Seller Beware: Essential Items Videos

👋 Welcome back to Sponcon Sports, a weekly newsletter dedicated to sponsored content strategy in the sports industry!

I’m in love with this video from Bryan Francisco, aka @bryanprimetime, in partnership with the NBA.

Bryan’s edits are always top-tier, and he’s no stranger to working with the league—we featured his work back in June. He first caught my attention with this video from the NBA Finals, and ever since, he’s been on my shortlist of creators I’d pitch for a phone carrier brand.

But this week’s collab was different. Bryan appears in the video! That’s not the only reason it stood out.

The NBA handed him the mic to introduce fans to Oklahoma City guard and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As more leagues and teams build out creator programs (more on that later), this type of storytelling is something everyone should be doing.

Here’s why it works:

• It feels fan-led by letting creators drive the story.

• It leans into the insight that younger fans root for players over teams.

• It shines a light on stars who don’t get enough love.

• Posting the same day as a game reminds fans why they should tune in.

• Using creators like Bryan makes content feel native to social, rather than an overly produced hype video.

Instagram Results: 1.4M views, 62.6K engagements, 4.5% engagement rate, and $22,691 in social value.

This kind of creator-led storytelling matters. One of the biggest reasons I, like many, got hooked on Drive to Survive during the pandemic was because it made me care about specific drivers. The same approach is at play here—giving fans a reason to root for individual players, not just teams.

Speaking of motorsports, Bryan’s NBA collab feels very similar to Indycar’s new campaign with FOX Sports, except it’s creator-led.

I’m really hoping we see more of this not only in the NBA, but across the industry. It’s authentic, engaging, and gives fans a real reason to connect—both online and when it’s time to watch the game.

In Today’s Edition:

• The GQ Playbook Problem 📖

• Lakers Face Dalgona Candy Challenge 🦑

• Inter’s UCL Ticket Punched 🛫

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
Why Your Essential Items Video Series Isn’t Working

GQ’s 10 Essentials is a YouTube staple.

A celebrity shares 10 items they can’t live without, and boom—seven-figure views almost every time.

The formula works. No surprise, since they’ve been doing it for seven years on their main channel and six on their sports channel.

Naturally, with that kind of success and simple single-camera production, plenty of sports rights holders have tried to recreate the format (and results) for brand partners. But it often falls flat.

It’s not as simple as copy-pasting GQ’s playbook. There are key factors to consider before pitching this to partners or prospects.

Don’t Niche Down

The most common mistake I see when using this format is niching down too much to fit a sponsor’s industry.

Think essential travel items for airlines or essential workout gear for fitness brands.

When you narrow the concept, it limits the pool of items, making the idea go stale fast.

How different will one player’s travel items be from a teammate’s? GQ’s format works because talent can take it in any direction. This keeps fans engaged and helps them connect with the person behind the athlete.

Consider Brand Conflicts

Finding the right sponsor for an essential items video is tricky.

Brands need to accept that a competitor’s product might show up. Sure, you can ask players to avoid certain brands, but fans will see right through it. Authenticity disappears, and so does the audience.

It’s not just about the series sponsor. Players might highlight products that clash with other brand partners. If a player picks Pepsi but the team is sponsored by Coke, it could ruffle feathers.

If that happens, flag it to your partner before the video goes live.

Some try to solve this by using unbranded products—a plain concealer bottle instead of CeraVe, or a generic sports drink instead of Gatorade.

Again, authenticity lost. People want to know the exact brands their favorite players use. That’s the influence. Removing brand names almost guarantees the content will flop.

Oh, and as if that weren’t enough, we also need to consider players’ partnerships and how featuring those items could have an impact.

The Logo Slap Stigma

Given these challenges, the brand sponsoring an essential items video often lacks a natural connection to the content, making it feel like a logo slap.

That’s not a deal-breaker, but as we discussed last month, brands are quick to dismiss logo slaps.

So why do brands still buy into this series?

Because they want to be associated with players and their lifestyles—and this format performs.

To set this series up for success, avoid the mistakes above and consider this final point.

