At the biggest fan events, attention is everywhere and patience is limited. The real opportunity for brands is turning passing interest into something people actively choose to join.
At Fanatics Fest, Jackie, a key member of our team, explored a show floor packed with athletes, creators, collectibles and interactive experiences. Celebrity appearances generated plenty of buzz, but the most useful insights came from watching where fans lined up, what pulled them in and which activations kept them engaged.
Participation Pulled the Biggest Crowds
The experiences drawing the most consistent traffic gave attendees something physical to do. FIFA’s Soccer Challenge, MLB’s batting cage and the Raising Cane’s dunk tank all attracted lines, particularly among families looking for activities they could enjoy together.
These concepts worked because their value was immediately clear. Fans could see the action, understand the challenge and picture themselves participating without reading a long set of instructions. At an event where every booth is competing for the next few minutes of someone’s time, the strongest activations remove friction between watching and joining.
Our Fanatics Fest Moment
Through our cross-sponsorship with Fanatics, we brought a co-branded Reaction Attraction to the show floor. The fast-paced reflex challenge gave fans an easy entry point, an immediate result and a reason to compete again.
The branding framed the experience without overpowering it, keeping both partners visible while the activity remained at the center. It reinforced a larger takeaway from the show: effective sponsorships should feel built into the interaction. The brand should shape how the experience looks, moves and connects with the audience, not simply appear around it.
Talent Works Harder Inside an Experience
High-profile names such as Karl-Anthony Towns and Jason Sudeikis naturally drew attention. The energy rose even further when athletes, celebrities and creators became part of the action, whether they were shooting hoops, competing or creating a live moment fans could gather around.
For brands working with talent, an appearance may earn the first look, but an interactive format gives that attention somewhere to go. It can generate reactions, content and longer dwell time while giving the audience more than a photo from the sidelines. The strongest partnerships make talent part of what is happening.
Throughput Is Part of the Creative
With roughly 200,000 attendees and more experiences than any one person could realistically try, throughput became central to the fan experience. A strong concept could still lose momentum if participation required a long registration process, unclear instructions or too much reset time between guests.
This does not mean every activation needs to feel rushed. It means the time commitment should match the payoff. Entry time, play time and reset time all influence how many people can participate and how the experience is perceived. A line can signal demand, but a line that barely moves creates frustration and limits the reach of the sponsorship. For high-traffic events, throughput should be considered during the creative process, not treated as a logistical detail after the concept has already been approved.
Familiar Formats Still Work
Fanatics Fest also proved that brands do not always need to invent an unfamiliar activity to feel relevant. Batting cages, dunk tanks, basketball challenges, trading cards, vintage apparel and collectible swag all fit naturally within the culture of the event.
Familiar formats lower the barrier to participation because audiences already understand how they work. The creative opportunity comes from tailoring the design, rules, reward and branding to the specific audience and moment. At a sports-focused event, a thoughtfully executed classic can create a stronger connection than complicated technology with no clear relationship to the crowd.
The Bigger Takeaway
Fans may arrive for the athletes, creators and collectibles, but they still want a role in the experience. They want to shoot, swing, catch, compete and leave with something they can say they did rather than something they simply watched.
For brands planning sponsorships and large-scale fan activations, the strongest concepts are easy to recognize, relevant to the environment and efficient enough to reach a meaningful share of the audience. Star power draws attention. Participation turns that attention into a memory.
