Experience agency group Identity has launched Identity Sport, a new global sports proposition designed to deliver creatively ambitious, fan-first experiences for major sporting events worldwide.
Built around a fan first by design philosophy, Identity Sport integrates creative, ceremonial, broadcast and operational expertise to deliver high-impact sports experiences at scale.
The proposition combines brand activation, live experience and presentation with delivery rigour, helping organisers and partners maximise impact, reduce risk and improve value for money.
Identity Sport will work with federations, leagues, host cities, rights holders and sponsors on major sporting events globally.
Fan experience landscape
The global sports events industry is entering a new phase, as rising fan expectations, increasing commercial complexity and global competition for attention, collide with tighter budgets and greater scrutiny on delivery.
In this environment, creativity is no longer about spectacle alone. It has become a strategic tool, shaping how fans engage, how brands show up, and how sporting moments resonate culturally and commercially on a global stage. From broadcast-facing presentation to brand activations embedded within the live environment, experience now plays a defining role in how sport is perceived and valued.
Rather than relying on precedent or adding layers of production, Identity Sport is built around a simple principle: fan first by design. Drawing on decades of experience delivering major sporting, cultural and brand-led projects worldwide, the model brings together creative, ceremonial, broadcast and operational expertise from across the Identity group, enabling ambitious experiences that are designed holistically from the outset.
According to Michael Gietzen, Group CEO of Identity, this shift is forcing the industry to rethink how sport is designed and delivered.
“Sport is at an inflection point; an experience reset,” said Gietzen. “Audiences expect more meaningful, immersive experiences, and brands want to connect in ways that feel authentic to the sporting moment. At the same time, organisers need certainty, control and value. That requires creativity to be embedded into the system, not layered on at the end.”
Gietzen added that fan experience has become a board-level issue for many organisers.
“Get it right and you build loyalty, value and long-term relevance. Get it wrong and the impact is immediate: commercially, reputationally and politically. Fan experience is now a strategic risk, not a creative nice-to-have.”
Identity Sport is a specialist sports proposition within the Identity group, uniting expertise from Identity and its specialist brands and major event specialists to support sports organisations and brands at every stage of delivery; from concept and creative through to operations, presentation and legacy.
The proposition is designed to work with:
- Federations and governing bodies
- Leagues and rights holders
- Host cities and organisers
- Sponsors and partners
Identity Sport focuses on high-impact project types including opening and closing ceremonies, fan zones, brand activations, live sites, broadcast-facing presentation and integrated overlay, combining creative ambition with the operational rigour required for major sporting events.
Crucially, the integrated approach is designed to reduce duplication, manage risk and deliver better value for money, while keeping the fan experience at the heart of every decision.
According to Simon Dunnell, Director, Major Projects at Identity, integration is as much about efficiency as creativity.
“Too often, fan experience is treated as an add-on rather than a system,” said Dunnell. “Fragmented delivery models cost more, create inefficiencies and increase risk. By designing experiences holistically – with fans, partners and operations aligned from the outset – we can deliver stronger outcomes without unnecessary complexity or cost.”
Delivering more value, not just more spectacle
As competition for audiences intensifies across traditional sport, women’s sport, esports and new experiential formats, organisers are under growing pressure to demonstrate return on investment and long-term legacy.
Dunnell believes the experience reset is as much about how sport is delivered as what audiences see.
“The next generation of major sporting events will be defined by smarter integration,” he said. “That means creative ambition grounded in operational reality; and experiences that deliver impact without excess. Integration isn’t just better creatively; it’s more efficient.
“What sets Identity Sport apart is the breadth of experience we bring from other major projects. We’re not constrained by precedent, we can apply fresh thinking, new approaches and innovations that help each event resonate more deeply and deliver real impact.”
Looking ahead
As the global sports calendar continues to expand through to 2034 and beyond, Identity believes the experience reset will increasingly separate those who can adapt from those who cannot.
“Sport will often command a dramatic scale – big and loud – and that’s fine,” Gietzen concluded. “What matters is that we approach it smarter: designing experiences that put fans first, deliver certainty, and create real value and impact at every level.”
