French football champions Paris Saint-Germain are on the crest of a wave – away and clear at the top of Ligue 1 and eagerly anticipating a UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Aston Villa.
Performances on the field have electrified the mood around the club but, as ISC 2025 delegates learned in the final day one session in The Residency, a change in off-field approach has also restored cultural control to its fans.
At the start of the 2024/25 season, streetwear retailer Snipes became PSG’s ‘culture and community partner’ and took the sponsorship slot on the back of the team’s matchday shirts.
“PSG is probably the biggest lifestyle brand in club football,” said Snipes’ Simon Bus, pointing to a profile is unchecked by local rivalries that connects with fashion, youth culture and hip-hop.
Richard Adelsberg, chief executive of Snipes’ agency partner Ear To The Ground, believed PSG needed to embrace that part of its identity – moving back towards a local communitywhich had felt alienated through an era of heavy spending on major global stars. With the first team now built more and more around young local talent, Snipes has put urban Parisian creators, musicians and artists at the heart of its campaign.
PSG first team players recognise those figures as heroes and peers, Adelsberg explained. This allowed Snipes and Ear To The Ground to credibly take their activations into physical and cultural spaces with hyper-local relevance – reconnecting the centre of the city with its ‘banlieues’, or outer suburbs.
That strategy also has community development elements at its core. Snipes Serves brings disadvantaged children and adolescents to the Parc des Princes for home games, where they can watch from the stands and play on the pitch at half-time. But the company also offers initiatives through the music studio it owns in the city, inviting young people to create and express themselves in a safe and vibrant setting.
Within the Parc des Princes itself, Snipes has looked past traditional B2B hospitality in favour of a unique matchday concept. Nestled near the club’s ‘ultras’ within the Borelli stand, the Snipes Deck is an open space that has taken on the company’s in-store aesthetic – an environment that reflects both the brand and Parisian street culture while capturing the full sensory appeal of PSG home games.
Superstar athletes – including the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs – have rubbed shoulders with artists, musicians and community project members since the Snipes Deck opened in January. Entertainment has featured a barber service, personalised embroidery on match scarves, and after parties with local DJs.
It is a bold vision for what a brand partnership can be in elite football. And it is one that Bus insists was only possible due to the open engagement of the club and key partners like Nike’s Jordan Brand, PSG’s kit supplier and a foundational retail client for Snipes.
“If you want to do something out of the box,” he added, “you need partners who think out of the box as well.”
Both Snipes and Ear To The Ground stressed the importance of sustained, enthusiastic commitment in making a culture-first campaign like this land. “Less is never more,” laughed Bus.
The challenge now is to keep the momentum going. The launch of the new PSG kit is expected to coincide with the team’s participation in this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup. Street-level music events are planned across the French capital while hip-hop icon DJ Khaled – who is Snipes’ chief creative officer – is due to be involved in activities in the tournament host city of Miami.
Other partners are now eager to be involved in Snipes’ mission, seeking collaborations and sharing ideas. For Snipes, PSG and Ear To The Ground, however, authentic grassroots energy and enthusiasm will be vital to continued success.
