HOW AND THE NEW HELPED THE PRO AM PADEL TOUR TURN A FOUR-EVENT SEASON INTO A SOCIAL GROWTH STORY

Some sports properties are built to host events. Others are built to build momentum.

That was the opportunity with the Pro Am Padel Tour. In its third year, the tour was already doing more than putting celebrity names on court. It was blending elite-level play, entertainment, grassroots access and purpose-led community initiatives into something bigger: a sports property with real audience potential. AND THE NEW was brought in to help unlock that potential through a social-first content engine designed to travel city to city and keep the tour in conversation across the season.

The result was not just a successful run of events. It was a growth story.

Across a four-event season, the Pro Am Padel Tour generated 8.9 million organic social views across channels, activated seven partnerships and delivered 642.5 million in editorial reach across titles including BBC, ITV, talkSport, Yahoo Sports and OneFootball.

THE BRIEF: BUILD ATTENTION THAT LASTS LONGER THAN THE EVENT

The challenge was clear. The Pro Am Padel Tour had energy, personality and purpose. What it needed was a content and distribution approach that could translate all of that into sustained audience growth.

That meant going beyond event-day coverage.

The brief called for a social-first system that could capture the on-court action, the off-court personalities and the wider story around the tour, then package all of it in a way that felt native to the platforms where modern sports audiences actually spend time. AND THE NEW’s role was to help build that system across Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn, while keeping pace with a live event calendar moving across four cities in 2025.

TURNING A LIVE TOUR INTO A SOCIAL GROWTH ENGINE

From the start, the focus was not on simply documenting what happened. It was on creating a repeatable social content machine that could drive momentum before, during and after each event.

Our approach centred on high-impact, always-on coverage: fast-turnaround edits built for social, interview-led storytelling, highlight moments designed for shareability, and content formats that could keep the tour relevant between live moments. The goal was to make each event feel like part of a bigger narrative, not a standalone spike in attention.

That matters because audience growth in sport does not come from isolated highlights alone. It comes from rhythm. From recognisable formats. From content that gives people a reason to come back.

For the Pro Am Padel Tour, that meant capturing more than rallies and scorelines. It meant leaning into the personalities, the celebrity participation, the atmosphere in-venue and the wider sense that this was becoming a staple date on the UK sporting calendar.

SPORT, PERSONALITY AND PURPOSE

One of the strongest aspects of the tour was the breadth of stories available to tell.

The celebrity line-up helped spark attention, with names including Joleon Lescott, Jason Manford, Dion Dublin, Joe Marler, Steph Houghton, Phil Jones, Johanna Konta, Gabby Agbonlahor, Charlotte Dawson, Chris Stark, Danny Care and Heather Watson appearing across the season. That gave the content recognisable hooks. But the growth did not come from celebrity alone.

What made the season compelling was the combination of entertainment and meaning.

The tour’s brief was rooted in using padel as a platform to connect people, open doors and create community impact, working alongside LTA Padel and brand partners. That gave the content more depth. Instead of only publishing big-name moments, we were able to build a wider editorial arc around grassroots access, partner activity and the sense that the tour stood for something beyond the court.

That is where sports content becomes more valuable. Not when it is louder, but when it is broader. More dimensions means more entry points for audiences.

SOCIAL GROWTH WITH COMMERCIAL VALUE

The topline outcome was strong: 8.9 million organic social views across the four-event season. But for a property like this, the surrounding indicators matter just as much. Seven partnerships were activated across the season, including Cupra, Skechers, Not Padel, Certina Watches, Mahou, Graham Beck and Yoovy Sunglasses, while editorial reach climbed to 642.5 million.

That combination is important because it shows the tour was not only reaching audiences on owned channels. It was generating the kind of cut-through that brands, sponsors and media all care about.

For us as an agency, it is a strong example of what happens when a sports property is treated as a content ecosystem rather than just an event series. The audience experience becomes richer. The sponsor story becomes stronger. The social channels become an asset, not an afterthought.

AND THE NEW

Pro Am Padel Tour is exactly the kind of challenge AND THE NEW is built for.

A fast-moving sports property. Multiple stakeholders. Live events. Big personalities. Real community value. Commercial upside. And a need to turn all of that into measurable social growth.

This project worked because the client had ambition, and because the strategy matched the ambition. Not just more content. Better systems. Better storytelling. Better use of the moments that already existed within the property.

Growth in sport is no longer about posting more. It is about building the right engine around the right story.

If you’re a sports property, league, team or brand looking to turn live moments into sustained audience growth, stronger partner value and measurable social performance, let’s talk.