Holiday Sporting Events Are Marketing Gold And What We Can Learn From Their Playbook

These broadcasts are marketing masterclasses

While the NFL, NBA, NCAA, major networks, and streaming platforms operate with budgets that could fund a small nation, the strategies they use aren’t exclusive to billion‑dollar brands. In fact, small and medium‑sized businesses can borrow many of these same tactics (scaled and adapted appropriately) to drive attention, deepen loyalty, and create their own “can’t‑miss moments.”

Let’s break down what the big players are doing during the holidays, why it works, and how your business can apply the same principles in 2026 and beyond.

Here’s why holiday games are marketing powerhouses

Holiday sports broadcasts are uniquely powerful because they sit at the intersection of three things every marketer dreams of:

• High attention (families gathered, screens on, limited distractions) 
• High emotion (tradition, nostalgia, rivalry, celebration, brand loyal audiences) 
• High shareability (social media spikes, live reactions, cultural relevance)

Sports leagues understand that the holidays aren’t just a time when people watch… they feel. And emotion is the fuel of effective marketing, so they lean into it hard!

From themed uniforms to holiday‑branded graphics to special musical performances, leagues transform ordinary games into seasonal events. Networks amplify the moment with storytelling packages, celebrity cameos, and cross‑promotions. Advertisers drop their most cinematic and emotionally charged creative of the year.

It’s not accidental; it’s strategy, and one that other businesses can absolutely learn from.

Lesson 1: Tap into emotion and tradition

Holiday games work because they’re built on rituals. People expect them. They look forward to them. They become an integral part of the day.

Takeaway: You don’t need a national audience to create your own seasonal traditions.

Here are a few ways to build emotional resonance at your scale:

• Create an annual “moment” your customers can count on.  A year‑end thank‑you event, a January “reset” campaign, a spring kickoff sale, really anything that becomes yours.
• Lean into storytelling. Share customer or employee success stories, leader reflections, or behind‑the‑scenes content that feels personal and seasonal.
• Use nostalgia strategically. Holiday throwbacks, “year in review” content, or even retro branding (think historical uniforms and signage) and song can spark emotional engagement.

Emotion doesn’t require a big budget. It requires intention.

Lesson 2: Go multi‑channel, with purpose

Watch how leagues promote holiday games:

• Teaser videos weeks in advance 
• Social countdowns 
• Email reminders 
• In‑app notifications 
• Broadcast promos 
• Influencer or player tie‑ins 
• On‑screen graphics 
• In‑venue signage 

It’s not random. It’s orchestrated.

Takeaway: You don’t need to be everywhere; you need to be consistent across the channels that matter to your audience.

Try this:

1. Pick 3–4 channels you can execute well. For many businesses, that’s their website, email, LinkedIn, and one additional social platform.
2. Create a unified message across all of them. Same theme. Same tone. Same visuals.
3. Build anticipation. Don’t announce something once. Drip it out. Tease it. Remind people.
4. Repurpose content. A long‑form blog becomes a carousel post, a short video, an email snippet, and a quote graphic.

Sports leagues don’t create more content; they create content smartly.

Lesson 3: Partnerships multiply impact

Holiday games are a playground for partnerships and cross-promotion. For example:

• Brands sponsor halftime shows 
• Streaming platforms and networks cross‑promote exclusive content and other programming 
• Retailers run co‑branded holiday campaigns 
• Food and beverage companies integrate into broadcasts 
• Local businesses activate around stadiums 

Partnerships extend reach, credibility, and creativity.

Takeaway: You don’t need a celebrity or a national brand. You need alignment.

Consider partnering with a complementary local business, chamber of commerce, or a business in your supply chain, for example. Together, you might:

• Co‑host a holiday event or giveaway 
• Create a joint content series 
• Offer bundled promotions 
• Share each other’s audiences through email or social media 

Partnerships aren’t about size; they’re about synergy. Get more done and reach farther while sharing the responsibilities.

Lesson 4: Create “tentpole moments” throughout the year

Sports leagues don’t rely on one big event. They build a calendar of moments.  From the start of the league year and free agency to draft day, and from the beginning of training camp to opening day, all the way to the championship, each moment has its own marketing arc.

Takeaway: Build your own marketing calendar with intentional peaks.

Examples:

• Product launches 
• Seasonal promotions 
• Industry events 
• Customer appreciation weeks 
• Annual reports or impact summaries 
• New service announcements 
• Holiday campaigns 

When you plan your year around strategic moments, your marketing becomes proactive, not reactive. There’s a promotional rhythm and teams are better able to resource plan and manage.

Lesson 5: Use data to personalize experiences

Streaming platforms and networks use data to:

• Recommend content 
• Target ads 
• Personalize messaging 
• Optimize timing 
• Segment audiences 

This is how they keep viewers engaged long after the holidays and other “tentpole moments”.

Takeaway: You don’t need enterprise‑level analytics to personalize.

Start with:

• Email segmentation (customers vs. prospects, sort by industry, or by purchase history) 
• Website behavior tracking (know what pages people visit) 
• Retargeting ads (as a tool to stay top‑of‑mind) 
• Customer surveys (simple but powerful data to hear directly what people like/dislike) 
• CRM tagging (begin organizing your audience) 

Personalization is no longer optional. It’s expected.

Lesson 6: Make your brand “feel bigger” through creative

Holiday sports broadcasts feel massive because they’re cinematic. The graphics, the music, the storytelling… it all elevates the experience.

Takeaway: You can elevate your brand without inflating your budget.

Ensure you have:

• Consistent visual branding 
• Short, high‑quality video clips 
• Professional‑looking social templates 
• Strong headlines and messaging 
• A cohesive brand voice 

Perception matters, and branding is one of the fastest ways to shift it.

Lesson 7: Think beyond the moment, build long‑term loyalty

Sports leagues don’t just want viewers for one game. They want fans for life.

So they:

• Create year‑round content 
• Build communities 
• Reward loyalty 
• Encourage user‑generated content 
• Keep the conversation going 

Takeaway: Your campaigns shouldn’t be the end of the story. Rather, they should be chapters that smoothly transition to the next.

Keep your audience engaged by:

• Following up with value‑driven content 
• Sharing behind‑the‑scenes nuggets 
• Offering loyalty perks or access
• Asking for feedback 

Loyalty is built through consistency, not one‑off campaigns.

Final thoughts: You don’t need a stadium to create a moment

As I sat on my couch this holiday season, watching leagues turn games into cultural events, I thought: great marketing isn’t about endless budgets. It’s about intention, creativity, and consistency.

Small and medium‑sized businesses can absolutely borrow from the playbook of sports leagues, giant networks, and streaming platforms.

You may not have millions to spend on a halftime show, but you can create moments your audience will remember. In today’s crowded advertising landscape, competing for buyers’ limited attention spans, being memorable wins. Make your next campaign something your audience looks forward to all year long.