Cannes 2026: Scale Sports Marketing Partnerships into Long-Term Brand Value | Alex Charkham, Ignite, Lead Strategist

Many corporate marketing groups experience declining conversion rates because they view sports sponsorships as generic logo placements that audiences easily ignore.

Alex Charkham, lead strategist at Ignite, breaking down how to transform multi-year sports agreements into adaptive, integrated assets that drive core business growth.

He shares his operational playbook for analyzing Formula 1’s massive shift to digital-first demographics, managing intellectual property protections against competitor ambush ads, and leveraging first-mover advantages across cross-border franchise expansions.

Key tactical themes covered:

Restructuring passive sponsorship contracts into multi-channel narrative partnerships.

Enforcing strict legal guidelines to isolate competing brand lines during peak global events.

Leveraging integrated assets—including content, player talent, and first-party data—to optimize marketing plans.

Navigating demographic modernizations inside historic sports properties to capture younger audiences.

Managing early-stage brand risk across newly launched international franchises.

Guest Profile: Alex Charkham is the lead strategist at Ignite, directing integrated sports, entertainment, and media allocations for global enterprise brands within the Omnicom Group.

Connect & Scale Your Performance Capital:

Follow Alex Charkham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-charkham-511a5110/

Explore Ignite: https://www.ignite-sports.co.uk/

Optimize Media Allocations with Strike Social: https://strikesocial.com/guaranteed-paid-social-media-ads-outcomes/

Connect with Host Dylan Conroy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylanconroy/