For every Nike making the most of the moment – the “Watch Where We’re Going” work in partnership with the Olympic Refugee Committee promotes this goal with spine-tingling clarity – there is the European Championship campaign “No More Injury Time” against domestic violence. Less money, but no less effective.

With the slogan “If we lose, she loses more”, The Wild by Jungle’s pro bono Ahead of the Euros, a campaign against domestic violence was launched in partnership with survivors Rehema Muthamia, a former Miss England, and influencer Flo Finch, and supported by leading charities Solace and the National Centre for Domestic Violence. The campaign featured an alternative football shirt with the number 38, symbolising the 38% increase in reported abuse cases when the England men’s team loses at a major tournament.

The campaign not only generated billions of readers and social impressions, but also raised awareness of the reality of domestic violence and sparked widespread discussion about it.

In fact, Women’s Aid also launched the ‘No More Years of Hurt’ campaign at the Euros to similarly raise awareness of domestic violence. Unfortunately, if there is a hierarchy of targets, domestic violence is probably at the bottom, but with the attention the Euros attracted, these campaigns were able to grab headlines that are normally so hard to achieve.

Purpose-driven campaigns work around sporting events because they add to the conversation rather than interrupting it. This way, the work can avoid purpose fatigue that might otherwise occur and reach audiences that aren’t always receptive at other times of the year.

The fact that we can write about these two domestic violence awareness campaigns in the same article as global brands like Nike and EE – whose creative campaign ‘Hate. Not in My Shirt’ addressed the issue of racism in football – shows how equal sport can be for both campaigns and competitors.

And now the Olympics are the current sporting platform that offers brands a moment of targeted power. Christian Aid has adopted the strategy of using this global stage to amplify its message and impact, using the hype surrounding the Olympics to raise awareness of the climate crisis.

As an official partner, Samsung is making sure its high-profile sponsorship deal bears fruit – and the countless images of athletes taking selfies with their Samsung flip phones suggest a well-thought-out strategy. But Samsung has also developed transparent medals and a social media campaign to go with them – with the aim of celebrating “openness” where athletes share their stories of overcoming challenges or past failures. It may be a less focused piece of work, but it is nonetheless an example of this approach.

So there’s often a misconception that activation around global sporting events is only for those with big budgets, established brand awareness and previous connections to sport. This summer should put an end to that. The passion associated with sporting achievement means emotional triggers are high and audiences are more receptive than ever to targeted messaging. By leveraging key partners and real spokespeople, and making the most of their own channels – as well as building on the successes of other respected campaigns – all brands can use sport to drive change alongside their own brand awareness.