Insight: After a Summer of Sport – The Buzz That Keeps Brands Moving

As the cricket season draws to a close and the Premier League takes hold again, now is a great time to reflect on the brand wins achieved and the momentum going forwards. In this look back report SpaceandPeople remember the many fan pleasing events of summer 2026.

A summer packed with sport may be drawing to a close, but the impact of those moments is far from over.

From Wimbledon and the FIFA World Cup to the TCS London Marathon and the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, major sporting events have brought millions of people together to watch, participate and celebrate. For brands, they have created moments where audiences are already engaged and receptive.

But the opportunity doesn’t end when the final whistle blows. Sporting moments can influence behaviour long after an event has finished, from renewed interest in fitness and participation, to continued engagement with the brands that were part of the experience.

At SpaceandPeople, we’ve seen over the years how brands can tap into that momentum by activating where audiences naturally spend time, from transport hubs and shopping centres to city-centre destinations.

Making the most of the moment

Brands don’t always need to be inside an event to benefit from it. Often, the opportunity lies in understanding where audiences gather around a major cultural moment and finding a relevant way to become part of their journey.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow provided a strong example. A pop-up Commonwealth merchandise shop at Glasgow Central Station brought the excitement of the Games into the heart of the city, allowing fans and visitors to engage with the brand as they travelled. With more than 632,000 visitors passing through the station each week, the activation connected the Games with a key part of the city’s visitor journey.

It’s this ability to take sport beyond the venue that creates opportunities for brands to reach audiences where they are already present and engaged.

Make it relevant

One of the most effective ways to connect with audiences around major sporting events is through product sampling, particularly when the product naturally fits the occasion.

Few combinations feel more synonymous with British summer sport than strawberries, cream and Wimbledon. During last year’s tournament, Pepsi partnered with Ann Squared Events to sample its strawberries and cream-flavoured variant along Wimbledon Broadway during one of the tournament’s busiest stages.

By putting the product directly into the hands of spectators, the campaign created an immediate connection between the brand, the event and the audience.

Create a shared moment

Not every successful activation needs to revolve around product. Some of the most memorable campaigns simply give people something unexpected to experience.

In the build-up to last year’s Wimbledon Championships, part of London Waterloo Station was transformed into an extension of Centre Court, with an umpire playfully calling for “quiet on the concourse please”. Turning an everyday commute into a Wimbledon moment showed how humour can be just as effective as scale.

Ahead of the 2025 HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club, HSBC and Ann Squared Events took a similarly simple approach, placing a branded London black cab filled with tennis balls at King’s Cross Station. Passers-by could guess how many balls were inside for the chance to win tournament tickets.

Both activations demonstrate the value of creating moments people want to stop for, participate in and share.

From watching sport to taking part

The influence of sport extends beyond spectatorship. Major events can inspire people to become more active themselves, creating opportunities for brands to connect around fitness, health and wellbeing.

As an official partner of the 2026 TCS London Marathon, Flora extended the event beyond London through a nationwide sampling tour, with stops at St David’s Centre in Cardiff and Cabot Circus in Bristol.

At the AJ Bell Great North Run, Westlab combined OOH activity with the distribution of Epsom Salt pouches to runners at Manchester Piccadilly Station. With more than 35,000 participants across the 10K and Half Marathon, the activation reached consumers at a moment when recovery and performance were front of mind.

This is where experiential marketing works best: when audience mindset, location and brand message align.

Be ready to move

Sporting moments aren’t always predictable. A team’s unexpected success or a last-minute storyline can quickly create new opportunities for brands.

When the Lionesses progressed to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, McDonald’s partnered with SpaceandPeople to deliver a large-scale public screening at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at short notice. The activation drew huge crowds and turned a rapidly developing moment into a major shared experience.

This year, Bank of Scotland and Leith tapped into the football buzz with a St James Quarter activation linked to Scott McTominay’s new banknotes, inviting fans to guess the combination for a chance to win. Alongside activity supporting Crisis, the campaign helped raise more than £140,000.

Whether responding to a team’s success, a record-breaking performance or an unexpected storyline, brands that can move quickly can turn attention into engagement.

The power of precision

Success around major sporting moments isn’t simply about the biggest sponsorship or highest-footfall location. It’s about knowing where audiences are, what matters to them and when to act.

Audience insight and data can help brands identify the locations where their audiences are most likely to be, from key travel routes and transport hubs to retail destinations.

Tools such as SpaceandPeople CORE database help brands make these decisions using real audience data, ensuring activations are built around insight rather than assumption.

In a summer packed with sporting moments, the biggest opportunities don’t always belong to the biggest sponsors, but to the brands that activate with relevance, agility and precision.

The opportunity beyond summer

The summer of sport may be coming to an end, but the momentum it has created doesn’t have to.

As audiences carry the inspiration of this year’s sporting moments into their own fitness, wellbeing and participation goals, brands have an opportunity to build on that momentum.

The most effective sporting activations don’t simply follow the action.

They become part of it