Content That Connects, Episode 6 - Welcome to Stagwell’s SPORT BEACH 2025

​Little Black Book (LBB) and AdFusion™ from Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) return with the sixth episode of ‘Content that Connects’. Gathering the brightest minds and voices in the industry, the production-focused series tackles topics such as purpose-marketing, in-housing strategies, and sustainability within the production landscape.

In this episode, LBB’s Americas reporter, Ben Conway meets some of the team at Stagwell, ahead of the return of SPORT BEACH at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Joining the discussion this week are Beth Sidhu, chief brand and communications officer, Regan Considine, VP of brand, and Lauren Phillips, VP of athlete partnerships.

Discussing the SPORT BEACH origin story and its evolution and growth over the past three years, the team unpack that it was born out of feedback from a colleague at the end of the 2022 festival; “Why is there no sport in Cannes?”, shares Beth.

The idea was initially picked up by 72andSunny, a Stagwell agency, who prepared a single slide with the title SPORT BEACH written in “72andSunny orange”. Beth says, “I thought, that is an awesome idea. That is different, that is special and we can do something great with that. Thus, SPORT BEACH was born.”

SPORT BEACH is designed to be a hub that brings world-class athletes and world-class brand marketers together, putting them on the same court to talk about sport in relation to the opportunities in marketing, creative, technology and innovation that it offers. “We think sport is a door opener, and by creating SPORT BEACH our goal is to provide a home for athletes and marketers to work together and explore sport and what it means beyond what happens on the field,” adds Beth.

This year, SPORT BEACH will welcome over 30 athletes, and invites festival-goers to attend the most ‘active’ beach in Cannes, where, in addition to the typical drinking and networking that takes place on other beaches, there’s a chance to get active and participate in sport, from morning run clubs to pickleball games, and ‘Open Play’ sessions.

“The reason that we centre play so strongly at SPORT BEACH is that sport and play is something that is a universal language,” says Regan. “It doesn’t matter who is coming to our beach, whether it is an athlete, brand marketer or CMO, it doesn’t matter where in the world they’re from, they’ll have picked up some sport equipment in their life or thrown a ball. That is a universal experience, and when you put people in that scenario, they relate to other people differently, and so we’re trying to create space for different kinds of relationships to exist at Cannes.”

Lauren adds that there’s an “art and science” to matching brands with athletes on the beach that has evolved into a “matchmaking process”, that helps to align athlete’s goals with brands and their marketing ambitions.

“Stagwell is built in a collaborative way,” says Regan. “We believe in breaking down silos and working together and working in a collaborative fashion across our network, and SPORT BEACH has turned into a beautiful manifestation of that.”

It’s a logistical feat that’s achieved thanks to the close collaboration and blending of expertise from Stagwell's global network of agencies, culminating in a four day event that celebrates sport during advertising’s biggest week of the year.

The full line-up of this year's activities and athletes can be found here.

Take a look at previous episodes of Content that Connects here.