The summer of women’s international sport is almost upon us, bringing with it multiple opportunities for brands to connect directly with audiences via official fan zones and feel good sports activations in some of the UK’s best available outdoor events spaces.

It’s all about creating premium experiences which reach light TV viewers in venues that deliver high dwell times. Using different formats and creative content to galvanise fans, generating high levels of affinity and audience consideration.

Through our sports and broadcast partnerships, Ocean Outdoor connects audiences in ways others can’t, entertaining people in premium UK locations by combining live sports action on giant outdoor screens with immersive brand activations.

Hybrid OOH experiences attract new audiences

Two independent consumer facing studies carried out by Opinium and Savanta for Ocean during last year’s Olympics and Paralympics Games demonstrate how official fan zones, curated by Ocean Labs in association with our content partners, deepen sponsorship opportunities and engaged audiences.

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Here’s are just four of the many learnings:

Official status matters to the public. 60% said they believed in the importance of the fan zones having “official” status, saying it made them more appealing.

Brands that were physically present in the fan zones had higher brand consideration scores. 77% of consumers said their trust in a brand increased following interactions at a live fan zone event.

Fan zones bring like-minded people together. The 60% who thought fan zones were important said it’s because of the shared experience, and 55% said they enjoyed the atmosphere.

In terms of dwell time, guests spent an average two hours enjoying the facilities as they watched the Olympics live on large screens, spending on average £35 during their fan zone visit. 

Ocean’s research is packed with further insights, so do get in touch for a copy.

Make it official

Women’s sports fans want brands to show up. According to research from the Women’s Sports Trust, 71% believe brands have a responsibility to uplift women’s sports. And 46% are more likely to engage with sponsors compared to those in men’s sports (source: 2023 study).

With the Women’s Euros on the horizon this July, followed by the Women’s Rugby World Cup hosted by England later this summer, there’s clearly a place for brands to create emotional connections which deliver high levels of brand affinity and recall.

Three ways brands should be present

Growing participation, driving awareness and building excitement are all cornerstones of Ocean’s brand partnerships playbook.

Invest in reach: Going big on Digital Out of Home (DOOH) is a chance to distribute brand led content, supercharging the visibility of elite women’s sport.

Exercise your rights: Fans will reward you for showing up. With Ocean set to manage the official Women’s Rugby World Cup fan zone this September, now’s the time for official partners to start planning brand activations.

Own your category: Be bold, be distinctive, be the headline partner –  and go big on experiential.

Here’s some examples which delivered real cut through for brands in official fan zones.

Vodafone was the headline sponsor for Ocean’s official Wimbledon Experiences hosted by Westfield London and Battersea Power Station in 2023. The two week activations delivered 1.2 million footfall which grew by 85% during Finals week. The average dwell time was 65 minutes.

In two of our official Paris 2024 fan zones, supermarket leader Aldi put people power to the test, challenging visitors to race against each other on mounted bikes. The trade-off was a free smoothie. Some 12,477 bike rides took place, and thousands of smoothies consumed.

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Ocean broadcast Olympics highlights in 13 cities, supported by multiple brands including GetPRO as part of an integrated campaign. Across nine days in two fan zones, 17,280 high protein products were sampled.

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For further information about Ocean’s fan zone and other experiential opportunities, contact Kevin Henry email kevin.henry@oceanoutdoor.com