Sponsorship effectiveness has for too long been judged by reach, impressions, and/or logo visibility alone. The Sponsorship Effect report, from the Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum, analyses 92 sport sponsorship case studies and shows how sponsorship can build brands, change behaviour and support business growth when it is planned and measured properly. Download The Sponsorship Effect report here.
The Sponsorship Effect Report: Key Takeaways
Sponsorship Is a Growth Platform – sponsorship should not be treated as a single media channel, it should be used as a platform that is leveraged across channels. Its value comes from rights, media, activation and cultural meaning working together. For brands and rights holders, this reinforces why sponsorship value needs to be judged by what the partnership changes, not just by brand exposure.
Commercial Outcomes Need Intent – Among the report’s top-performing sponsorship case studies, 73% delivered sales effects and 54% delivered business effects. This shows sponsorship can support commercial outcomes when sales, behavioural and business objectives are planned into the partnership from the start, rather than added after the activity has gone live. This reinforces why sponsorship return on investment needs to be built into strategy, activation and measurement from the outset.
Measurement Must Move Beyond Vanity Metrics – The report shows that sponsorship is still too often measured through exposure, reach and engagement (easy-to-calculate input measures) rather than brand and commercial impact. Only 21% of the case studies included a financial ROI calculation and just 2% quantified profit. These figures show why sponsors need to connect visibility to clearer outcomes, such as brand awareness, behaviour change, sales uplift, market share or business growth.
Integration Matters More Than Channel Count – The report found that both strong and weaker sponsorship campaigns use a similar number of channels, around seven on average. The difference in impact was delivered by how well they worked together, rather than how many therefore. Effective sponsorship needs a clear idea, consistent assets and joined-up activation across each touchpoint, rather than simply putting the brand in more places.
What Does This Mean for How Sponsorships Should be Managed?
The report is a useful reminder that sponsorship works best when it is treated as a connected system. Sponsors need clear objectives, audience insight, suitable channels and measurement that shows what changed. Rights holders need to build propositions that help brands prove impact. The opportunity is not just to sell visibility, but to create partnerships that can support brand growth, behaviour change and commercial performance.
Need Help Improving Sponsorship Effectiveness?
If you want an independent view on what to sponsor, how to structure rights and how to measure impact, Strive Sponsorship can help. We have built specific sponsorship effectiveness approaches for the likes of Sky, Wiggle, and The O2.
Contact us for support identifying partners, constructing partnership agreements and building activation campaigns around clear commercial objectives.
Frequently asked questions
How Is Sponsorship Effectiveness Measured?
Running culture matters because people run for different reasons, including health, identity, community, performance and social connection. Brands that understand those motivations can build more relevant partnerships, products and campaigns.
Can Sponsorship Drive Sales?
Yes, but it needs to be planned that way. The Sponsorship Effect report found that 73% of top-performing sponsorships delivered sales effects. For sponsors, this means sales outcomes should be linked to clear KPIs, retail or digital journeys, and activation channels that can move people from attention to action.
How Can Sponsors Improve Sponsorship Effectiveness?
Sponsors can improve sponsorship effectiveness by choosing properties that truly understand their audiences, setting clear commercial objectives, building credible activation plans, engaging fans meaningfully and measuring long-term impact.
Sponsorship effectiveness should be looked at as more than logo exposure, reach or engagement. Clear objectives, such as brand awareness, consideration, behaviour change, sales uplift and business growth, need to be measured in order to evaluate whether the sponsorship is working.
