about me

I’m Warren Dell, a senior freelance sports marketing strategist helping brands, sponsors, agencies and rights holders connect more meaningfully with fans.

I’ve been a sports fan since I was crawling on the terraces at QPR and my passion for sport crosses football, basketball, cricket, cycling, motorsport, tennis and beyond. That lived experience shapes how I approach sports marketing strategy: taking a fan first approach to uncover the insights and way in for brands, rights holders and sponsors to connect with fans in a meaningful way that provides them value, while achieving an organisation’s business goals.

I bring 16+ years’ experience across brand, agency and freelance strategy roles, with work spanning fan insight, sponsorship strategy, brand positioning, creative strategy, content, comms and cultural foresight.

Since 2024, I’ve focused fully on sports marketing, helping brands and agencies understand fans, build sharper partnership strategies and create work that feels credible, useful and meaningful in sports culture.

how i got here

Early career: digital, content and social: 2008 - 2014

I started in publishing and digital marketing before moving into social, content and community roles, building a grounding in how audiences discover, engage with and respond to brands online.

Strategy and agency planning: 2014-2018

I moved into strategy across agencies including MEC/Wavemaker, Gravity Thinking, Leo Burnett and ZAK, working across content strategy, creative briefing, social strategy and partnerships, including Royal Navy x EFL, Hyundai x Team Wiggins and New Balance Football.

Brand-side experience: 2018-2022

I then moved brand-side with Chivas Regal and Jameson, working across global communications, cultural strategy, product launches and major partnerships including Manchester United and Balmain.

Senior strategy: 2022-2024

At TBWA, I led strategy across adidas, Mobil 1 and Starbucks, including adidas football work and Mobil 1’s motorsports platform. I also contributed to TBWA\Backslash cultural intelligence and Future of Sport work.

Freelance sports marketing: 2024-Present day

Today, I work with brands, sponsors and agencies on sports marketing strategy, fan insight, sponsorship strategy, campaign strategy and foresight. Recent projects include Coca-Cola, Powerade, Smartwater, Lloyds x British Cycling, Asahi, NBA Europe and Wilson Tennis.

Need sharper sports strategy, fan insight or sponsorship thinking? Let’s work together.