The Winter X Games are an annual event that showcases the best of action sports. The games often feature events such as skiing and snowboarding.
With the Winter X-Games less than two months away, Buttermilk Mountain in Aspen, Colorado is preparing to host the world's best skiers and snowboarders. These athletes will be competing in various competitions over the weekend of January 21-23 2022.While winter action sports are a niche market, their audience is super committed to the sport. During 2021's X-Games, ESPN viewership was up 15%, with viewers watching for 16% more minutes than the year before.
As well, the X-Games has been dominating the digital world:
- On Tiktok, there is a total of 63.3 Million views on X-Games videos (+4,421% YOY) and 1.7 Million followers on the X-Games Tiktok account (+1,097% YOY).
- On Instagram (IG), the X-Games garner 107.1 Million impressions (+194% YOY), with an additional 6 million impressions strictly from IG stories, with an average of 46 K (+31% YOY). Their IG follower count has increased 113% YOY during event week, to 2.9M.
- On Twitter, they have brought in 11.4 Million impressions (+75% YOY)
- During the week of the event, their website, grows 692% YOY in average daily unique visitors, 736% YOY in page views, and 835% YOY in total minutes spent on the site.
With their success in the digital space, right now is an ideal time to partner with X-Games athletes.
Before displaying the athletes, let's understand the games. In this year's event, the professional athletes will be competing in various competitions:
Men's- Snowboard SuperPipe
- Snowboard Slopestyle
- Snowboard Big Air
- Snowboard Knuckle Huck
- Ski Big Air
- Ski Slopestyle
- Ski Knuckle Huck
- Ski SuperPipe
Women's
- Snowboard Slopestyle
- Snowboard Big Air
- Snowboard SuperPipe
- Ski Big Air
- Ski SuperPipe
- Ski Slopestyle
Now, lets look at some OpenSponsorship athletes participating in these competitions:
Chloe Kim is a decorated snowboarder from the United States. She shined in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, winning gold in the halfpipe at 18 years old. Prior to winning that gold, she had made the podium at five X-Game SuperPipe events (3 Gold, 1 Silver, and 1 Bronze). She is also the only athlete in X-Game history to win three gold medals before the age of 16! Sponsoring Chloe Kim would be a fantastic decision because of her massive following. Chloe Kim has 693K followers on her Instagram, averaging 13K likes per post. Having a national star as a sponsor for your brand will provide major publicity to your company during the X-Games.
Marcus Kleveland is a Norwegian snowboarder who will be participating in the Snowboard Big Air event. Marcus was an olympian in the 2018 Games. He is also a 7 time medal winner in the X-Games (4 Gold and 3 Silver). In last years games, Marcus Kleveland won the Big Air event, and in the 2020 games in Oslo, he won gold in the Knuckle Huck. In the past 30 days, Marcus' Instagram has increased 4.4% in likes (to 31K), 274.9% in comments (to 3K), and 12.1% in performance. As Marcus Kleveland's social presence rises prior to the X-Games, it is the perfect time for brands to partner with him.
Gus Kenworthy is a British-American freestyle skier, actor, and YouTuber. He competes in the Slopestyle, SuperPipe and Big Air events at the X-Games. He is a veteran in the X-Games as he has been a competitor since 2011. In his career he has made the podium 5 times (2 Silver, 3 Bronze). Gus is also a two-time olympian, who took home Silver in the Sochi Olympics. Kenworthy's Instagram has tremendous reach. With over 1.2 Million followers, Gus' posts average 99K likes. Averaging 3 posts a month, Gus has increased his activity by 194.1% in the past 30 days. Since 2019, Gus has been representing Great Britain instead of the United States. This change provides a unique opportunity for British brands to sponsor a hometown olympian who has a large following in both the UK and USA.