Atlanta's professional sports franchises are treating culture as their core marketing asset rather than a side channel. Speaking at the Home Field Advantage session on the final day of 2026 Brandweek, moderator Shannon Watkins, founder of Watkins Brand Advisors, argued that in Atlanta, sports "don't operate in a different lane than music or history or community. It is culture."

Watkins led a panel of four senior marketing executives from the city's major teams: Shannon Joyner, chief marketing officer of the Atlanta Falcons; Melissa Proctor, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the Atlanta Hawks; Adam Zimmerman, senior vice president of marketing and content for the Atlanta Braves; and Mike Ridley, vice president of marketing at Atlanta United FC.

The session, titled Home Field Advantage, closed out the final day of Brandweek 2026. Its focus on culture reflects a broader positioning among Atlanta franchises: fan engagement depends on embedding teams in the city's music, history and community identity, not simply on game-day performance.

For marketing leaders at the four clubs, the implication is that brand-building in Atlanta requires fluency in the city's cultural fabric. Each panelist represented a franchise competing for attention in a crowded market that also spans the NFL, NBA, MLB and Major League Soccer.

Source: Adweek (https://www.adweek.com/inside-the-brand/atlanta-sports-teams-tap-into-culture-to-keep-fans-engaged/)