The international SPORTO conference, which is returning to Ljubljana for the first time since its premiere 18 years ago, is just around the corner. Next Thursday, June 9, in the VIP grandstand of the Stožice stadium, it will offer a different, “stadium experience” of the leading sports marketing and sponsorship event in this part of Europe. The conference will once again bring together leading players from the industry, with some eminent guests, representatives of brands, rights holders, agencies, and media from more than fifteen countries.
Guest speakers will offer a 360-degree insight into trends in the sports marketing industry. This year’s focus will be on current topics in the recovery after the pandemic, the intertwining of the physical and the virtual, the growth of digital audiences, purpose-led partnerships, sustainable development and globalization of sports.
MORNING: FROM THE METAVERSE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
We will start highly optimistic. Matt Rogan, for many years the first man of Two Circles, the two-time UK’s sports agency of the year, will illustrate the challenges in the industry, which recently went through the darkest period and is now according to Rogan just coming into its golden ages. Why? Don’t miss the opening keynote at 9:30 AM.
Katie Matthews of Little Dot Sport will show us how rights holders and their sponsor brands should make the most of digital content, and how they can grow on their social media and increase digital audiences. Richard Petrich, CEO of Value of We, will take us into a new digital frontier: Web3 and metaverse! Through examples from sports and entertainment, we will better understand what metaverse is, what it could become in the coming years, and why Web 3.0 with blockchain technology plays such an important role. However, to be able to reach the metaverse peacefully, we must also behave more sustainably. With the help of Patrick Haslett, Managing Director at Impact 3 Zero, we will look into the positive future of organizations and other stakeholders in sport who are already committing to sustainable development.
AFTERNOON: SPONSORSHIP INSIGHTS, GLOBALIZATION OF SPORTS AND SPECIAL GUESTS – ALESANDER ČEFERIN AND NASSER AL-KHELAÏFI
Mohammad Ali Abbaspour, Founder and CEO of the award-winning start-up tech company Sponix Tech, will be guest of SPORTO Tech Moments session.
Insights from sponsorship world will be shared by Ellie Moss, Strategy Director at the creative agency Cake (part of the Havas Group, their portfolio of clients includes Puma, BT, MLB and Aston Martin F1). We will then head to the road. Continental’s “Share the Road” campaign, presented by Casper Svanemose, focuses on the increase in road cooperation and empathy among cyclist and other drivers. The presentation will also include an insight into Continental’s commitment as a partner of the famous Tour de France.
What globalization of sport brings to rights holders, media and brands will be explained by top US strategist Peter Scott, vice president of new media and innovation at media giant Warner Bros. Discovery, and Craig Howe, Founder and CEO of Rebel Ventures, which cooperates with leading sports properties such as the Milwaukee Bucks (NBA) and Kansas City Chiefs (NFL).
Thursday afternoon will end with a traditional SPORTO Talk with eminent guests. The stage will present Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA President, and Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Chairman of the European Club Association (ECA) and President and CEO of Paris Saint-Germain. The leading personalities of the football world will discuss the future of European club football, including new UEFA Champions League format, financial sustainability and women’s football.
EVENING: SPORTO BRANDS, WOMEN’S EHF EURO 2022 AND SPORTO PARTY!
The introduction to a varied evening part will be marked by SPORTO Brands, where winners of the traditional Mediana survey on the most popular, recognizable and commercially appealing athletes and clubs (according to the public) will be revealed.
A SPORTO overtime will follow, this time handball, as Slovenia will co-host the European Women’s Handball Championship at the end of the year. The stage will be shared by JJ Rowland, Director of Marketing and Business Development at the European Handball Federation, and Christina Höllerl, Central Marketing Sales Manager at Infront Sports & Media. The EHF Women’s EURO will emphasize the importance of sustainable development and the empowerment of women in sport. The final session of the day will be joined by a special guest, the ambassador of the Championship – artist and singer Senidah.
The conference will – as always – end in a relaxed and connecting atmosphere, with the SPORTO Party!
This time, TikTok workshop (organized in partnership with DD Studios) will complete the conference. The workshop will take place at the Austria Trend Hotel on Friday (10 June) morning and is open for all participants of the conference.
All lectures and discussions will be held in English language. Detailed programme of the SPORTO 2022 can be found at sporto.si/en/programme. Don’t miss action-packed event and join us in Ljubljana. You can still register here.
