Hopscotch Wins the Naming Activation for the Renamed Plenitude Arena
Energy brand Plenitude, which took naming rights to the former Paris La Défense Arena, has picked agency Hopscotch after a competitive pitch to activate that naming over three years - a reminder that stadium naming rights are only the entry ticket.
The Win
Plenitude, which renamed the former Paris La Défense Arena the Plenitude Arena in mid-2026, has appointed Hopscotch after a competitive pitch to run a three-year naming activation. The mandate covers activation at the arena, brand event support across France, and merchandising and logistics.
The scope reaches well beyond signage: hospitality spaces, fan and public activations, and integrating Plenitude's sustainability commitments - renewables and e-mobility - into the live experiences.
Why It Matters
Stadium naming rights buy a brand a logo on a building; on their own they are surprisingly inert. The value is unlocked by activation - the experiences, hospitality and content that turn a name into a relationship with fans.
Brands are increasingly clear-eyed about this, expecting agencies to convert naming into year-round experiential and merchandising platforms rather than treating the sign as the deliverable. A three-year activation mandate reflects that shift.
Marketing Minute's Take
The takeaway for any sponsorship is that the rights fee is the beginning of the budget, not the end. A name or a logo placement earns its keep only when it is activated - dramatised through experiences people actually remember.
For brands weighing sponsorship, our advice is to budget activation alongside the rights from day one, and to judge success by fan experience and earned attention, not by exposure counts. A logo nobody engages with is expensive wallpaper.
Quick FAQ
What did Hopscotch win?
Hopscotch won a competitive pitch to run a three-year naming activation for Plenitude, which renamed the former Paris La Défense Arena the Plenitude Arena in mid-2026.
What does the Plenitude Arena mandate include?
It covers naming activation at the arena, brand event support across France, merchandising and logistics, hospitality spaces, fan activations and integrating Plenitude's sustainability commitments.
Why is activation more important than naming rights?
Naming rights only place a logo; activation - experiences, hospitality and content - is what turns a name into a relationship with fans and earns the sponsorship its value.
A stadium name is not the campaign - it is the entry ticket. Naming rights buy you a logo on a building; activation is what turns that into something fans actually feel. Budget the experiences alongside the rights fee from day one, or you have bought very expensive wallpaper. - Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
Naming rights are only the entry ticket - the value comes from activation, so budget the experiences alongside the rights fee and judge success by fan engagement, not exposure.
When you buy sponsorship, do you budget for the activation that makes it work - or just the rights fee?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: L'ADN, Sport Business Club.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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