Issue 36: How Have Wimbledon Changed Sports Tournament Social?
From Wimbledon’s social media masterclass to butter yellow everything, this week we’re looking at how culture gets made, shared, and worn.
⚡️The Big Story: Wimbledon’s Social Strategy
If you scrolled this summer, you probably saw Wimbledon content in your feed. Whether it was a Federer reaction, an “Overheard” clip, or just a perfect slice of grass-court aesthetic. The numbers back it up: nearly 6,000 posts during the grass-court season, 2.7 billion video views, and over 2 million new followers. Wimbledon didn’t just own the fortnight. They owned the timeline.
So how does a team of two full-timers pull that off?
With a newsroom mindset and some simple guiding principles. Their mantra is “posted is better than perfect” and “emotion over production.” In other words, don’t overthink it. If the hook is strong, ship it. They also run content through a three-tier framework they call campfire, bonfire, firework.
Campfire is the everyday highlights and clips that fuel consistent engagement.
Bonfire is the creative mid-tier storytelling that pushes reach a bit further.
Firework is the big bang content: high-budget, high-impact, designed to grab attention beyond tennis. Think their Rube Goldberg opener this year.
But Wimbledon’s real magic trick is how they scale when the tournament starts. The two-person year-round team swells to about eight dedicated social staff, supported by videographers, photographers, and the wider content machine. Everyone is given clear roles, approvals are kept minimal, and there’s room for reactive ideas to shine. That’s how a running joke about Iga Swiatek’s obsession with towels turned into a personalized embroidered towel moment that lit up social.
The philosophy is simple but powerful: show up like a fan, react in the moment, and make it feel human. Social is no longer “the next best thing to being there”, it’s Wimbledon’s front door to the world, and this year, billions walked through.
Shout out to Rachel Karten for the great interview with Will Giles and Cameron Prentice for this write up.
🚨Pulse Check
👑 Culture’s 25
Rolling Stone actually made a good list: the 25 most influential creators of 2025. Streamers, podcasters, OnlyFans models, TikTok megastars…these are the people shaping Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha culture right now.
👟 Nike Restructure
No more men’s, women’s, kids’ silos. Nike is reorganizing into “sports-obsessed teams” that serve specific athletes across brands. Category walls are gone, athlete-first pods are in.
💛 Butter Yellow Everywhere
You’ve seen it. You can’t unsee it. The whole world is dressed like a stick of Kerrygold.
🏀 Logo Clark
Nike dropped Caitlin Clark’s new logo ahead of her October apparel launch and 2026 signature shoe. She isn’t just shooting from the logo…she is the logo.
⚽ Sam Kerr’s Boot
Nike is giving Sam Kerr her own Mercurial Superfly. The first women’s signature football boot in over 20 years. Long overdue.
🛹 Tyshawn Reigns
Tyshawn Jones remains New York’s skate king, but he’s opening doors for younger skaters, working with Pharrell at LV, and maybe even starting a restaurant.
🏎️ Leclerc’s Sidequest
F1 star Charles Leclerc has launched a creative agency, fittingly called Sidequest, alongside filmmaker Antoine Truchet and strategist Nicolas Jayr.
🏈 College Football Chaos
Week 1 might be the biggest opening weekend ever: we had three top-10 matchups, all with playoff implications, and it’s only the start.
💔 Packers Land Parsons
The Cowboys–Micah Parsons marriage is officially over. The All-Pro edge rusher is now a Green Bay Packer.
🏃 Sydney Goes Major
The Sydney Marathon made its World Marathon Major debut. Kipchoge, Hassan, and yes…Mary McCarthy rocking some killer \\\.
🏆 Aces Ascend
Vegas is heating up at the right time. A’ja Wilson dropped 34 in a big win, Jackie Young notched her second triple-double, and the Aces look playoff-ready.
🤖 A24 Anger
A24 launched Labs to test AI in film production and marketing. Cinephiles are not thrilled. A24 hasn’t been the same the past two years.
🎶 US Open Vibes
DJ Mode picked every player’s walk-up music for the Open. The man understood the assignment.
⛳ Hypegolf in NYC
Month-long pop-up with retail, events, and a tournament. Golf… but make it very, very quiet.
🎬 KPop Demon Hunters Domination
Netflix’s most-watched movie ever. Teen fans told CNN why they’re obsessed. Spoiler: because it rules.
🔦The HitList: Lara Beaaaaaaaaaan!
Social Queen of Everything Europe, from creators to paid media, she’s in the know.
What’s your favourite TikTok account right now?
This is hard, I’m more of a “For You” scroller, but there’s two accounts I do love right now! Kat from Finance, she has great outfits but it’s her office bathroom poses that I’m obsessed with, and then a shameless plug for team UK, Paris Artiste is a creator we’ve started working with and I love her editing, her mix of football and fashion - she’s great!
Whose Instagram Stories do you always watch?
Liverpool FC’s
Reddit, X, Threads, Tumblr or nah?
I’m a committed Redditor, I still use X a little for football, and I’ve started dabbling in Threads a bit more.
What’s the last thing you Googled?
“Where can I dive with Tiger Sharks?”
What app on your phone do you open the most (besides socials)?
There’s three I’m using equally, Tiimo (a scheduling app that is really help me organize my life!), Masterclass and Duolingo.
What’s a completely random thing you’re obsessed with right now?
I’ve gone into a rabbit hole of reading into why TV shows and films can bring out such deep emotions, and sometimes make us cry more than real life can. I recently watched ‘We Were Liars’ and that show broke me, so I’ve been reading up on par asocial relationships, mirror neurons and narrative transportation
Who’s your favorite athlete?
It’s got to be Mo Salah for me, yes I know I’m biased but it comes down to his achievements, his athleticism, his work ethic, his humbleness. But if you want a more obscure one, Owen Wright, an Australian surfer who suffered a brain injury in 2015 and had to re-learn how to talk, walk and surf again…for many that would be career over - but for Own, he went on to win Bronze at the Olympics in 2020.
What’s the best sporting moment you’ve ever seen live (on TV or IRL)?
Probably watching the Lionesses lift the Euros trophy (twice!), but I can also never forget watching that one magical night in Istanbul on TV (iykyk).
What’s your most controversial sports opinion?
I don’t know how controversial this really is, but VAR has made football less fair and less entertaining.
Finally, if adidas let you launch a shoe collab tomorrow, who would it be with? - Another hard one! I really want to see an adidas take on Maison Margiela Tabis, but I also love the idea of partnering with a DJ or electro-pop artist (think Fred again, Charlie XCX) on some shoes that light up reacting to the beats in the music…and this is why collabs are not my responsibility (not yet Lara).