The partnership reflects Openfield's ambition to help shape the future of sports marketing by bringing together sponsorship, live experiences, creativity, content and audience engagement to deliver greater commercial value for brands and rights holders.

Building on its established expertise in sponsorship strategy, rights management, commercialisation and experiential marketing, Openfield is expanding its capabilities to help brands move beyond traditional sponsorship visibility towards deeper audience relationships, sustained engagement and measurable business impact, says the partnership.

The partnership follows Openfield's earlier collaboration with Baby George Creatives, reinforcing its strategy to build a connected ecosystem of specialist capabilities across sport, entertainment, creativity and content.

"Sport has always had an extraordinary ability to bring people together, but the way audiences engage with it is changing. Brands are looking for more than visibility. They want meaningful connections, sustained engagement and a clearer return on their investment," says Bongani Chinkanda, Managing Director of Openfield.

"Openfield 2.0 is about building on our strong foundations while bringing together the capabilities needed to respond to where the industry is going. Our partnership with 22Ours is an important step in that journey."

Strengthening Strategic and Creative Leadership

As part of the partnership, Sipeto "Volo" Ganca, Founder and Managing Director of 22Ours, joins Openfield as Executive Director: Strategy and Creative, while continuing to lead 22Ours.

His appointment brings creative strategy, content innovation and audience thinking into Openfield's executive leadership, strengthening its ability to develop more connected and commercially relevant solutions for clients, adds the partnership.

"What stood out to me about 22Ours was its understanding of sport, culture and the audiences that connect with them. Volo brings a perspective that complements our commercial experience," says Chinkanda.

"Creativity and audience engagement should not sit on the periphery of the business. They need to be central to how we develop solutions and create value for our clients."

For Ganca, the partnership combines Openfield's longstanding industry relationships and commercial expertise with 22Ours' understanding of contemporary sports audiences.

"Openfield is a household name in the business of South African sport. At 22Ours, we've focused on building communities and telling sports stories that resonate with people. Bringing those strengths together creates an exciting opportunity to rethink how brands, sport and audiences connect," says Ganca.

"Sport is about more than what happens on the field. It's about culture, identity and the stories that bring people together. When you combine that understanding with strong commercial strategy, you can create connections that extend well beyond a single sporting moment."

Building for the Future

The partnership will see Openfield and 22Ours integrate content strategy, original storytelling, social media and audience development into sponsorships and live experiences, helping brands, broadcasters, teams, federations and athletes engage audiences before, during and beyond sporting events.

The businesses will also collaborate to grow the 22Ours platform, developing its programming and audience while creating new opportunities for commercial partnerships.

"Openfield 2.0 is not about changing who we are. It's about expanding what we can do, how we think and the value we create for our clients," concludes Chinkanda.

For more information, visit www.openfield.co.za. You can also follow Openfield Marketing on Facebook, LinkedIn, X, or on Instagram.

*Image courtesy of contributor