10 Ways Sports Partnerships Are Evolving Heading Into 2025

As the sports sponsorship landscape continues to evolve, brands and properties alike are innovating to stay ahead of the curve. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or new to the game, understanding these emerging trends is key to building impactful partnerships in 2025 and beyond.

Here are ten key themes driving the future of sports partnerships:

1. Partnerships with Purpose

Today's audiences expect brands to stand for something more than profits. This is leading to brands investing in partnerships that align with key business initiatives centered around delivering impact (social, community, environmental, health & wellness, sustainability) and building authentic, meaningful connections with consumers in new ways. Brands want their sports investments to reflect their values and create genuine impact.

2. Unprecedented VVIP Experiences & Access

C-suite executives and premium ticket buyers are increasingly looking for new VVIP experiences, access and unique hospitality opportunities to host and engage key clients, partners, employees, influencers and guests. Sports properties must innovate and differentiate their premium offerings, ensuring they meet high marketplace demand while creatively redefining what’s possible - all while justifying rising price points.

3. Ownable Platforms, Tentpole Moments & Traditions

As exclusivity becomes less of a focus in the sports industry, brands are placing more value and focus around creating ownable platforms, moments, and traditions. Rather than piggybacking on existing assets, they’re seeking opportunities to co-develop and create ownable opportunities and activations that deeply resonate with key fan/customer audiences.?

Examples include Buffalo Wild Wings’ ownership of overtime during March Madness, Taco Bell’s “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” promotion, Kraft’s “Hockeyville” and Dr. Pepper’s Tuition Giveaway around college football championship games. These partnerships thrive by offering fans something to anticipate year after year, solidifying the brand’s presence in the cultural fabric of sports.

4. Greater Focus on Key Growth Audiences ??

Brands are increasingly leveraging sports and entertainment partnerships to strategically connect with 2-3 high-growth customer segments. To achieve this, properties must enhance their efforts in understanding the unique demographics, preferences, and behaviors of their fan audiences and create new solutions that resonate partners and fans.

Although some brands aim to engage their entire fanbase, the majority are seeking hyper-targeted solutions to connect with specific audience segments. These include avid and casual sports fans, out-of-market supporters, multicultural demographics, event seekers, B2B audiences, generational fan segments (Gen Alpha, Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers), women and girls, and group buyers.

5. New Business Solutions

As brands allocate more resources to partnerships, they are increasingly evaluating their impact on the bottom line. Sports properties must go beyond traditional offerings such as exposure, on-site activations, tickets, social engagement and hospitality.

Leading properties are innovating by providing business-focused solutions that deliver measurable value. These include fostering new B2B opportunities, creating year-round value-driven experiences, helping companies engage, retain, and reward employees, driving lead generation and customer acquisition, facilitating networking opportunities through Partner Summits and events, and enabling companies to close new business deals.

6.? Year-Round Activations ?

Brands are increasingly seeking 365-day partnership activation plans that allow them to build deeper, ongoing connections with fans throughout the year. To meet this demand, sports properties must innovate by creating robust year-round platforms and engagement opportunities.

These can include community programs, engaging social/digital promotions and content, exclusive access opportunities, and activations hosted by corporate partners. The goal is to create value and help brand partners build relationships with key fan audiences on a consistent basis throughout the year.

7. More Flexibility Than Ever Before ?

If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that the unexpected happens and flexibility and adaptability are key. To stay ahead, brands and properties are increasingly incorporating “flex funds” into their contracts, enabling opportunistic activations and quick pivots as needed as business needs and goals evolve.

8. Activating In, At, Near & Away from the Venue

The most effective partnerships allow brands to connect with fans across multiple touchpoints throughout the year.

To meet this need, properties are increasingly developing opportunities for brand partners to engage fans in-stadium (ownable moments and traditions, scoreboard features, fan entertainment), at the stadium (fan zones, concourse activations, parking lot events), near the stadium (community programs, retail activations, employee engagement programs), and away from the stadium (TV broadcast integrations, engaging social/digital/mobile content, influencer campaigns).

9. Driving Earned Media and Storytelling ?

Brands consistently need support generating earned media and creating compelling content and storytelling that spotlights their employees, culture, products/services and community impact initiatives. Sports properties deliver the perfect platform to help brand partners cut through the noise, capture attention and stand out in an increasingly cluttered and competitive landscape.

10. Making History with Partnership Investments

Brands want to make history with bold, headline grabbing partnerships and activations. To meet this need, sports properties are increasingly pitching and ideating opportunities to “make history”, create a legacy impact and utilize new AI-powered solutions and technologies (blockchain solutions, augmented reality, etc.) to engage and connect with fans on a global scale.

Gainor Sports specializes in helping teams, leagues, brands and organizations around the world grow and evolve their partnerships. Whether you're looking to innovate your current strategy, create impactful activations, or unlock new opportunities, we’re here to help you take your partnerships to the next level. Let's collaborate and make your vision a reality.

Contact us at [email protected] or 704.526.5148.

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