Sports Marketing
Extreme Motion and Building Hype
Whether it’s a story of a young athlete destined for greatness, the action epic of two rivals as their worlds collide time and again, or the mythic tale of what it takes to become a legend, sports marketing is all about the heart and the hype. Every single component is a building energy that allows the momentous feeling of a sport to shine through any film or format.
From live action and VFX to animation and design, it's a special category of creative production that speaks to the incalculable strength of spirit, impossible odds, unbreakable hearts, and fans who mean everything.
As athletes ourselves, we understand the highs, lows, and emotional resonance it takes to break through.
That sport’s content doesn’t just have to look a certain way, but feel right.
Which is why our most important consideration is always staying true to the audience and communicating authentically to the athletes and loyal fans who know and do the most.
A sports project is never a surface-level discussion; it’s about the tiny things, the details you get into when you’re already ten layers deep. The smell of the grass first thing on an early morning pitch, the crisp pinch of chalk on your fingertips, or the texture of tar on a bat. We are investigative journalists for what makes a sport so special.
DIRECTOR, SCHOLAR CO-FOUNDER, & FORMER SPONSORED WAKEBOARDER, WILLIAM CAMPBELL
We start by asking ourselves…How can we trigger a sense memory for the true fans and athletes who have lived it?
The magic lies in the balance of moments where we can see ourselves and the glimpses that only the pros will ever experience. For the fervor of sports fanatics, it’s about subverting expectations, not what it should be but what it could be. Sports marketing can be fluid, elegant, frenetic, humorous, surprising, clever, charming; it’s not always overtly aggressive. We look at the feeling behind a sport and figure out how to communicate that best in however long we have, or less.
“Something interesting about Sports brands in general, from Nike to Hoka, is that when you see a commercial about a shoe, a ball, a golf club, a game, you already know who’s behind it because those brands do such a killer job at owning their aesthetic. Where Scholar’s skills come into play is looking at that empire and going subterranean. Asking ‘AND THEN WHAT ELSE??” Pushing it, the improv, taking that personality and running with it.”
DIRECTOR, SCHOLAR CO-FOUNDER, AND COLLEGE SOCCER PLAYER WILL JOHNSON
At this point, we’ve got the story, the feeling, the metaphor, and our heroes. Then comes the question of how we can communicate that uniquely?
That’s the technical challenge - how do we make it?
Techniques like rhythm, edit, casting, medium, pacing, and music weave together in a heart-racing, heart-rending tale of athleticism in either live-action, CG, VFX, animation, or increasingly, a hybrid of all the above.
It takes a ton of creativity and specialized know-how to re-create the most exclusive, not seen on TV, bits of laces tucking into a football, a camera strapped to a superstar’s boot, or the swirl of fibres when a tennis ball springs off a racket. And casting real athletes is essential, whether it’s for an animation model or a set. Finding the people who move effortlessly for the camera with the practised skill expected of Ronaldo is how we capture that realm of mental idolization that only the masters of the craft embody.
When we cast athletes or dancers, or anyone with a highly specialized skill, we don’t just look at a single casting video where we ask them to perform a strict shot list. It’s more about seeing the bigger picture of the person -seeing them play, dance, interact with others of their craft, in different wardrobes, etc, whether that’s through social media or play footage. That way, when I’m directing, I can have a plan and react to their performance while not closing off any opportunities for them to build on, letting their essence and personality shine through, but helping to make it stronger.
DIRECTOR AND LIFE-LONG SIXTH MAN CHRIS FINN
Once in post-production, the secret sauce lies in the fact that there is a cadence to athleticism that overlaps with animation and editorial.
The transitions are epic, musical, cinematic, seamless. The flow, beat, rise, drops, crescendos, and silence are a metronome that we are intimately familiar with.
“In a great sports game, you hang onto every second, every pitch, every save; you are so dialed in, and I apply that same pacing methodology to the best sports edits. The ups, downs, and slow motion of the long pass, before all the crazy stuff hits. A viewer can relate to that.”
SENIOR EDITOR AND LITTLE LEAGUE ALL-STAR DOMINIC STRAZULO
Music, of course, plays an integral part. If you are showcasing the Olympics, that’s a very grand, inclusive moment, and you try to find a song that embodies that. The Super Bowl? It’s got to be fast-paced, hard-hitting. We like to pick a genre of tracks in the pitch phase, nailing beat and pacing before anything else. It’s even better when that choice is unexpected. There are a million ways to communicate something, but finding the freshest and most exciting fit? That’s magic.
All in all, epitomizing a sport is a timeless partnership of technique that creates harmony and personality, adds depth and dimension, and gives character to every campaign –hype or heartfelt.
If you need us, you know where to get in touch.