Talent Matters—A Lot

Another reason GQ’s format works? They feature the biggest names in sports. Add the name to the title and thumbnail, and you’ve got SEO gold.

The more views, the more likely a brand will commit to this logo slap opportunity.

As a rights holder, be honest: Do you have enough players with name recognition beyond your local market?

If the answer is three, don’t pitch this as a six-episode series.

More often than not, this format works better for leagues than individual teams. Leagues can feature any player in the sport and get a new set of rookies every year; teams are limited to their roster.

Even large rosters, like the NFL’s 53 players versus the NBA’s 15, require caution. You might have enough star power for one season, but will you have fresh talent with star power year after year?

The Takeaway

Proceed with caution before you pitch an essential items video series.

If you want to recreate GQ’s 10 Essentials magic, focus on authenticity, player popularity, and flexibility. Niche too tightly, over-control the product picks, or ignore your talent pool, and the format will flop—no matter how slick the production.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

[Social Value: $244,139] Nearly 16M views on Instagram for Louis Vuitton’s trio of assets celebrating its new partnership with F1 (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Each one grabs attention instantly while seamlessly blending the two brands.

[Social Value: $63,921] Keeping my eye on this—the NFL is teaming up with IShowSpeed and Kai Cenat to livestream a Flag Football Game the day before Super Bowl LIX.

[Social Value: $41,245] The Los Angeles Lakers challenged their players to a Squid Game Dalgona Candy Contest in partnership with jersey patch sponsor Bibigo, a Korean food brand. Fun to see how much the players enjoyed it.

[Social Value: $2,320] The Unrivaled Basketball x @_sportsball partnership is a perfect fit, especially with so much to explain in year one. Check out the latest edition breaking down the league’s 1-on-1 tournament format, presented by Sprite.

[Social Value: $25,225] Love how this celebratory post from Inter Milan naturally integrated Qatar Airways as the club punched its ticket to the Champions League Round of 16.

[Social Value: $23,805] Behind-the-scenes content with team staff continues to trend across the industry. This Los Angeles Chargers and UCLA Health piece showcasing an NFL dietitian’s gameday routine was a great watch.

[Social Value: $17,471] The Toronto Maple Leafs, Will Nylander, and jersey patch partner OREO launched a pop-up, Willy Good Cake Shop, where fans could try the all-new OREO Cakesters.

*Social value is defined as the full equivalent media value of this social post based on applicable impressions, video views, and engagements.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

Stat Of The Week: Stats Perform’s 2025 Fan Engagement and Monetization Survey found a direct link between cross-departmental collaboration and successful commercialization. More than one in three execs (34%) who said their commercial departments communicate very frequently with their content and media teams reported that it has become easier to commercialize content.

Barbie’s Super Bowl Bet: Barbie teamed up with the NFL and NFLPA to create made-to-order Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles collector’s dolls, available for pre-order only. But here’s the catch: Only orders for the winning team will be fulfilled—losing team orders get refunded.

Chili’s Digital Partnership Payoff: That moment when a sponsored content campaign drives real revenue. On Chili’s earnings call announcing record-breaking sales and growth, CEO Kevin Hochman gave a special shoutout to Dude Perfect and their "Triple Dipper Trick Shot" campaign, citing it as a factor in Chili’s 31% sales increase last quarter [via Chad Coleman].

Access Pass For Legends: A new initiative between the NFL and YouTube, Access Pass for Legends, will allow select former NFL players to use official NFL footage to help build their YouTube presence.

Women’s Rugby Creator Program: World Rugby has launched the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Content Creators Programme. The key feature is a learning and development program with virtual sessions led by industry experts, offering new skills, insights, and career opportunities.

Creators Driving Fan Engagement: Speaking of creator programs, Aston Martin’s Creator Collective, in partnership with TikTok, named five winners who will showcase their storytelling skills on a global stage—boosting F1’s digital fan engagement.

Unlocking Fan Spending Power: Next League’s Chief Digital Officer, Shripal Shah, explains how sports teams are leaving billions on the table by not tapping into fan spending beyond game day through payment-linked loyalty programs [via John WallStreet].