Came to play

The GIST: The gravy train keeps rolling for Olympic synchronized diving duo Kassidy Cook and Sarah Bacon. After successfully landing two food-related partnerships playing off their names before Paris 2024, the silver medalists announced a third yesterday, this time with U.S. breakfast chain First Watch. Coming in hot.

The campaign: First Watch kicked off an interactive Instagram campaign yesterday where followers have until September 3rd to tag the “Cook” to their “Bacon,” or the person they are most in “sync” with. The restaurant will then reward two lucky duos with free breakfast for a year.

The backstory: This is the third food-related campaign Cook and Bacon have ripped in the past two months, starting with the Minnesota Pork Board in July. Shortly after, Hormel also announced a partnership with the duo, before First Watch signed on this month.

• Parity — a matchmaker between sponsors and women athletes — connected the duo with all three companies. The brand said the pair is enjoying a “breakout summer” as sponsorship darlings thanks to their silver medal win, the rise of women’s sports, and a name combo destined to promote breakfast brands. The early bird gets the worm.

Zooming out: It’s no surprise that Cook and Bacon have been two of Parity’s most “in-demand” athletes this year — puns have proven favorable in marketing, and so has teaming up with Olympic women athletes thanks to explosive social media growth. It already pays to promote alongside the Games, but the Olympics are a windfall moment not just for media companies and advertisers.

• They are also a welcome brand opportunity for athletes themselves. On social media, rugby sevens (and TikTok) star Ilona Maher boasted a 12.07% engagement rate and gained 2.32M followers during the Games, a whopping 236% increase. In September, Maher will grace her first-ever Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover. Spinning bronze into gold.

The GIST: The 2024 US Open has already seen record attendance this year, and ESPN is leaning in. On Wednesday, the sports channel announced a new 12-year media rights extension with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) to remain the Grand Slam’s exclusive broadcaster through 2037. Come for the vibes, stay for the tennis.

The details: The network plans to expand its US Open streaming offerings, which will debut in 2026 after ESPN goes DTC in 2025. Perhaps learning from NBC’s Gold Zone triumphs, ESPN will introduce whiparound coverage of the tourney — the popular, highlight-reel format will try to capitalize on the exciting nature of tennis in a different way than traditional television coverage.

• ESPN is also extending its US Open coverage throughout the Western Hemisphere with exclusive rights in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. Plus, the coverage is going fully bilingual in the U.S. with daily Spanish language coverage on ESPN Deportes. Muy bueno.

The why: The US Open keeps getting bigger, with 2024 on track to surpass last year’s record viewership and attendance. The tourney is also serving up marketing opportunities: Disney sold out of its 2023 ad inventory with a record 14 USTA partners doubling as media sponsors. Companies are even bringing jersey patches to the court this year, a move that can offer high exposure on TV.

• It makes sense to leverage the Open on streaming at a time when young, diverse players and fans are picking up the game. It’s also smart to showcase the rise of American tennis stars like Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff, who drew a historic number of Americans to the TV with her title win last year.

Zooming out: Other major American sports have enjoyed expansive streaming coverage and global broadcasting, but ESPN is finally investing in the US Open. Brands and audiences are already hip to this being the coolest event on NYC’s social sports cal, but with ESPN catching on, the tourney’s audience will grow far beyond Arthur Ashe.

• This bodes well for the women winning over US Open crowds — especially those with strong fan and sponsor buy-in like Gauff and Naomi Osaka, who earned $20M and $14M, respectively, off the court this year. Expanded media rights means more exposure, which could lead to even more brand activations around the Open’s women stars. Leaning in.

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