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posted on Dec. 15, 2025 at 12:41 pmDec 16, 2025

Sports marketing: Leaders discuss a language of belonging

posted on Dec. 15, 2025 at 12:41 pmDec 16, 2025

Campaign Middle East speaks to industry leaders about how sports marketing has evolved beyond logo placements, endorsements and loud campaigns to a reflection of culture, community, common bonds and – above all – belonging.

Top row, from left, Dawn Barnable, Founder, The Mettleset; Ali Aljehani, Senior Vice President (SVP)– MENA, dentsu Sports and Entertainment; Sophie Ryan, Head of Corporate Communications, Marketing and Brand, Dubai Racing Club; Bilal Fares, Senior Vice President and General Manager, adidas EMC; and Razan Karim, Head of Communications – Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle, HAVAS Red Middle East. Bottom row, from left, John Nolan, Head of Sport and Commercial Investment – MENA, Publicis Groupe Middle East; Dr. Craig Wilkie, Managing Director of Maydan Sports, a Stagwell sports collective; Neha D’Souza, Senior Media Director, Equation Media; and Alan Holt, Group Managing Director, ES Sport.

Sports marketing is shifting gears. It is accelerating past traditional sponsorship plays, broadcast tie-ups, naming rights and endorsements. The old manual that mandated mere brand presence is being rewritten. Marketers are beginning to move beyond the clutter of logos plastered on sports jerseys, media walls, racing cars, virtual on-screen overlays, and banners on the perimeters of the playing field. Rather than only being seen, brands are now also attempting to be felt, experienced and remembered.
Binoculars that once zoomed in on athletes and their achievements have now given way to cameras that capture every bit of emotion on the faces of fans. Every moment matters – from celebrations a

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Tags:active attention adidas EMC Alan Holt Ali AlJehani Bilal Fares broadcast tie-ups co-creation communities Consumers consumption CPMs cultural alignment Culture data Dawn Barnable Dentsu Dentsu MENA dentsu Sports and Entertainment Dr Craig Wilkie Dubai Racing Club endorsements entertainment Equation Media ES Sport first-party data following Havas Middle East Havas Red Middle East Identity intellectual property jersey John Nolan lived experiences logo marketing Maydan Sports merchandising naming rights Neha D’Souza participation Publicis Groupe Middle East Purpose Razan Karim shared emotions Sophie Ryan sponsorships sports marketers Sports Marketing sports marketing opportunities Stagwell storytelling The Mettleset

the authorAnup Oommen

Anup Oommen is the Editor of Campaign Middle East at Motivate Media Group, a well-reputed moderator, and a multiple award-winning journalist with more than 15 years of experience at some of the most reputable and credible global news organisations, including Reuters, CNN, and Motivate Media Group. As the Editor of Campaign Middle East, Anup heads market-leading coverage of advertising, media, marketing, PR, events and experiential, digital, the wider creative industries, and more, through the brand’s digital, print, events, directories, podcast and video verticals. As such he’s a key stakeholder in the Campaign Global brand, the world’s leading authority for the advertising, marketing and media industries, which was first published in the UK in 1968.