CIVIC Is Shaping the Future of Sports--One Fan Experience at a Time

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Jun 12, 2025, 11:51 ET

With sports marketing spend to reach $115 billion in 2025 and women's leagues surging into the spotlight, CIVIC is reimagining how brands connect with fans—from stadium roars to race-day cheers

NEW YORK, June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- More than ever, Americans are showing up for sports—not just as viewers but as seekers of engaging experiences with other fans and professional teams. Seventy percent of Americans consider themselves sports fans, with more than one in five identifying as avid followers.¹ At the center of this surge is CIVIC, a creative marketing and communications agency that's turning game days into deeper moments of fan connection with stories and experiences that feel personal, immersive, and shared.

"We're seeing a real shift. Fans don't just want to watch; they want to engage, belong, connect—with sport and with each other," said Renee Austin, Head of Growth at CIVIC. "Sports create space for connection across backgrounds, beliefs, and generations. That's powerful and rare. We turn that connection into a community where fans feel seen, engaged, and part of something bigger. When brands invest in that kind of community, they build loyalty and lasting momentum."

Fan interest is translating into action: Millennials and Gen Z are leading a growing wave of experience-driven sports engagement, and more than 1 million U.S. households have signed up for sports streaming services during key events.² CIVIC is scaling to meet demand—tapping new, sports-savvy talent across strategy, creative, and production, as well as broadening its experiences, communications, and content offerings to include a sports-marketing lens.

CIVIC was named PR Agency of Record for Major League Soccer as the league celebrates its 30th season and builds momentum toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup. CIVIC's PR team also supported Peacock's 2024 Olympic broadcast strategy, helping NBCUniversal generate buzz around key content drops and live storytelling throughout the Games. In addition, the team is continuing its multiyear engagement with New York Road Runners to elevate narratives of inclusive participation across the five boroughs.

"Growing sports fandom today isn't just about filling seats—it's about earning a place in culture," said Julie Safer, Head of PR at CIVIC. "With attention harder to capture and loyalty harder to earn, fan experiences need to resonate beyond the game itself. Our job is to help sports brands create moments that travel—experiences that fans engage with, talk about, and carry into their daily lives."

For ION, the broadcast partner for WNBA and NWSL, CIVIC created the "Fan ConnectION" experience at Grand Central Terminal, transforming a transit hub into an immersive pop-up where fans stepped into penalty shootouts and posed with WNBA star Sue Bird and NWSL star Megan Rapino, merging sports and entertainment into one unified, unexpected story. The activation drew more than 1,200 visitors, earned nearly 59 million media impressions, and kept guests onsite for more than 10 minutes on average, well above industry norms.

CIVIC works directly with brand sponsors, media partners, and sports leagues to plan how they'll engage fans during tentpole events, including the NBA Finals, the U.S. Open, the French Open, the NWSL and AUSL Championships, the Olympics, and more.

About CIVIC
CIVIC is an agency that drives brand growth through the power of community. We thrive on crafting experiences, content, and communications that create meaningful connections. We partner with some of the most recognizable brands, such as Ford, HBO, Verizon, NBCU, and Audible. We're a 2024 Ad Age Small Agency of the Year, Campaign Agency of the Year finalist, PR Net 100 and have received honors from the Cannes, D&AD, Clio Music, Ex Awards, PR Purpose, Reggies, and Webby Awards. Come build with us at civic-us.com and [email protected]