Hey everyone! Welcome to Edition #88 of The SEG3 Report!

For today’s edition, we spotlight Genius & Publicis Sports attempts to deliver better-timed and more contextual ads to fans whilst they’re consuming (and lent into) watching live sports.

We then also dive into 433 & FIFAe’s launch of Talent Lab & Paramount+ doubling down on their Champions League rights acquisition with a partnership with Arsenal.

This time next week! 👋 

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Genius & Publicis Sports partner to deliver automated brand placements based on game context

Genius Sports is teaming up with Publicis Sports, using its FANHub advertising platform - powered by real-time sports data and AI via GeniusIQ - to deliver ads tailored to what’s happening in live games and how fans are feeling. By analysing data, including fan emotional signals, they believe they can target fans beyond traditional betting audiences, and offer more relevant offers (e.g. food delivery after a loss, high-value purchases after a win).

TL;DR:

• Context > placement: ads work best when they match attention, mood and timing.

• Genius & Publicis are building tools that trigger ads based on live game events + fan emotion - studying fans (heart-rate, eye-tracking) to understand what drives behaviour.

• Most ads in sports still rely on static boards and fixed slots; rarely aligning with fan emotion.

• Matching the fan’s mood matters - timing a message wrong kills effectiveness.

• Making moment-based ads would be a huge unlock for brands looking to show up at the exact moments fans care most.

Context, context, context. It eats placement for breakfast.

And whilst it may be a buzzword in media - it is so for good reason.

Context means: Is your audience paying attention? Is the messaging you’re pushing through a good fit to the platform/medium? Does it appear at the most timely moment to get engagement or action from the fan?

All very important factors in determining the success of any ad campaign.

And now, more contextual ad offerings are coming to sports - with Genius & Publicis Sport wanting to deliver ads tailored to what’s happening in live games and how fans are feeling. 

Why should you care?

Because not all context, or the systems delivering said contextual ads, are created equal.

And so Genius & Publicis are wiring up fan groups with heart-rate and eye-tracking tech during NFL games to see how different moments actually affect what people do and buy afterwards.

They need that data and insight because as this piece from Dan Contento of YieldMo says, there are 6 pillars that make a contextual ad system a good one; these being:

• Relevance - i.e. a Lucozade ad after Declan Rice makes his 17th recovery tackle.

• Appropriateness - i.e. upbeat adverts after conceding 3 goals in 5 mins.

• Aesthetic Connection - i.e. the ad matches club colours and doesn’t interrupt.

• Granularity - reacting to smaller moments, i.e. a penalty save and an ad for a bank.

• Ease of Use - i.e. advertisers can simply select and buy the moments that matter to them.

• Effectiveness - i.e. did the ad drive the fan to action (search or purchase)?

So as you can see, given live sports’ ups and downs, if Genius & Publicis are able to deliver a platform that automates moment-triggered advertising based on game context, sports would become the undoubted first choice for ad dollars - taking the moment-driven playbook gaming has pioneered and applying it to a large, live audience.

And on that note, whilst this might be new in sports, it’s been tried and tested in gaming for many a year (as we covered recently in Edition #85) - so…

What should sports be taking from gaming’s journey?

The big one - focus on how you get your brand to be part of moments.

Gaming figured out years ago that attention is highest when something actually happens - a win, a fail, a clip worth sharing with friends - not when an ad is just sitting there (no matter how long it is there for!).

Sports has the exact same emotional spikes in abundance; goals, controversy etc - but advertisers rarely buy those moments (for now).

The next one - match your fans mood.

Because nothing screams “we understand you” like a contractually obliged post ten minutes after a 5-0 capitulation at home…

With Genius & Publicis trying to track emotions, there may be a scenario in the not too distant future where the best creative and copy can be delivered based off of the context around the match and fan behaviour. That’s impactful.

And finally, make it easy.

In-game ads took off because moment-based ads became simple to book and measure.

If sports can make buying the moment as easy as buying a perimeter board, everyone wins. Brands get the attention they crave, fans get something that feels relevant, and we all can avoid 90 mins of ads that are pre-programmed and going to run whether it’s the right timing or not.

Closing Thoughts

It’ll be interesting to see how far Genius & Publicis can push this. If they can crack contextual ads built around real fan behaviour, they could take the guesswork out of being part of big sporting moments.

