Sports + Entertainment Partnership Strategy

Independent, leading-edge, and measureable partnership strategy from a 30-year NBA league office, NASCAR, NIKE, and NBA team front office executive who has led, closed, and managed partnerships with over 100 global sports & entertainment properties, Hall of Fame and Heisman Trophy-winning athletes, and Oscar & Grammy-winning artists.

100+ Partnerships With Global Sports & Entertainment Leaders

The Partnership Strategy Sprint

A laser-focused, leading-edge partnership strategy and activation plan your team can execute immediately, built in 3 weeks.

Designed for CMOs, heads of partnerships, founders, and PE-backed portfolio companies that need speed, clarity, and an executable plan to leverage partnerships for immediate growth — not a months-long agency retainer.

Delivered by:

A former executive from 4 major sports brands who led 100+ global partnerships.
Builder of the NBA’s Los Angeles office and architect of multiple first-ever major sports league strategies.

What You Get in the Sprint

Diagnostic of your partnership landscape

Clarifies where partnerships can unlock growth — whether you're starting from zero or need to re-architect existing deals — and identifies the highest-value opportunities.

Strategic roadmap with precise partnership directionsCategory strategy, property selection, talent alignment, activation architecture, and a measurement model that defines what success looks like.

Execution plan your team can implement immediately

Messaging frameworks, outreach strategy, valuation logic, deal structure guidance, and risk analysis.

Deliverables

15–20 page Partnership Strategy Document
Market analysis with category benchmarks
Partnership architecture (sports, entertainment, creators, events)
Recommended property/talent list + rationale
12-month activation blueprint
Measurement KPIs + ROO model
Executive debrief session (60–90 min)

Timeline

3 weeks, fixed.
Week 1: Inputs + diagnostic
Week 2: Strategy development
Week 3: Delivery + executive review
(Sprint. No drawn-out consulting cycle.)

Price

Investment: $15,000

Agencies charge $25K–$50K for similar strategy, delivered over 3–4 months with junior teams.
This Sprint gives you senior expertise, clarity, and a fully executable plan, in 3 weeks.

Request a Sprint Consultation
A 15-minute call to determine fit and scope.

About Zane

One of the most innovative and accomplished partnership leaders in sports and entertainment, Zane Stoddard has spent 30 years building market-shaping, brand-building, engagement and revenue-driving collaborations for more than 100 global brands. His work spans the NBA league office, NIKE, NASCAR, and an NBA team front office, including two decades leading the Los Angeles offices for both the NBA and NASCAR.

A sought-after industry voice, Zane has been featured in many major media outlets and has spoken at leading sports and entertainment business conferences, including the Variety

Zane Stoddard

Sports & Entertainment Summit (3x), Sports Business Journal Summit (3x), Octagon Sports Marketing Symposium, the NASCAR Marketing & Communications Summit (4), and universities, including USC, ASU, UCLA, Arizona, Texas A&M, West Virginia, San Diego State, Loyola Marymount, Grand Canyon, and Samford.

Zane has also served on Boards for the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management Executive Education Program and Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Sports Awards.

Featured In

Impact

Led the creation and launch of the NBA’s Los Angeles office, the first West Coast office in U.S. pro sports.

Tapped as 1 of only 5 NASCAR executives (out of 1,200) to lead “one of the largest marketing initiatives undertaken by a U.S. sport” (Northwestern Kellogg School of Management).

Directed 100+ global sports and entertainment partnerships, generating 12+ billion impressions, $1B+ in measured media value, and millions in incremental revenue.

Managed the design of NASCAR’s first youth marketing strategy, driving +85% youth viewership, 600K new youth app downloads, and 8M+ youth engagements.

Led the construction of NASCAR’s first influencer strategy, generating 1B+ impressions with over 50 culture luminaries, including Justin Bieber, Kevin Hart, and Jake Paul.

Engineered the development and execution of NASCAR’s first league-wide content strategy, producing 5B+ impressions and forming partnerships with 20+ global media brands.

Oversaw NASCAR’s event operations group responsible for executing 250+ annual marketing, PR, hospitality, and televised, live-event activations across the league.

Work with Zane

Schedule a short call to explore how ShiftCode can help your brand accelerate growth through sports & entertainment partnerships.