randox and Jewson.

The 2022 Guinness Six Nations Rugby championship came to a close on Saturday with France securing the title, and a grand slam, for the first time since 2010, and Italy ending their run of 36 consecutive loses.

With notable competition deals with Guinness, BREITLING and TikTok which can be seen on the match ball, we look at how the six national teams line up.

Future, a fitness app that virtually connects you with your very own personal trainer, has signed deals with the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors. The brand will become the Official Fitness Coaching partner of both teams as they have opened up a new sponsorship category within the NBA.

The brand will be getting awareness with logo visibility at both Madison Square Garden and the Chase Center while also creating exclusive content with the strength and conditioning coaches of both teams. They will also be featured during the game with promotions available for fans attending games.

Each week SponsorUnited sends out a list of the top 25 hottest brands to current clients. This list is ranked by weekly increase in profile views by unique users of SponsorUnited. Last week after the deal was announced with the teams, Future was ranked #5 on the list while the week prior was ranked #478. It will be interesting to watch Future as the season continues. SponsorUnited will be tracking all assets Future has at both arenas which is set to debut in the next week as the All-Star break has ended. The brand has currently been activating with the Golden State Warriors on social media with branded posts called “Road Reps.”