Sponsorship Expectations for 2024

Trust in sponsorship – It has always been the case that we trust people we know more than any form of marketing or brand communication. However, the trust in sponsoring, over ads and influencers, took us all by surprise. As I posted a few weeks ago, Nielsen found brand sponsorships in sporting events to be one of the most trusted advertising channels. Perhaps it should not have surprised us. Trust can be a “deficit value.” When we don’t have much of it, we value it even more in places we find it. According to OECD data, in many countries, including the US, we have lost trust in government. We don’t trust the swirl of automation that surrounds us and we really don’t trust bots. Sport sponsoring is in a special place, trust is a golden value going forward.

The tech behind the sponsoring – We were recently writing about the intersection of services and sport sponsorship, and while technology was not the focus, it made me appreciate that our fascination in sponsorship with tech in fun activations (e.g., augmented reality, virtual reality, drones, etc.) may be misplaced, or at least over emphasized. The unsung potentials between sponsor activation leveraging and sports technology in the industry are digital ticketing (and couponing), contactless payments (and data), data integration (and insights) and, of course sponsorship measurement. It has been the case that sponsors with the best data were also the sponsors getting the most out of sponsoring (financial services and telecommunications come to mind as industries “with the receipts”). More meaningful insights across industries are on the horizon.

Commercialization in partnerships – The word “commercialization” often has negative connotations. In our research, we have shown that when fans perceive sponsor motives as calculative, the sponsoring brand is viewed negatively. That said, there are moments when straightforward commercial intent is viewed as authentic. This seems to be the case for the first edible mascot in sports history, namely the Pop-Tart at the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Yes, it was funny, and admittedly a little weird to see the Pop-Tart mascot go into the giant toaster, then be eaten, but the goal was clear and uncorrupted. Pop-Tarts wants you to eat their product. Knowing when a brand has license to be commercially oriented in sponsorship activations is more art than science but Pop-Tart, Strawberry, demonstrated how it can be done.

Partnership portfolios revisited – Admit it, you did not have Pickleball on your bingo card for America’s fastest growing sport of 2023. In terms of growth statistics, starting from a small base gives you heaps of upward potential but is there a signal here? Accessible sport makes sense for aging populations around the world and sponsors are happy to follow the statistics into Pickleball. This mashup of tennis, ping-pong and badminton attracts a broad demographic that makes it a good addition for brands with multiple target audiences. Popping back to that point about trust, Pickleball is quintessential wholesomeness.

The not so hidden sponsorship concern – The consultants at Deloitte see private investment in sport and sponsorship as driving enhanced commercialization and professionalization. The Washington Post sees “The Middle East’s play to rule global sports.” Thus, the chimera of sport finance is upon us. Research by Play the Game identified over 300 Saudi Arabian sport sponsorships and questioned conflicts of interest in them. On the other hand, the 2023 reversal in sponsorship of the Women’s World Cup was heralded as victory for human rights. What does the future hold? More importantly, with questions of probity central to current investments in sport sponsorship, what happens to the golden value of trust?