Bright Up and Friends & Foxes Launch Strategic Collaboration
Rarely in the history of sports have we seen so many new developments at once: entirely new disciplines are emerging, traditional formats are evolving and a generation raised fully in the digital world no longer distinguishes between television and social media. The meteoric rise of darts is just one example. Formats like the Baller League or new small-sided football concepts show how rapidly viewing habits and commercial opportunities are shifting.
This movement is increasingly defined as New Sports or Sporttainment – and it is here that Bright Up and Friends & Foxes are positioning themselves. The two companies are joining forces to create forward-thinking commercial and content solutions for this new world of sport and entertainment. Bright Up and Friends & Foxes see themselves as catalysts and enablers for formats that bring together sport, entertainment, the creator economy, Gaming and brand activation in entirely new ways – generating not only reach but true community engagement.
As a fast-growing player in these dynamic New Sports environments with successful collaborations including darts pro Martin Schindler, the Baller League and Eintracht Spandau, this partnership marks an important next step for Bright Up. The joint ambition is to not only broker powerful partnerships but to bring them to life in creative and impactful ways.
Friends & Foxes contributes valuable strategic, creative and production capabilities. Their portfolio spans digital strategy and consulting, brand and partnership activation and content creation across owned, earned and paid channels – from agile social formats to large-scale productions. Their client roster includes brands and platforms such as Audible, Paramount+, Pluto TV, MagentaTV, DAZN, Deutsche Sporthilfe and FINN.
Together Bright Up and Friends & Foxes will expand their ability to support brands not only in the development of commercial opportunities but also in the high-quality execution of content and campaigns that follow. Early joint projects already demonstrate the power of this collaboration: from HOLY and Holzkern as the first brand partners for Germany’s No. 1 darts player Martin Schindler to a B2B campaign with WAGO and darts pro Ricardo Pietreczko. In each case Bright Up led the commercial process while Friends & Foxes executed key content and social activations – showcasing a seamless interplay between both teams.
Marco Niemann, Managing Director Bright Up: “There’s still so much untapped potential in sports where the rules haven’t been written yet. That’s where we want to be – shaping new stories, creating real value and doing so with partners who think and act differently. Friends & Foxes fits us not just in mindset but in how they operate day to day. We’re excited for what’s ahead.”
Felix Willikonsky, Co-Founder Friends & Foxes: “This partnership is an exciting step for us on every level. From day one we’ve shared the same mindset, the same creative ambition and drive plus a similar strategic understanding of what this market needs. With Bright Up’s strong network and commercial expertise and our ability to activate across formats and platforms, we see huge opportunities and synergies ahead. The beginning is already a blast and we can’t wait to share what we have in the pipeline for the future.”
The two teams are already working on a growing number of shared properties including Tops Tops Tops, Klick & Rush, Check-In 3 and projects with Adrian Geiler and Martin Schindler. Existing Bright Up assets will also be creatively developed and commercialised through the partnership.
More to come – stay tuned.
