New IPA and SEF report identifies the drivers of sports sponsorship effectiveness

‘All to play for: how three fundamentals can transform sports sponsorship effectiveness’ is based on a study of 143 brands, agencies and, for the first time, sports rights holders and comes as the global sports sponsorship market is forecast to reach $181.38bn by 2034, with final 2026 FIFA World Cup sponsorship revenues projected to increase 56% compared with the 2022 tournament.

Significant opportunity to strengthen confidence

The research identifies a significant opportunity for the sponsorship sector to strengthen confidence in commercial outcomes, with four in ten practitioners currently confident that sports sponsorship delivers business results, such as sales, profit, market share and price elasticity. Confidence levels were broadly consistent across brands (45%), rights holders (41%) and agencies (35%). A further 29% described themselves as "somewhat confident", suggesting a relatively small shift in confidence could transform the sector and unlock even greater value for brands, rights holders and agencies.

Three fundamentals shared by the most effective sponsorships

The study identified three fundamentals that consistently separate the leaders from the rest:

• Setting clear commercial objectives
• Measuring commercial impact and using it at renewal
• Integrating sponsorship activity with wider brand communications

According to the findings, practitioners that are confident sponsorship delivers business results are more than twice as likely to have clear commercial objectives in place (61% versus 24% among the less confident group). They are also four times more likely to rate their measurement capability as strong (48% versus 12%), nearly three times more likely to use econometrics or marketing mix modelling (37% versus 13%), and almost twice as likely to report sponsorship activity being mostly or fully integrated with wider brand communications (55% versus 30%).

Perhaps most significantly, organisations that consistently practise all three fundamentals are almost six times more likely to be confident that their sponsorships deliver business results. Yet only 17% of respondents report consistently doing all three, highlighting a significant opportunity for brands, agencies and rights holders to unlock greater value from sponsorship investments.

A measurement gap remains

The findings also point to a gap between ambition and evaluation. While 82% of respondents report setting commercial objectives for sponsorship activity, fewer than half (47%) use measurement tools capable of assessing whether those objectives have been achieved.

The gap is also seen when data is used. Most treat data analysis as an “end of a deal” activity. 70% use effectiveness data for post-campaign reporting, but only 39% use it to inform objective setting and just 22% use it to optimise activity while programmes are live.

Reflecting this challenge, 43% of respondents said industry-wide measurement standards and a common currency would make the biggest positive difference to sponsorship effectiveness, underlining strong demand for more consistent and robust approaches to evaluation.

Introducing the Sponsorship Effectiveness Model

The report also introduces the Sponsorship Effectiveness Model, a new six-stage framework spanning: Inventory Buy; Rights Activation; Creative Platform; Distinctive Asset; Category Advantage and Brand Narrative.

The research found a significant step change in effectiveness at Stage 3, Creative Platform, where sponsorship moves beyond rights activation and is built around a consistent creative idea. From this point onwards, confidence in business results rises from 28% to 47%, the proportion of sponsorships with clear commercial objectives increases from 21% to 55%, and integration with wider communications increases from 19% to 58%.

Commenting on the findings:

Says Rory Natkiel, Founding Chair, the Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum and Founder, Box Count:

"Sports sponsorship has a huge opportunity to strengthen confidence in its effectiveness and unlock even greater commercial value. What's encouraging is that success doesn't depend on bigger budgets. This research shows that the organisations achieving the strongest results are those applying a few core disciplines consistently. That gives brands, agencies and rights holders a practical roadmap to maximise the value of sports sponsorship. It really is all to play for."

Says Laurence Green, Director of Effectiveness, IPA:

"The IPA is committed to advancing effectiveness across every part of the marketing and communications industry, and sports sponsorship is no exception. Despite its remarkable growth, sponsorship remains underrepresented in the wider effectiveness evidence base. This research helps address that gap, bringing greater rigour and insight to a discipline that plays an increasingly important role in the marketing mix.”

Says Claire Humphris, CMO, British Cycling:

“The Sponsorship Effectiveness Model is intuitive and easy enough to understand that anybody working in sponsorship can use it. We can all recognise the stage at which the sponsorships we work on sit, where we would aspire for them to be, and what it would take to achieve that. We all hear about integration being important in theory, this model shows us what it looks like in practice.”