Think you’ve seen a logo on every inch of sports stadium and uniform imaginable? Think again.

Earlier this year, the NCAA’s Division I Cabinet approved a proposal that will allow teams to have up to two additional logos on their uniforms and one additional logo on their gear during preseasons and regular seasons (uniform manufacturer logos already appear).

The rule goes into effect on Aug. 1, so there was no sudden influx of jersey patches during March Madness, and it might not happen next year, either, since the proposal only allows for additional logos to appear on uniforms during “non-NCAA championship” games. But come college football season, fans will start to see new logos crop up on the uniforms of teams and in the conferences that moved early to ink deals.

Football and basketball programs are likely to see significant interest, and women’s teams have the potential to drive jersey-patch revenue for schools, too: Wealth management platform Betterment, one of the first companies to announce a college jersey-patch sponsorship, is debuting its logo on the uniforms of the women athletes in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) this year.

“To have strong women athletes, college athletes, representing us, it has a huge halo for our brand,” Betterment CMO Kim Rosenblum told Marketing Brew.

Though the deal spans the whole conference, it is heavily rooted in women’s sports, Rosenblum said, and it could be indicative of future revenue opportunities for women’s college teams, as even some of the best of those programs still struggle for equal treatment.

Continue reading here.—AM

Touching grass is good for you, and it’s actually not that hard. At least, not according to Merrell.

The 45-year-old hiking footwear brand, which is owned by Wolverine Worldwide, recently debuted a spot titled “It Starts Outside” as part of a new brand platform encouraging exploration of the world outside. The 30-second spot is primarily running on digital platforms, and stars athletes like Olympian Alexi Pappas and marathon runner Lisa Thompson alongside regular outside enjoyers, all stepping through a door to enjoy various outdoor activities like running, camping, or simply sitting. It’ll continue through the rest of the year with seasonal updates, including an expanded initiative later this month, Global CMO Richard McLeod told us; at the end of 2026, his team will revisit the “North Star” idea to evaluate where to go next.

Framing the campaign around “outside” rather than something like “the great outdoors” is key to Merrell’s approachable messaging, McLeod said. Outside is everywhere and available, while the outdoors might seem more grandiose—and potentially not be everyone’s cup of tea.

“For some people, the outdoors just conjures up granola, mud,” McLeod said. “Some people don’t love that. But a lot of people like to go to the park. They like to go in their backyard. They like to go to summer festivals. They like to meet up in communities. And I think that broadens the aperture of what ‘the outside’ can mean to different sets of consumers.”

Read more here.—JN

Tiffany Rivers is VP of emerging media and influencer marketing at Media Cause. She’s set to speak at Marketing Brew’s upcoming event, The Next Phase of Social and Creator Marketing, on May 12.

Ahead of the event, we caught up with her to hear how she is advising her nonprofit clients, including the University of Florida, Parkinson’s Foundation, and Partnership for Public Service, about their creator strategy.

What signals do you evaluate to determine whether creator partnerships are successful? There’s kind of two ways that we think about it. We think about it from an awareness perspective, like just raising awareness of the overall brand and driving engagement, whether that’s likes, comments, things of that nature. But then we also look at conversions, and we look on our side, for nonprofits, [at] their ability to drive actions like registrations, donations, adding their names to email lists, asking others to support the cause or brand.

Continue reading here.

We’re down to the final spots for our private lunch at POSSIBLE on April 27. Join us for a conversation on what’s actually breaking through in the age of AI—from the rise of creators to shifting audience expectations. It’s a small, curated group by design. Request your seat before this one’s fully taken.

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Mergers and acquisitions, company partnerships, and more.

• Peloton teased a new partnership with Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams.
• Snap announced a partnership between its AR hardware development division, called Specs, and Qualcomm for upcoming wearables.
• US Bank has been named the official bank and wealth management sponsor of the NFL, a multiyear deal announced just about a month after Visa’s 30-year sponsorship of the league ended.
• P&G announced a multiyear, multi-brand sponsorship of the WNBA ahead of the league’s 30th season tipoff next month, building on the CPG giant’s Mielle brand deal with the W.
• CVS is becoming the marquee jersey-patch sponsor of the Dallas Wings starting this season.
• Ipsy inked a three-year jersey-patch deal with the Las Vegas Aces.