Is Wimbledon’s Champagne Problem a Fan Experience Opportunity?

Ever worked your tail off to design a flawless brand activation, only to watch it fall flat in a space that just doesn’t want to change? Welcome to Wimbledon, where a single champagne cork caused more audience buzz than any brand on Centre Court.

Kind of ironic, right?

Too many sporting events, especially elite ones, cling to tradition so tightly that they squeeze the life out of modern fan engagement. The marketing teams behind them want growth, shareability, and cultural relevance. But the brand experience is trapped in white blazers and hush-hush etiquette.

It’s not that tradition is bad. It’s that tradition can’t evolve without disruption. And sometimes disruption wears a tux, pops a bottle, and yells “Cheers!” during a second serve.

As designers and marketers, we build experiences. We don’t just sell moments, we package stories, rituals, and emotions. So when the sport resists what the fans bring naturally, whether it’s champagne, chants, or exuberant celebration, it’s not just about rule-breaking. It’s about missed connection. Missed magic. Missed branding GOLD.

This cork incident wasn’t a PR disaster. It was an organic marketing moment. A live, unscripted, human ritual that made millions laugh, argue, and click “share.”

Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Sports marketing teams have to get better at leaning into these moments, not away from them. Imagine designing brand experiences around modern rituals...instead of spending energy trying to suppress them. If champagne bottles are showing up, what does that say about your audience’s mindset? Their mood? Their desire to elevate the tradition with a little pop of bubbly?

Instead of just slapping “no corks allowed” in fine print, what if the visual identity, signage, and activations played with that tension in clever, story-driven ways?

Too many creatives are still designing for the institution, not the fans. Yes, we love a tidy field of vision and minimal interruptions. But the fan experience is inherently messy, noisy, and imperfect. And if you’re trying to design fan engagement inside a perfectly controlled framework, you're working against the raw power of live sports.

You want to build unforgettable moments. Your clients want connection. They want campaigns that fans don’t forget. Or better yet, retweet into virality before the match ends. You’re not just here to make “pretty graphics” or clean social media templates. You’re here to shape culture, update norms, and make tradition feel alive.

Respecting tradition doesn’t mean rejecting modern fan behavior. Some of the most powerful marketing today comes from knowing when to color outside the lines, cleverly, intentionally, and with full awareness of the brand's voice and values.

Let your concepts spark discussion, not just approval from tournament organizers.

“But if we lighten up too much, don’t we risk losing the class and history that make these events special?”

Fair question. But what if your brand could honor tradition by evolving it? What if great design told the story of past meets present, in hilarious, heartfelt, slightly disruptive gestures the crowd actually remembers?

What rituals are you embracing, or maybe even missing, in your brand work right now?

---