How Allied Sports is Using Storytelling to Achieve the Promise of Sponsorship
The sports sponsorship market is undergoing a seismic shift. Strong demand for live sports and a growing supply of sponsorable inventory are fueling an industry projected to reach $190 billion in global revenue by 2030. The promise of sponsorship is real – invest in the emotion of sports because, when properly activated, it can drive measurable impact for your brand and business. The problem? Not all rights-holders are equipped to deliver on that promise, leaving many sponsors to settle for short-term gains by borrowing assets rather than seizing the opportunity for their brand to truly belong within a community of fans.
Enter Allied Sports, the fast-growing agency on a mission to help sponsorship buyers and sellers answer that challenge through the power of storytelling. For Allied, this marketplace shift represents more than a trend – it’s a fundamental reorientation. Traditional sponsors merely rent assets like seats and signage, hoping to enhance sales. In contrast, Allied positions itself as a storyteller agency that is guiding brands to deeper connections with audiences by crafting campaigns rich in empathy, relevance, and utility.
Kevin McSherry, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Solutions at Allied Sports, emphasized that embracing belonging over borrowing unlocks sponsorship’s true potential, fostering more meaningful engagement with discerning fans. “Borrowing makes you visible but forgettable. Belonging makes you integral to the community.”
As X user @williams_fw45 put it in a meme showing a jacked bearded man “simping” for a Duracell battery: “At your service, my king.”
Led by a group of trusted industry veterans, Allied Sports was founded in 2019 as a startup sales and consulting firm connected to the Allied Global Marketing network. Five years later, the privately held, New York-based agency is successfully leading modern marketers in what it has coined as the shift from Sponsor to Storyteller™.
From global stages like the Super Bowl and Olympics to rapidly growing territories like esports and women’s soccer, Allied Sports is bringing brands and rights-holders together as storytellers to capture and monetize audience attention. The agency is particularly excited about storytelling opportunities in athlete-driven media, women's sports, and the power of sport for good – areas they're driving investment in as clients seek to connect with next-gen fans.
The shift from sponsor to storyteller is illustrated by Allied's work with LG, which tasked the agency to cultivate affinity with Gen Z audiences through its NCAA partnership. “Our storytelling solution started with a simple premise – let your values speak louder than your value proposition,” said Brianna Babb, Vice President of Brand Strategy at Allied Sports. The agency created a talent-led #Game4Good campaign, elevating student-athletes' positive impact through NIL partnerships while supporting mental health initiatives.
The agency brokered LG's first NIL deals with college basketball players and produced a heartfelt video called "With Love" in which the players spoke candidly about prioritizing their mental wellbeing during March Madness. LG's commitment to the message has extended to a podcast series, financial support for mental health organizations, and a first-of-its-kind award recognizing coaches who champion student-athletes’ mental health.
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By - Front Office Sports
Posted - August 1, 2024
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Cisco turned to Allied Sports to consolidate its golf sponsorships under a unified narrative. Allied developed "Teeing Up Tomorrow" as a storytelling platform to highlight Cisco’s commitment to enabling a more inclusive future in golf. Launched last year, the campaign introduced Cisco’s inaugural golf-themed brand creative featuring ambassadors from the PGA TOUR, LPGA, APGA, and a Junior Golfer.
It has since expanded to offer new opportunities for diverse audiences to engage with the sport. From amplifying the first all-female Cisco Networking Academy Dream Team with the USGA to more than tripling the prize money pool for the APGA Tour’s new season-long Cisco Cup points race, Cisco continues to use its golf portfolio as a means of advancing its corporate purpose.
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"Our storytelling solution started with a simple premise – let your values speak louder than your value proposition."
Brianna Babb
Vice President of Brand Strategy at Allied Sports
"Borrowing makes you visible but forgettable. Belonging makes you integral to the community."
Kevin McSherry
Executive Vice President of Strategy & Solutions at Allied Sports
Allied also helps sports properties create custom storytelling platforms that give prospective sponsors compelling reasons to belong. Led by Senior Vice President Megan Fogarty, the agency’s Partnership Development team represented the National Women’s Soccer League in its search for sponsors committed to raising the profile of the league, along with its clubs and players. It brokered two of the league’s deals with Adobe and Google Pixel, leading with a platform-first approach that pushed the boundaries of what was possible to find new ways for these brands to bring fans closer to the game than ever before. Both sponsorships included first-of-their-kind, product-driven storytelling platforms, including Adobe’s “Creator Class” and Google’s “Pitchside with Pixel” program.
As the sports landscape continues to evolve, one thing is clear: the sponsors that will breakthrough and be memorable are the ones that demonstrate empathy, relevance, and utility. And with Allied Sports as a partner, buyers and sellers are using storytelling to achieve the promise of sponsorship.
Posted - August 1, 2024
"Our storytelling solution started with a simple premise – let your values speak louder than your value proposition."
Brianna Babb
Vice President of Brand Strategy at Allied Sports
"Borrowing makes you visible but forgettable. Belonging makes you integral to the community."
Kevin McSherry
Executive Vice President of Strategy & Solutions at Allied Sports
As the sports landscape continues to evolve, one thing is clear: the sponsors that will break through and be memorable are the ones that demonstrate empathy, relevance, and utility. And with Allied Sports as a partner, buyers and sellers are using storytelling to achieve the promise of sponsorship.
The sports sponsorship market is undergoing a seismic shift. Strong demand for live sports and a growing supply of sponsorable inventory are fueling an industry projected to reach $190 billion in global revenue by 2030. The promise of sponsorship is real – invest in the emotion of sports because, when properly activated, it can drive measurable impact for your brand and business. The problem? Not all rights-holders are equipped to deliver on that promise, leaving many sponsors to settle for short-term gains by borrowing assets rather than seizing the opportunity for their brand to truly belong within a community of fans.
Enter Allied Sports the fast-growing agency on a mission to help sponsorship buyers and sellers answer that challenge through the power of storytelling. For Allied, this marketplace shift represents more than a trend – it’s a fundamental reorientation. Traditional sponsors merely rent assets like seats and signage, hoping to enhance sales. In contrast, Allied positions itself as a storyteller agency that is guiding brands to deeper connections with audiences by crafting campaigns rich in empathy, relevance, and utility.
Kevin McSherry, Executive Vice President of Strategy & Solutions at Allied Sports, emphasized that embracing belonging over borrowing unlocks sponsorship’s true potential, fostering more meaningful engagement with discerning fans. “Borrowing makes you visible but forgettable. Belonging makes you integral to the community.”