Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to the 53rd weekly edition of Broken Marketing by Anvara, where we discuss marketing that breaks.

For those of you who are new here, we’re Nick and Andrei, the co-founders of Anvara. We’ve included you here because one way or another, we’re connected. We’re happy to have you as a part of the Anvara family.

University of Memphis just turned its entire athletic department into a moving sponsorship network.

Starting in 2026 - 27, FedEx will appear as a jersey patch across all 19 men’s and women’s programs, expanding a relationship that already brings in millions annually through stadium signage and broader athletic support.

The move tracks with the rule change.

The NCAA approved jersey patches earlier this year, opening a new revenue stream for schools, and Memphis scaled it immediately across every team instead of limiting it to football or basketball.

So this hits differently.

It moves from venue-based exposure to uniform-based repetition at scale.

A stadium logo shows up during home games.

A jersey logo shows up everywhere, broadcasts, highlights, press conferences, and social clips, across dozens of games per team, per season.

Now multiply that across 19 programs.

That’s hundreds of events, thousands of minutes of screen time, and constant brand presence across different audiences, from football Saturdays to Olympic sports.

The activation follows the same logic.

At Spring Fest, the first 1,500 fans receive replica jerseys with the FedEx patch, turning a sponsorship asset into something fans wear, photograph, and circulate beyond the game.

Which extends the lifecycle of a single placement.

Because once the logo lives on the uniform, it becomes one of the most repeatable and portable assets in college sports.

And at this scale, Memphis effectively turned one sponsor into a presence that moves across the entire athletic ecosystem.

Fanatics and AT&T just built one of the most layered deals in the space.

AT&T comes in as the Official Connectivity Provider under a five-year agreement that stretches across Fanatics Fan Fest, digital platforms, loyalty programs, and co-hosted watch parties tied to major events.

The move tracks with Fanatics’ scale.

The company operates across e-commerce, collectibles, live events, and fan data, reaching tens of millions of customers globally, which turns one partnership into multiple points of exposure and engagement.

So this lands differently.

It moves from single placement to ecosystem integration across the fan journey.

At Fanatics Fan Fest in New York, AT&T steps in as a lead sponsor alongside brands like Dick’s Sporting Goods and UPS, plugging into a live event expected to draw tens of thousands of fans with high dwell time and direct interaction.

At the same time, AT&T customers receive enhanced status within Fanatics’ loyalty program, connecting the partnership directly to retention and customer behavior, not just awareness.

Add in ad inventory across Fanatics platforms and future plans for retail integration and co-branded offerings, and the brand shows up across: live events, digital commerce, loyalty ecosystems, and shared experiences like watch parties.

This creates layered exposure across both online and offline environments.

Because connectivity in this context isn’t just infrastructure.

It becomes part of how fans access, engage with, and stay inside the sports ecosystem.

And that’s where the value compounds.

Portland Fire just turned pregame into premium sponsorship inventory.

Lashify enters as a marquee jersey partner, placing its logo on all three uniform editions while building out a “Lashify Runway” arrival experience and a glam room inside the team’s training facility.

The move tracks with where attention is shifting.

Women’s sports are seeing record growth in viewership and sponsorship investment, and the content that travels fastest increasingly comes from tunnel walks, arrivals, and BTS moments, not just in-game highlights.

So this hits differently.

It moves from in-game exposure to arrival-based and lifestyle-driven visibility.

The jersey delivers repeated broadcast impressions across games and highlights.

The runway creates a controlled, branded moment at the arena entrance, where players arrive, media capture content, and fans engage before tip-off.

The glam room places the brand inside daily routines, embedding it into player preparation and team culture.

That combination creates multiple layers of exposure:

All tied to moments where attention is naturally close and highly shareable.

And that’s why beauty brands are entering this space now.

Because the most valuable inventory in sports increasingly lives in moments that feel cultural, visual, and personal - and those moments often happen before the game even starts.

🍫 WNBA x M&M’s - The WNBA creates a new “official chocolate” category and hands it to M&M’s. The real play is activation: Draft night photo booths, giveaways, and season-long fan touchpoints turn a snack into live event engagement inventory.

🏉 USA Rugby x Skyward Group - USA Rugby signs Skyward as front-of-jersey sponsor across all national teams: men’s, women’s, sevens, and development. One logo now travels across formats, tournaments, and markets, turning a single deal into multi-team, always-on visibility.

💄 Aces x IPSY - The Las Vegas Aces add IPSY as a jersey patch sponsor, but the real play is culture. Glam activations, community nights, and youth clinics extend the deal beyond the uniform, turning beauty into an in-arena experience + community touchpoints.

Quote of the Week

"If you can't keep going, then go faster." - Emil Zátopek