Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to the 17th 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.

While brands throw millions at sports like F1 and football, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) discovered marketing gold by running in the opposite direction - literally.

The tech consulting giant sponsors 14 marathons globally, including five of the seven World Marathon Majors. They're so committed to running that they dropped every other sports deal - even pulling their name off Formula 1 cars. "Once we discovered the magic of marathons, we [made] a decision about 15 years ago that we shut down everything else," says CMO Abhinav Kumar.

This isn't your typical sports sponsorship where executives wine and dine clients in VIP boxes. At TCS marathons, 8,000 employees and 4,000 customers ARE the athletes. They're not watching the action - they're sweating through 26.2 miles together. One-third of TCS's 600,000 employees are runners as well. 

This is a perfectly aligned marketing strategy. Marathon running embodies the same values TCS wants associated with their brand: endurance, discipline, and overcoming challenges.

The ROI is massive. Sponsor brand consideration among marathoners is 67% compared to 27% among non-runners. Major races generate $10-20 million in equivalent media value. Marathon merch is actively reused with TCS's name on it, and they are a widely reported event. TCS built an authentic community in an "undernourished" sponsorship.

Sometimes the best marketing strategy isn't following the crowd to the biggest stadium. It's showing up where your audience is - even if that means lacing up your running shoes at 6 AM! 

What’s your niche? Stop chasing the competition and start chasing your community. But where do you find these hidden gems, like almost every marathon sponsorship opportunity across the US? (Anvara.com)

The NBA's sponsorship revolution proves everything we've been saying at Anvara - and the numbers are staggering. Team sponsorship revenue hit $1.6 billion this season, nearly doubling in five years. But let’s dig deeper and look at who is writing those checks.

Tech, auto, and healthcare brands are muscling out traditional sponsors. The LA Clippers signed Intuit and Kaiser Permanente. The Kings landed the auto tech company Reviver. This isn't a purely beer-and-banks sponsorship playbook anymore. The industry is reshaping - 450 new sponsors flooded the league in a single season, mostly from construction, alcohol, and tech.

Also, team performance doesn't seem to matter! The Washington Wizards, who've been terrible for years, lead the league in number of sponsors. The Warriors are approaching $200 million in sponsorship revenue despite a first-round playoff exit. Brands aren't buying wins - they just want attention ( 🎵).

Case in point: Jared McCain. The 76ers' rookie barely played any games last season due to injury but landed 30 sponsorship deals - a league record. Why? 4.7 million TikTok followers. Amazon, Sally Hansen, and Jordan aren't just sponsoring a basketball player; they're sponsoring a content creator who happens to wear a jersey.

While the big spenders (Rakuten, JPMorganChase, AB InBev) stick around for brand prestige, hundreds of smaller, newer brands are testing the waters. They're not competing for jersey patches - they're finding creative ways in through social content, digital activations, and niche partnerships.

The teams treating sponsorship like an open canvas rather than a static billboard are the ones cashing those nine-figure checks. At Anvara, we've learned that the best sponsorship opportunities aren't the basic ones - they tell the brand’s story in an aligned way.

⚽ 17-year-old Lamine Yamal might double FC Barcelona’s Spotify deal to €120m. The La Liga champions believe their current €60m/year shirt sponsorship is worth twice that, thanks to their teenage sensation. Spotify has an option to extend in 2026, but Barca smells opportunity.

📱 WhatsApp ads are here - but they're flying blind. Meta is bringing ads to its 2 billion-user platform with CPMs at just $0.10-$0.15, but there's a catch: minimal targeting. Brands can only target by location, language, and followed channels. However, Meta is betting on AI agents to handle personalized product recommendations within chats, and it’s just the beginning for WhatsApp’s ad network.

📊 Sports sponsorship measurement is finally evolving. While most marketers still struggle with ROI, smart brands are pioneering new approaches. Mobil1 tracks direct sales through Amazon NASCAR's shoppable ads. The industry is moving beyond billboards to measurable outcomes, without forgetting that emotional connections still matter most

🚢 Royal Caribbean proves sponsorships work by simply having fun with fans. The cruise line extended its Fulham FC deal with a refreshingly straightforward approach - half-time competitions where fans can win vacations, a themed Family Zone at the stadium, and their logo on academy kits. Sponsorships with an interactive component always perform best!

🎬 Brands are becoming TV producers - and creators are their showrunners. Forget one-off sponsored posts. Brands are now funding entire creator-led series. Hot Ones’ billions of views proved the model works. Creator content delivers 3-5x better performance than traditional ads when scaled across channels. But here's the catch - brands must think like executive producers, not advertisers.