Maximising the Value of Sponsorship

Executive Summary

Sponsorship worldwide is predicted to hit an all time high of $26.2 billion in 2003 – up 7.4% from $24.4bn in 2002. Behind this above inflation level growth is sponsorship’s appeal as a relationship-building tool that is not just concerned about brand awareness but engages with an audience on both rational and emotional levels.

It is easy to forget the fact that modern sponsorship, particularly in sport, is a relatively recent phenomenon.The passing of Mark McCormack in May 2003 is a reminder that the global sports sponsorship industry owes a great deal to one man with such a powerful vision.

It was in the late 1950s that McCormack, a talented golfer himself, could see the potential for sports stars to earn money through sponsorship and endorsements and with that in mind he sought and acquired from Arnold Palmer an agreement to manage him. And the rest as they say is history.

Fifty years on and sports sponsorship has moved from being simply an opportunity for corporate entertainment and brand awareness into a sophisticated brand building and two way marketing platform.

The major challenge for rights holders as well as brand owners is the ability to successfully activate a sponsorship programme so that it achieves all of its strategic objectives. A sports sponsorship agreement, no matter how attractive, will never achieve its full potential unless it is activated by other communication and promotional activities.

This takes sports sponsorship into a new dimension – that of experiential communication where the audience takes part and shares in the excitement that successful sports sponsorship has to offer.

At the heart of sports sponsorship is a commercial proposition that provides a return on investment for both the brand owner and rights holder. Recent years have seen the development of a host of measurement and evaluation techniques yet still many brand owners fail to realise the full potential of their sponsorship investments.

This report sets out to cover both theory and best practice in sports sponsorship, providing a unique “road map” in Chapter 5 that guides the prospective sponsor through the various phases of a sponsorship project from both strategic and operational perspectives.

The report incorporates interviews with leading industry figures, detailed case studies and new research in an examination of sponsorship best practice. The report analyses the key factors in individual chapters that combine to provide a comprehensive guide to maximising the value of sponsorship.