The UK Sponsorship Awards' Year in Sponsorship: Part 2

Changing of the guard?- the new wave of sponsors embracing a summer of sports

2022 is a great time to be a sponsor of summer sporting events in the UK. Not only are fans desperate for some light relief after two years of Covid-19 misery, but the FIFA World Cup has been rescheduled to winter, so as to avoid extreme temperatures in host country Qatar. For sponsors, that means a bigger opportunity to make headlines while men’s football is on the back burner.

This summer also promises to be an interesting one for observers of the sponsorship sector. Coming off the back of the pandemic, it’s noticeable that a number of new brands have seized the opportunities presented by summer sports. In some instances, this is the result of replacing incumbents -??while in others it is down to the creation of new sponsorship categories. Either way, there should be some bold and creative new activations to look forward to.

With the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in full swing, the UKSA team decided now would be a good time to look at this summer’s highlights:

Wimbledon:??Off court, it’s been an interesting year, with Wimbledon and Robinson’s parting company after 86 years. The reported reason is that Robinson’s owner Britvic wanted to promote more of its brands via Wimbledon, but the rights holder said no on health grounds (some of the other Britvic brands contain sugar). MORE