RCX Sports is a Georgia-based experiential company that partners with brands and organizations like the NFL, NHL and MLB to create youth sports experiences, opportunities and other community events.
RCX Sports’ chief marketing officer (CMO) Jaclyn Thomas first joined the firm nearly six years ago as its director of brand experiences. After getting promoted to the vice president of marketing and later CMO (in April 2024), though Thomas dropped “experience” from her job title, it remains at the center of how she operates her marketing team of 24.
As a result,
“events aren’t just part of our marketing strategy—they’re where our brand promise comes alive,” Thomas said. “Our events serve as living showcases of what RCX Sports stands for in youth athletics […] and transform our brand from a logo into a real, memorable experience.”
It’s why experiential marketing through events is the first of three pillars that make up Thomas’ marketing strategy. (The other two are “investments in digital engagement” and “careful stewardship of our professional league partnerships through strategic brand alignment.”)
“First, we focus on experiential marketing through our events, where we can showcase the power of our professional league partnerships,”
Thomas said, touting that aside from pro football, hockey and baseball leagues, RCX Sports also works with Major League Soccer and the NBA and WNBA organizations.
Leaning on the fandoms of such beloved organizations is the cornerstone of what sets RCX Sports apart, allowing its young participants—who are between 4 and 14 years old—to be “part of something bigger,” Thomas said. “They’re [the kids are] following the same pre-game rituals as their professional idols, warming up under championship banners and celebrating victories sometimes on the same fields where their dreams began.”
Together, RCX Sports and its pro partners host events like its youth flag football showdown, the NFL FLAG Regional Tournament, which travels to 32 cities and ends with the NFL FLAG Championships Presented by Toyota in July at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. MLB Pitch, Hit & Run tournaments are also popular local events for youngsters ages 7 to 14, and an All-Star showcase invites top young athletes to play on a global stage each year. When asked about the ROI of these events, Thomas said that RCX Sports’ experiences draw on the feeling of attending a pro sports game for the first time—”the flutter of excitement as you stepped onto the field wearing your team colors.”
“Now multiply that feeling tenfold. That’s what I call the ‘return on emotion,’ and it’s the unique magic that events deliver in ways other marketing channels simply can’t match,” Thomas said.
RCX Sports also attends events like Chicago’s Kroc Center Community Weekend to organize Jr. NBA skills challenges (more than 600 young athletes participated in this event last year), and is known for its exhibitor booths that are more like “immersive multisport playgrounds,” according to Thomas.
At the most recent National Parks and Recreation Association (NPRA) Conference, attendees—parks and recreation directors from across the country—”stepped into our interactive space and suddenly became kids again, testing their skills at our NFL FLAG drills, discovering the fast-paced excitement of Jr. NBA and experiencing firsthand how we make sports accessible to all youth,” Thomas explained.
She noted that testing athletic skills and drills may sound intimidating to some. It certainly was for a recreation director from a small Midwest town attending the NPRA Conference, Thomas recalled. But “we’ve designed it to be inclusive for all skill levels,” Thomas ensured, noting that once this community leader experienced the NFL FLAG drills for herself, she was eager to bring RCX Sports to her community’s underutilized parks.
“This is exactly how we advance our mission—one transformed decision-maker at a time,” Thomas said.
The conference is just one example of how adult buy-in is equally as important as the kids’, especially in the digital age, when a successful live event can support multiple marketing objectives. “Parents capture countless photos and videos, sharing their pride across social media,” Thomas explained. “They provide authentic content for our digital channels. Most importantly, they create those milestone moments that turn casual participants into passionate advocates for our programs.”
Speaking of advocacy, it’s not lost on Thomas that as RCX Sports travels around the US promoting accessibility in youth sports, there are “financial barriers to entry. Even well-intentioned events can sometimes create obstacles for families who simply can’t afford participation fees, travel expenses or equipment costs.” This “directly conflicts with our mission to make sports accessible for all,” Thomas said. To address this, just after Thomas rose to the CMO position, she supported RCX Sports’ launch of the RCX Foundation in July 2024. The RCX Foundation “helps break down these barriers by providing resources and support that enable more youth to participate in sports programs and events, regardless of their financial circumstances,” Thomas said. “Our goal is to ensure that every child has the chance to experience the joy, growth and community that sports provide.”
Want to learn more? Check out how other CMOs, like Uncle Nearest’s Brielle Caruso, are leveraging events as part of their marketing strategy in our new series on Vendelux, “A CMO’s View on Events.”