Arsenal & Paramount+ partner; co-branded content and series promotion to come

Arsenal sign global partnership with Paramount+. The collaboration see’s Arsenal players, club legends and supporters feature in campaigns celebrating Paramount+’s shows, and enhanced branding across the men’s and women’s matchdays, in-stadium and online. To announce the partnership, Arsenal and Paramount+ released a co-branded launch film titled “For the Love of the Team”.

TL;DR:

• Brands need cross-industry partners to reach audiences spread across platforms and passions.

• Collabs only work when both sides understand each other’s story and culture, and how to integrate them authentically.

• The Arsenal x Paramount+ crossover feels natural and unlocks new storytelling opportunities for both.

Whilst SEG3 goes from London to Hollywood next week, Paramount has beaten us to the punch (in reverse), announcing a deal with Arsenal - complimenting their recent acquisition of Champions League UK rights.

So, why should you care?

Because this is what modern fandom looks like now - sports bleeding into entertainment, entertainment bleeding into sports - and that’s without getting into the technology, gaming, fashion and music crossovers.

And in the fragmented landscape we find ourselves in, this kind of expansion isn’t optional for brands and IP owners anymore.

With audiences split across multiple platforms and passions, they need to look outside their own lane to be able to find new fans and growth opportunities.

But to do it well, you need partners that understand your IP and story to help you authentically integrate into the culture (i.e. context!!).

And that’s why this partnership works well - with Paramount+ and Arsenal now being able to combine Paramount’s shows with Arsenal’s players, legends and moments to create content neither could make, or make credibly, on their own.

Closing Thoughts

Meeting fans where they are means everywhere.

So if there’s one thing you take from this - go where your fans already spend their time, and do it with partners who get your story.

That’s how you stay relevant. That’s why this Arsenal x Paramount+ crossover works. And why we’ll see plenty more of this in 2026 and beyond.

FIFAe & 433 partner to launch Talent Lab

433 and FIFAe have jointly launched a new “Talent Lab Programme” - a programme aimed at bringing content creators in the FIFAe ecosystem. 

The programme has been “designed to discover and empower the next generation of esports storytellers, while further professionalizing the football esports scene and its coverage”.

So, why should you care?

Because the traditional pathway for talent into traditional media has been so incredibly disrupted over the past 18-24 months. And this is yet another example of that.

Whilst traditional media continues to have distribution, they don’t have younger generations attention (or perhaps, their trust).

Creators have the younger generations attention and trust, but don’t yet have the established revenue streams of media.

And so, this has created a weird but very real middle ground where creators and traditional media are starting to meet each other in the middle out of necessity; creators needing infrastructure, and media needing relevance.

And this was a main talking point at SEG3 London over the summer - with some of the key takeaways being:

1 - UGC platforms are giving creators incredible distribution, with AI now also reducing their cost of production, but there is credibility and infrastructure to working with traditional channels that many creators find themselves reverting to once they hit critical mass (i.e. Mr Beast & Amazon).

2 - Budgets are down. There’s less buyers and not a great deal is being commissioned. That being said, traditional players are pivoting their content strategies to bring more digital-native & non-traditional creators into their ecosystem. For creators that build a community and validation through UGC platforms, there is now a very real pathway to gain financing from traditional players.

Closing Thoughts

That need on both sides is why programmes like FIFAe & 433’s - and things like the BBC & TikTok’s partnership for Last Pundit Standing, are working - and why in my view, we’ll see a lot more of them in 2026 onwards.

In other news this week:

• Playmobil becomes official licensee of DFL: read here.

• Sky Sports secures UEFA Europa League & Conference League rights: read here.

• Como 1907 launches Gaming Club: read here.

• Nintendo acquires Bandai Namco Singapore studio: read here.

• Sports Interactive & AS Monaco partner to become official partner of Football Manager: read here.

• OpenAI’s ChatGPT becomes sponsor of India’s WPL: read here.

• Roc Nation Distribution gives independent artists control of their music: read here.

• BBC Sport secures long-term rights for LALIGA clips: read here.

• Globant & FIFA renew partnership for 2026 & 2027: read here.

• Bytedance reportedly looking to divest Moonton Technology to Savvy Games Group: read here.

• Respo Vision agrees deal with KNVB to gather tracking data of National Team: read here.

• Major League Soccer launch 2026 eMLS: read here.

• Unilever’s Pepsodent launches Cavity Fighters experience on Roblox: read here.

Working on anything cool, or have a press release you would like us to cover? Send it in for the chance for it to be covered in next week’s edition!

That’s all for now everyone - thanks again for reading the latest edition of The SEG3 Report, and if you found it of interest, please do consider sharing with a colleague or friend!