After speeding past analyst expectations for earnings earlier this week, Dick’s Sporting Goods is taking a victory lap by debuting its largest ad campaign yet to cement its standing as a sportswear retail destination. And the retailer will back it with a major new NCAA sponsorship that will begin next week when March Madness tips off.

Tonight, the Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based retailer will begin airing “Sports Change Lives,” a new brand platform that embraces the benefits—social, mental and physical—of athleticism in consumers’ everyday lives. The new messaging highlights not just the team sports that Dick’s is known for outfitting but individual exercise disciplines as well, such as running.

“It’s a meaningful shift for us,” said Ed Plummer, chief marketing officer. “We’re not just selling a baseball glove that kids can use to catch a ball with—it’s more than the product itself, it’s the tool the product becomes to build lasting change for people.”

A 90-second ad will begin airing this evening, with media buys including ESPN's coverage of the Big 12 basketball tournament. The NCAA deal, announced this week, makes Dick’s the “Official Sporting Goods Retail Partner” for 90 men's and women's championships. March Madness plans include courtside signage, as well as exclusive sponsorship rights for events such as the “kids zone” at the Final Four Fan Festival. Dick’s joins other NCAA sponsors such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Pizza Hut and Unilever. Geico had also been a sponsor until this year.

Other versions of the new ad, including 60- and 30-second commercials, will run through March. Dick’s is also planning to run 15-second sports-specific spots. The campaign will include digital ads and social media, as well as national TV spots highlighting a new grant program. Through what it's calling 75for75, Dick’s will distribute 75 grants of $75,000 each to youth programs around the country that are in need of resources and equipment. In 2023, Dick’s will spend $5.6 million on this program through its Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation.

The marketing campaign represents Dick’s largest single media spend in its 75-year history, Plummer confirmed. While “Sports Change Lives” may not appear as a tagline, the brand plans to “more narrowly zero in on this belief,” he added, noting that the message will permeate all of Dick’s marketing moving forward.

Dick’s also tapped a new agency partner for the campaign. After talking to several agencies, the marketer selected Arts & Letters for the project, its first time working with the Richmond, Virginia-based shop. Hayworth handled media duties. The chain had worked with Anomaly in previous years, first hiring the shop in 2012 as its official agency after creating marketing internally previously.

“We have several agencies in the stable,” said Plummer. “We have moved away from the AOR model to let’s find the best agency for the story we’re trying to tell and the people who can best tell that story.”

In the core commercial, athletes discuss the value of teams and coaches, as well as the feeling of exercise. “At first I didn’t know anyone—I didn’t know where to sit at lunch, anything really,” a young female softball player says. “But that season—that season changed everything.” The spot concludes with text that reads, “Teams change people. Fields change towns. Seasons change futures. Coaches change character. Sports change lives.”

It's a good time for Dick’s to double down on its marketing investment. The chain reported earnings from the holiday selling season that vastly exceeded analyst predictions at a time when many retailers are tempering their guidance as inflation keeps wallets in check. Dick’s saw fourth-quarter same-store sales grow 5.3%. Net sales, at $3.6 billion, rose 5.9% over the year-earlier period. However, the retailer's net income, at $236 million, was roughly 30% less than the year-earlier period. Despite economic uncertainty, the company said it expects to earn between $12.90 and $13.80 per share this year, an increase from the $10.78 per share from fiscal 2022.

On a call with analysts on Tuesday, CEO Lauren Hobart also emphasized the importance of the upcoming brand campaign.

“We have big plans for our brand in 2023,” she said. “We believe it's time to blend the inspiration and aspiration that's always been a part of our brand marketing efforts with the raw power and a motion of our Sports Matter initiative.”