The Australian Open returns to Melbourne as one of 2026's first major global sporting events. More than just a tournament, the event has evolved into a cultural moment, where sport, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle collide. Such events also create a highly competitive environment for brands, where standing out requires authentic and credible engagement.

To explore authentic, meaningful brand presence during major sporting moments, Telum Media spoke with Ashleigh Bonica, Senior Communications Director at AMPR. Drawing on her client work in this space, she discussed building deeper brand connections, earning attention beyond traditional sponsorship models, and adapting brand storytelling for diverse audiences without losing sight of a clear, consistent narrative.

Many brands want to tap into the hype of major sporting events even when they have no natural link to the sport. How do you help clients find an authentic point of relevance and avoid campaigns that feel forced or disconnected from the moment?
Authenticity starts with heritage, not hype. For example, with Lacoste and tennis, the connection is genuine - tennis isn't a borrowed platform for Lacoste, it's the foundation the brand was built on.

Our role is to ensure that the brand's values are expressed in a way that feels contemporary, culturally connected, and relevant to how audiences experience the Australian Open today. Rather than defaulting to logos or nostalgic storytelling, we look at how Lacoste's enduring values of elegance under pressure, performance with style, and confidence in movement, can come to life in a modern, experiential way.

Le Club Lacoste Melbourne at AFLOAT is a strong example of this approach. It doesn't interrupt the Australian Open experience; it extends it. It creates a space that mirrors how people actually engage with the tournament, before and after matches, socially with friends, or by the water, while staying rooted in tennis culture.

Relevance is only the first hurdle. How can PR and comms professionals carve out distinctive brand spaces - especially when up against official sponsors and major rights holders?
In a sponsorship-heavy environment, visibility alone is not the goal - meaningful connection is. Consumers are increasingly adept at tuning out brand noise, particularly during major sporting moments saturated with logos and competing messages.

PR and comms professionals can create impact by shifting the focus from scale to substance.

For Lacoste, the opportunity wasn't to out-brand other sponsors, but to be visual and true to the brand, in turn making more meaningful impact and connection with tennis fans. Le Club Lacoste Melbourne offers something both experiential and editorially compelling: a cultural destination that blends tennis, fashion, food, and social connection. By creating a bespoke floating Lacoste Court at AFLOAT, complete with live match screenings, casual play, French-inspired food and drink, and exclusive retail, the brand occupies a space that feels premium, considered, and genuinely newsworthy.

PR plays a critical role in shaping this narrative, positioning Lacoste as a cultural contributor to the Australian summer of tennis. By celebrating craftsmanship, athlete individuality, and the brand's quiet confidence, our storytelling naturally extends beyond sports pages into lifestyle, fashion, and culture verticals.

In crowded sponsorship landscapes, distinctiveness comes from depth, not dominance. When a brand adds value to how people experience an event, rather than simply attaching itself to it, it earns attention in a way that feels organic, credible, and enduring. We saw the effectiveness of this strategy for Lacoste when Lacoste Court was booked out within days of being announced.

With fan behaviour shifting toward real-time, social-first consumption, what emerging opportunities do you see for brands to generate earned attention during upcoming global sporting moments?
Earned attention today is driven less by polished campaigns and more by authentic, human moments that unfold naturally around the action. Audiences are no longer just watching the sport itself; they're engaging with the broader cultural ecosystem in real time, from arrivals and personal style to atmosphere, emotion, and shared social rituals. For us, social-first doesn’t mean social-for-social’s-sake. The most effective live brand moments are designed to be experienced first, shared second.

For a brand like Lacoste, this creates an opportunity to focus on moments of style, confidence, and self-expression rather than match results alone. Le Club Lacoste Melbourne is intentionally built with this behaviour in mind, a space that invites people in for the right reasons: connection, culture, and craft. When an experience is compelling in its own right, content capture becomes a natural by-product, not the primary objective.

We're seeing this same "off-track" focus shape engagement at major moments such as the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup Carnival. While the sport remains the anchor, participation is increasingly driven by the surrounding experience - fashion, access, and atmosphere. Brands that create environments people actively choose to step into become part of the story rather than a layer over it.

The real opportunity lies in the in-between moments: arrivals, off-court movement, pre-and post-play gatherings, and how the brand can authentically add value through meaningful experiences that connect with their DNA. PR teams now operate as cultural editors, curating access, talent, and context to ensure brands show up with intention. When executed for the right reasons, real-time storytelling doesn’t just extend reach; it builds relevance, credibility, and lasting cultural impact.

Sporting events usually attract layered audiences - from local communities to international viewers, casual fans to passionate purists. How can client stories be adapted into market- and audience-specific angles that are timely and newsworthy without diluting the core narrative?
The strongest partnership stories are designed to stretch across audiences and platforms, while remaining anchored to a single, clear brand truth. With Lacoste, the core story - the intersection of sport, style, and heritage - remains consistent, but the lens through which it's told shifts depending on audience and market.

For the Australian landscape, the global concept of Le Club Lacoste has been adapted to suit the local cultural infrastructure by partnering with an iconic venue in Melbourne's CBD that values authentic experience, whilst also embracing true partnership. At a global level, the story is about Lacoste's global tennis legacy and enduring connection to the sport.

Audience segmentation is equally important. Tennis purists are drawn to performance, athlete credibility, and the brand's authentic roots in the game. Lifestyle and fashion audiences engage more strongly with narratives around identity, craftsmanship, design, and how sport influences broader culture. By creating an experience that integrates sport, fashion, food, and music in an authentic way, we ensure we can capture engagement with any potential audience segment.

By anchoring all storytelling to a single, clearly defined brand truth, PR and comms teams can adapt angles without dilution. The message stays intact; the execution evolves, ensuring relevance across markets while maintaining a cohesive, recognisable narrative.