What championship moments like the Knicks’ Game Four comeback teach brands about real-time marketing

Nikolaus Beier, svp of media and marketing services, Sportradar

The power sports hold for marketers — to attract massive attention, foster engagement and bring fans together — were on full display during the New York Knicks’ run to the NBA championship this summer, and, more specifically, their massive Game Four comeback. It was a significant achievement in the sports world, but also a strong indication of how heightened fan engagement creates value for brands to capitalize on. Just think about how many fans viewed OG Anunoby’s tip-in live during the game, and how many were fed clips of it on the night of the game and afterward.

With consumer attention becoming more fragmented and advertisers finding it harder to cultivate at scale, sports remain one of the few cultural forces that bring millions of people together around shared moments. The Knicks’ title became exactly that, driving the most-watched NBA Finals in nearly three decades, generating record social engagement with more than 15 billion views and setting an all-time merchandise sales record across all sports after the clinching win. 

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Indie agencies want The Trade Desk and Amazon DSP to acknowledge their buying power with negotiating leverage

A 15-person New York agency spent last summer clearing The Trade Desk’s $100,000 monthly spend bar. It still pays 17% to the DSP, plus another 12% to Mogl, the reseller it was meant to outgrow once it hit that number.

“They won’t let us go direct and they won’t change the fees. So we told them, ‘We’re not running with you,’ and we only have very little spend on them now,” said an exec with knowledge of these negotiations. They didn’t say how much the agency is currently spending via The Trade Desk.

Smaller agencies are told resellers are the way in. Spend enough and a direct seat follows, with a lighter fee load to match. But 10 media buyers who spoke to Digiday on background describe something closer to a toll booth with no exit. Buys on The Trade Desk and Amazon’s DSP carry two sets of fees, and the route to shedding one of them keeps shifting for the little guys.

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