Gainbridge®, a Group 1001 company, is the recipient of Sports Business Journal’s (SBJ) 2025 Sports Business Awards’ Brand Activation of the Year for Gainbridge® x Caitlin Clark at The ANNIKA LPGA.

SBJ’s Brand Activation of the Year award goes to brands that excel in developing a creative strategy and execution to bring their ideas to life through branding, creative, experiential marketing, hospitality, or other activations in sports to engage with fans/consumers.

"Gainbridge® has worked hard to build a sports sponsorship portfolio that reflects the values of the company and our customers so it's with great joy that we were recognized by Sports Business Journal for Brand Activation of the Year," said Mike Nichols. "The 2024 ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican was the perfect opportunity to align Gainbridge® ambassador Caitlin Clark with Annika Sorenstam and the best of the LPGA to highlight our investment in women's sports. Having IndyCar drivers Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson accelerated the activation to the next level. None of this would have been possible without our partners at Outlyr, the LPGA Tour, Andretti, Pacers Sports & Entertainment and Excel Sports Management."

Gainbridge’s activation involved a partnership between Gainbridge® and The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican. Gainbridge® brand ambassador and 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark participated in the ANNIKA as both a panelist at the Women’s Leadership Summit and as a player in the Pro-Am. Two Gainbridge® ambassadors and women’s sports leaders, Annika Sörenstam and Clark, teed off together for the first time. Clark also played alongside Nelly Korda, the 2024 champion of The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican.

Gainbridge® also engaged its partners from Andretti Global. IndyCar drivers Colton Herta and Marcus Ericsson served as celebrity caddies in Clark’s group during the Pro-Am. Their cars were displayed so fans could get an up-close look at an IndyCar.

With women's basketball fans from all over the U.S. coming to support Clark, bringing together Clark, Sörenstam, and Korda demonstrated the growing popularity of women’s sports. Gainbridge® has built a meaningful sports sponsorship portfolio, committing more than 40% of its sponsorship dollars to women's sports, far exceeding the national average. In addition to being the title sponsor of the ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, Gainbridge® is also the title sponsor of the Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge.

In an interview after playing a round at the ANNIKA, Clark said, “It was so fun. Getting to see (Nelly and Annika) do what they do up front, people would pay for that. I got to do it for free and have fun with them. Definitely a fun morning. I feel very thankful that Gainbridge® had me out here. Obviously, their support of women's sports is tremendous. Very lucky and fortunate. Hung in there, did alright. It was a good day."

Gainbridge® Campaign Wins Sports Business Awards’ Brand Activation of the Year

Related Articles