Sports are no longer just about competition and performance. Over the years, they have become a powerful marketing lever for brands looking to build an authentic connection with their communities. At Pacific Québec, we observe a profound shift in consumer expectations: they want to experience something real, engaging, and aligned with their values.

Sports: A Ground for Emotion and Engagement

Sports bring people together, inspire, and create a unique emotional connection with the public. It’s one of the rare contexts where consumers are attentive, passionate, and receptive to brand messages. By associating with teams, athletes, or sporting events, your brand gains increased visibility and credibility with an already engaged audience.

The numbers speak for themselves:

• 77% of Canadians engage in regular physical activity.
• 12 million Canadians are members of an amateur sports club or parents of a child who is.
  
• An athlete’s post can generate up to 250,000 organic views.
  

Whether on the field, online, or in the stands, sports create powerful, memorable moments.

The Rise of Women’s Sports: A Unique Opportunity

In recent years, women’s sports have experienced spectacular growth, both in Canada and internationally. The 2023 Women’s Soccer World Cup broke attendance records with more than 1.9 million spectators in stadiums and hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide. This momentum is also reflected in other disciplines: the recent creation of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and the growing popularity of women’s volleyball — the fastest-growing team sport among young girls in Canada — illustrate this dynamic.

For brands, it’s an opportunity to align with contemporary values: equity, inclusion, and inspiration. Supporting female teams, events, or athletes allows you to connect with an engaged community and actively contribute to a meaningful movement. Women’s sports remain a largely untapped field, ideal for building sustainable and distinctive partnerships.

Generational Trends: Why Gen Z Bets on Sports

A 2022 Nielsen study showed that 53% of Gen Z considers sports to be an integral part of their identity. This generation, more sensitive to values and causes than to mere products, seeks brands capable of engaging with authentic communities.

Young consumers want experiences, tangible actions on the field, and interaction with credible personalities. For them, sports are a place of culture, belonging, and sharing. Brands that invest here earn their loyalty.

Inspiring Examples of Sports’ Impact

The Super Bowl remains the ultimate symbol: a 30-second ad spot during this American event can cost more than $7 million… and every year, dozens of brands compete to be featured. Why? Because it’s where consumer attention is most intense, collective, and emotional.

Closer to home, Pacific Québec recently supported MARPHYL Marine Phytoplankton with an on-the-ground activation at Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart charity golf tournament — an event supporting Jumpstart’s mission to make sports and recreation accessible to all children. This initiative introduced the brand and its eco-friendly products directly to participants — primarily business partners and retailers — through samples included in gift bags. A way for MARPHYL to strengthen its positioning while associating itself with a sports and community-focused cause.

Why Activate Your Brand Through Sports?

Sports marketing activations go beyond mere visibility to create a genuine experience around your brand:

• Strengthen community engagement: Sports generate a sense of belonging. Your brand becomes part of this dynamic.
  
• Expand your reach: Through sports influencers, social media, and events, your message resonates on and off the field.
  
• Create memorable experiences: Unlike traditional advertising, sports offer an immersive context where consumers truly interact with your brand.
  

How Pacific Québec Supports You

We’ve developed a tailor-made, turnkey sports activation offering, adapted to your goals, budget, and audience:

• Strategy and planning: target analysis, choice of sports and activation formats.
  
• Partnerships and logistics: coordination with leagues, clubs, athletes, and event organizers.
  
• Content creation: photos, videos, stories, and posts in collaboration with ambassadors.
  
• Performance monitoring and optimization: impact analysis, adjustments to maximize ROI.
  

Ready to Make Your Brand Shine Through Sports?

Sports are a vector of emotion and authenticity. More than just an advertising channel, they let you build a real relationship with your consumers, rooted in strong values and shared experiences.

At Pacific Québec, we support you at every step to turn this opportunity into a credible and high-performing marketing strategy.

Discover all the possibilities offered by our sports activation campaigns and download our free comprehensive guide today. Or book a meeting with our team to discuss it!