Sports Sponsorship: How to ensure it works for your brand

Sports sponsorship presents massive opportunities for brands, and getting it right in the eyes of fans or participants is crucial in an increasingly digital age.

Online and digital engagement is now a key part of sponsorship opportunities for brands. It’s not just about watching on TV, digital engagement is key.

Sports teams or organisations would rarely be referred to by their fans as ‘brands’, underlining the fine line that they have to walk when pushing commercial interests. It is this often-irrational emotional bond with a team, sport or individual that makes sponsorship such an appealing option for many non-sporting brands.

For sports brands and especially their sponsors, connecting with fans is everything. Awareness, loyalty, knowledge, advocacy and consideration are all metrics we can use to measure brand strength, but for sports brands we can add ‘passion’ to reflect the emotional impact a fan feels towards their team, an event or sportsperson.

Our team have been assessing the impact of sponsorships for many years, and as such have a comprehensive understanding of the best approach to measuring and maximising sports sponsorship opportunities.

Our work in the sports arena covers the following areas:

• Broadcast & Sponsorship Evaluation: We work with a range of commercial broadcasters to evaluate the sponsorship of sporting events and the impact for brands.
• Evaluating sporting events: We regularly work with clients to understand the experience of sporting events, and brand activation within, in events such as the Tour de France.
• Influencing behaviour & participation in sports: We have worked on award winning campaigns such as This Girl Can to help increase participation in sports and with other sporting organisations to encourage take up of various sports and/or exercise activity.

Download free our guide to sports sponsorship to ensure it works for your brand.