Are you struggling to justify that creative budget to your CEO?

Welcome aboard.

The boat’s full. It’s sinking slightly. And it’s packed with marketers and creative leads clutching mood boards, Excel trackers, and rejection emails. We know the feeling.

Creative teams in sport are often treated like a luxury. Not a necessity. Like you’re asking for the dessert menu when the club’s still working out if it can afford dinner.

And when the budget gets slashed, what’s your instinct?

Rage? Despair? Passive-aggressive WhatsApp messages to your team?

We’ve been there. But here’s the uncomfortable truth:

It’s not always about pushing harder. It’s about pitching smarter.

Here's where we'd shift the strategy:

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Step 1: Speak Their Language

Most CEOs have a rallying cry:

“Be the most successful team in the comp.” or “build the most iconic sports brand in the country.”

Cool. Let’s connect the dots.

You can’t build an iconic brand with pixelated photos, off-brand visuals, and a logo that looks like it was designed in Canva.

Align your creative needs with their vision.

A high-performance brand needs high-performance creative.

Don’t pitch design.
Pitch brand performance.

Design isn't decoration - it’s how the world sees your club. That brand perception drives everything: ticket sales, sponsor confidence, player pride, and fan loyalty.

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Step 2: Show Them the Long Game (with Dollar Signs)

Creative = Brand.
Brand = Long-Term Value.

That’s increased commercial appeal, lower fan acquisition costs, deeper loyalty, and greater trust from partners.

Want to pitch your CEO? Don’t ask for more money for “content.” Show how the right investment today builds long-term equity. That’s a play they’ll listen to, so give them a reason to believe this creative spend drives future revenue... not just likes.

Visual identity and consistency pay off. Just ask any global sports brand that became a business powerhouse off the back of bold design, fan-first storytelling, and platform-native content.

Make the brand sticky and the revenue follows.

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Step 3: Feed the Ego (Tastefully)

Is it manipulative? No.
Is it strategic? Absolutely.

Every CEO wants to be that CEO.

The one who modernised the club.
Who “got” digital.
Who took the brand from beige to brilliant.
Who fans actually liked.

They want to lead something that gets talked about for the right reasons. So show them how investing in design and content makes them look like the visionary. Wrap the budget ask in their narrative, not yours.

It’s not flattery. It’s alignment.

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The Real Play: Reframe, Don’t Retreat

It's less about the thing you want and more about you frame it.

So next time you’re shot down, don’t sulk about it. Think about a repositioning.

CEOs aren’t immune to storytelling. You just need to tell one that puts them in the hero’s seat.

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