Arena Club, the online marketplace and grading platform for collectible cards co-founded by Derek Jeter and Brian Lee, has launched its first ad campaign, featuring Jeter himself to capture the emotional excitement of opening card packs and connect more deeply with collectors and sports fans.
By doing so, the brand is looking to deepen its connection with the broader sports community while expanding its presence during a peak moment for fan engagement across leagues.
Jay Roberts, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Arena Club, said the move felt like a natural next step for the company’s growth along with The National Sports Collectors Convention approaching. Roberts noted that this period is active across all three major sports. The timing aligned with the NBA Finals, which brands are also advertising on, baseball season is in full swing, and football increasingly feels like a year-round sport. Arena Club aimed to capitalize on that momentum following the NFL Draft and the start of OTAs.
“It is about celebrating this growth,” said Roberts. “Collecting is not just something that boomed over COVID, it’s still booming with a great community that we are lucky to be a part of. With these partnerships, our goal is to celebrate the hobby.”
Roberts explained that when the Arena Club team travels to different shows and meets collectors in person, there’s often just one or two degrees of separation within the hobby. He often hears people say they collect cards, used to collect, or have a family member, like a brother or grandfather who was part of the community.
Roberts added the team’s appreciation for the passion that drives people to spend weekends traveling with friends to shows across the country. Arena Club builds on that same spirit by offering a digital platform that keeps the experience going throughout the week, without the limitations of location or budget.
Arena Club’s influencer strategy pairs well-known sports personalities with hobby influencers to bridge the gap between mainstream sports fans and the card collecting community. The campaign began by teaming Jim Rome with card expert Geoff Wilson to introduce Rome to the hobby through conversations that now regularly run over 10 minutes.
Building on that success, the brand continues to identify sports figures like Annie Agar and Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm and match them with collectors or creators to explore the hobby. The goal is to find ways to crossover into different audiences, educate, grow awareness, and help these personalities build out their digital showrooms while reaching new audiences through authentic content.
Arena Club has ramped up its content efforts on platforms like TikTok, Discord, and Instagram as part of a broader strategy to connect with card collectors, hobbyists, and sports fans. As a digital-first platform, social media is a key channel for engagement, especially with most users accessing Arena Club via mobile and the app.
The brand leverages these platforms to stay relevant and build community, often featuring athletes and hobby influencers in giveaways, promotions, and larger collaborations. These posts not only bring visibility but also foster interaction, with audiences asking questions about card retrieval, auction pricing, and the value of Slab Packs further reinforcing the brand’s mission and marketplace role.
“There is a lot of community building through the social platforms that we wouldn’t be able to reach if we were only running search ads on Google,” said Roberts. “We’d have to wait for someone to search for the perfect terms, and we’d have to convince them through text what Arena Club is about. Our approach through social allows for someone to identify with a content creator in the hobby, helping us tell our story.”
