Sponsorship and Experiential Marketing

Welcome and Opening Remarks (11:00am - 11:15am)

Session I. Break the Mold, Steal the Show —How Stagwell's Sport Beach Disrupted the Experience Landscape at Cannes Lions, Presented by Cheerful Twentyfirst (11:20am - 11:45pm)

International marketing network Stagwell wanted to cement their brand position as a leading and innovative marketing group on a global stage. Their ambition was to bring together marketers, sponsors, brand partners, athletes and their agencies for an experience beyond the expected. 

A sports stadium on the beach, for the first time Cannes Lions saw business meetings boout of play. Its inaugural iteration broke attendance records, won experiential awards and put Stagwell on the map.

Hear how Sport Beach —built on shifting sands and with an audience-first strategy at its core— became the home for global networking, new partnerships, fierce pickleball and big business between agencies, athletes, brands and media partners alike. 

https://youtu.be/-5-ZKlL8bMg 

Speakers:
Georgina Burrows, Head of Strategy, Cheerful Twentyfirst 
Beth Sidhu, Chief Brand and Communications Officer, Stagwell

Session II. "Revolutionizing Fandom: How TelevisaUnivision Partnered with Brands to Engage Fútbol Fanáticos with Liga MX" (11:50am - 12:15pm)

In 2024, TelevisaUnivision redefined fan engagement, bringing official sponsors to the center of Liga MX fandom through a mix of branded storytelling, tentpole activations, and strategic partnerships.

Alongside Expedia, Hyundai, Metro by T-Mobile, and State Farm, TelevisaUnivision innovated media integrations and experiential activations through a grassroots approach that appealed to fanáticos’ passion points – food, family, music, and of course fútbol, to deliver measurable results for brands while maintaining Liga MX brand equity.

Hear from TelevisaUnivision’s Hector Leal, VP, Production & Creative, Así Sports, and Gabriel Arias, Director, Sports Sponsorships, Así Sports, as they share best practices for engaging U.S. Hispanics soccer fans and the power of authentic experiences.

Speakers:
Hector Leal, Vice President of Creative, TelevisaUnivision
Gabriel Arias, Director of Sponsorships, TelevisaUnivision

Session III. Making History: A Look at How the Atlanta Falcons, in partnership with Crocs, created a sponsorship activation for the record books (literally) (12:20pm - 12:45pm)
Crocs, the popular foam footwear brand, became a sponsor of the Atlanta Falcons for the first time in 2024. Their brand is known for outside-of-the-box marketing campaigns and as such, the initial motivation behind the Falcons partnership was to create a “splash” moment in the 2024 season. This case study, featuring a 6-foot tall mascot known affectionately to fans as Freddie Falcon, is a testament to the widespread power of sponsorship activation in social media.

Speaker:
Tyler Hargrove, Senior Corporate Partnership Sales Manager, Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United (AMB Sports + Entertainment)

Closing Remarks (12:45pm - 1:00pm)

**Schedule subject to change

SPEAKER BIOS

Tyler Hargrove

Tyler Hargrove serves as Senior Corporate Partnership Sales Manager for AMB Sports + Entertainment, the parent company of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United of MLS, Atlanta Drive of TGL, and the award-winning Mercedes-Benz Stadium. 2024 marked his 10th season with the Atlanta Falcons, previously serving as the Corporate Partnership Activation Director prior to his current sales role.

As Senior Corporate Partnership Sales Manager, Tyler is on a team responsible for generating new business opportunities with brands who are looking to leverage the passion of the AMB Sports + Entertainment Audience.

Tyler is a proud graduate of Auburn University and as of 2024, serves on the Alumni Council for Auburn’s Harbert College of Business. His extracurricular / volunteer experience extends to Advisory Council member of Westside Works, a subsidiary of non-profit workforce intermediary CareerRise; Council member of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce; and Mentor on theClubhouse, a career-growth sports industry platform.

Tyler has over 18 years of sports business experience, previously working with multiple marketing agencies in Atlanta, last with Momentum Worldwide managing UPS’s collegiate sports platform.

Born and raised in metro Atlanta, Tyler currently resides in Marietta, GA with his wife, Stephanie, and three daughters - Sarah Kate (9), Ella (2) and Avery (4 months).

Hector Leal

Hector Leal is a media executive with over 12 years of experience in the sports and entertainment industry, specializing in the development and execution of strategic, cross-platform initiatives for Fortune 500 brands. As the Vice President of Creative and Production for Así Sports, part of TelevisaUnivision’s brand studio Así Studios, Leal leverages his expertise in creative strategy and execution, to deliver multi-million-dollar partnerships across content and experiential for Liga MX’s official partners in the U.S. He has led award-winning branded content campaigns with a proven ability to drive marketing innovation and lead high-impact marketing strategies across major soccer events.

Gabriel Arias

Gabriel Arias, director of sports sponsorship for Así Sports, is a seasoned sports marketing executive with over 15 years of experience in sponsorship sales, partnership marketing, and business development. He has driven high-impact sponsorship strategies across major global properties, delivering measurable results for clients and partners. Arias has spearheaded revenue-generating initiatives and partnerships by combining strategic insight, relationship-building, and innovative activations. His expertise includes leading cross-functional teams, crafting tailored marketing solutions, and driving successful collaborations with brands across the sports, media, and entertainment industries.

Beth Sidhu

Stagwell is the challenger holding company built to transform marketing. The network delivers scaled creative performance for the world's most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing.

As Chief Brand and Communications Officer, Beth leads all external and internal visibility efforts for Stagwell, telling the company’s story to stakeholders globally across earned, paid and owned channels. Part of Stagwell since its inception in 2015, Beth previously served as the CMO, COO and oversaw new business, marketing, and product development.

In 2023, Beth first introduced Sport Beach to the world at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, leveraging sport as a door opener into the conversations driving the business landscape – community, culture, globalization, fandom and more.

Under Beth’s leadership, Sport Beach has grown from its Cannes Lions presence to additional Sport Beach ‘Clubhouses’ at the World Economic Forum, South by Southwest, Super Bowl and more.

Georgina Burrows

Cheerful Twentyfirst is a global and award-winning brand experience agency with headquarters in London, New York, Austin and Cannes. The external brand experience partner for Sport Beach, Cheerful Twentyfirst have proudly supported Stagwell and Team since it’s conception in 2022, in audience strategy, creative execution and end-to-end event delivery.

Georgina Burrows - Head of Strategy at Cheerful Twentyfirst - joined the project team to deliver something truly special on the sands in Cannes. With a background in audience strategy and event production, Georgina’s nuanced experience translating brand goals into engagement has been crucial in the creation of the audience experience found at Sport Beach, and in the unbeatable ROI for sponsors, partners and stakeholders.