Sponsorship

Are brands wasting money on sport sponsorships? A new look at brand personality, brand equity, and official sponsorship effects

Research Paper • Lane Wakefield, Kirk Wakefield, Kevin Lane Keller, and Anne Rivers, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 61, No. 2, 2021, pp. 192-211

Marketers pour millions of dollars into sport sponsorship and need a better understanding of its effects.

Millennials most engaged with Olympics sponsorship

Data • Rob Clapp, WARC Data Points (GlobalWebIndex), June 2021

An overview of engagement with sports sponsorship among Olympic fans.

Why sponsorship has a central role in delivering women’s sports’ potential

Article • Clare Vigers, WARC Exclusive, May, 2021

UK research from Two Circles on delivering greater impact for brand investment into women’s sport.

Shirt sponsorship delivers the highest level of awareness

Data • Rob Clapp, WARC Data Points (GlobalWebIndex), May 2021

An overview of the types of sports sponsorship that fans notice.

Esports sponsorship to top $600m this year

Data • Rob Clapp, WARC Data Points, April 2021

An overview of global esports revenue between 2019 and 2021.

Vodafone: BenVarım

Case Study • MMA Smarties, Gold, Turkey, 2020

Vodafone, a telecommunications brand, launched the #BenVarım campaign to change perceptions that football is a sport dominated by men and raise awareness for women's football.

TikTok and UEFA enter the stadium: What it means for brands

Article • Anupam Gupta, WARC Exclusive, April, 2021

This article considers the opportunities to engage football fans on TikTok.

Sexy sports: Brands and the untapped potential of e-sports

Article • Mukta Lad, Event Reports, Meltwater APAC Digital Summit, March 2021

Brands should consider investing in esports for its untapped potential, says EVOS Esports’ Allan Phang, and because they will be targeting the next generation of consumers.

How the pandemic is altering sports sponsorship, now, and in future

Article • Jim Andrews, WARC Exclusive, Spotlight US, March 2021

The short-term outlook for sports sponsorship is tepid in the US, providing problems and opportunities.

Mastercard's Ben Jankowski on the upfront, cross-platform, sponsorship and media buying's slow, but steady, evolution

Opinion • Ben Jankowski, March 2021

No matter which part of US media you look at, change is afoot, whether it’s the push for changes to the $20 billion upfront TV sales season, or digital, where greater emphasis on consumer privacy concerns is radically altering how brands can target. Or it could be cross-media measurement, a difficult topic on which to come to any type of consensus. Recently, for WARC’s Spotlight US, “Media strategies for a shifting US landscape,” Cathy Taylor, WARC’s Commissioning Editor US, discussed these issues with Ben Jankowski, senior vp/media at Mastercard. Jankowski is also co-chair of the Association of National Advertiser’s Media Leadership Committee, giving him perspective not just on his own brand, but on the media industry as a whole.

How influencers help Nationwide and the NFL celebrate players’ charitable efforts

Article • Jo Bowman, Event Reports, ANA Influencer Marketing & Activation Conference, December 2020

Nationwide, the insurance provider, has tapped the power of influencers to promote its sponsorship of the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

What we know about marketing at major sporting events

Article • WARC Best Practice, March 2021

The current thinking and reading on the subject of sports marketing – aligning a brand or product with an event or team – including major sporting events such as The Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup or The Super Bowl.

Analyzing price premiums in international sponsorship exchange: What drives marketing costs in Formula One racing?

Research Paper • Jonathan A. Jensen, Joe B. Cobbs, Benjamin Albano, and B. David Tyler, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 61, No. 1, 2021, pp. 44-57

With increases in sponsorship expenditures outpacing traditional advertising, return on investment warrants greater scrutiny.

What we know about sponsorship effectiveness

Article • WARC Best Practice, February 2021

Examines how brands can build awareness and increase equity through effective sponsorship.

Sponsorship adopts performance marketing metrics

News • 11 February 2021

The pandemic is reinventing sponsorship as a performance-marketing channel, with sponsors measuring success through business outcomes rather than brand-building metrics.

What's working in sponsorship and partnerships

Article • WARC Category Intelligence, February 2021

Global strategies, campaign updates and trends in sponsorship and partnerships.

How brand 'personalities' can impact sponsorship ROI

News • 05 February 2021

Sports fans categorise brands as having different “personalities”, and understanding these perceptions can help marketers enhance their sponsorship strategies, according to a study published in the Journal of Advertising Research (JAR) .

Five ways sponsorship will change in 2021 and beyond

Article • Alex Burmaster, WARC Exclusive, February, 2021

This article explores the possible long-term legacy of COVID-19 on sponsorship marketing.

Level: Fly with Pride – An authentic prosocial travel campaign for Barcelona Pride

Case Study • DMA (UK), Bronze, 2020

Level, an airline company, increased brand awareness by launching an influencer and social campaign that highlighted its inclusive and modern approach to travel.

Does athletes’ performance influence a sponsor’s stock-market value? Assessing the effects of sponsored athletes who represent Japan in international tournaments

Research Paper • Keiya Mori, Tatsuaki Morino, and Fumiko Takeda, Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 60, No. 4, 2020, pp. 426-438

This study examines how sponsored athletes' performance affects a sponsor's stock price in 170 sport events between 1991 and 2017, using Japanese data.

Molenberg: Level the playing field

Case Study • Sian Kitchen, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2020

Premium bread brand Molenberg turned to sponsorship to raise awareness and increase sales in New Zealand, while simultaneously championing gender equality.

Cricket Wireless: A Reason To Smile

Case Study • Jason Jahn, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2020

Cricket Wireless, the telecommunications carrier, partnered a popular Spanish-language TV show to raise awareness amongst the important Hispanic audience in the US.

New York Post x Red Apple Group: Yes, We're Open

Case Study • Shannon Toumey, Vanessa Wheeler, Victoria Shobe, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2020

US conglomerate Red Apple Group used a digital and print sponsorship partnership with the New York Post, supporting the city's reopening efforts after lockdown, to promote its key New York brands, WABC Radio and Red Apple Group Real Estate, around the 4 July holiday.

Direct Line: Direct Line sponsors Film on 4

Case Study • Oliver Scargill, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2020

British insurer Direct Line ran a sponsorship campaign with broadcast partner Film on 4 to engage a younger audience and grow brand awareness and consideration.

Strepsils: Empowering the Voice of Fans

Case Study • Imogen Bourke, Alana Zervos, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2020

Strepsils, the medicated lozenge brand, harnessed the power of music fandom to increase sales in Hong Kong.