Sports Marketing: Global Sponsorship New Record!

By Athena Constantinou, Managing Director, APC Sports Consulting, Nicosia, Cyprus Global sports sponsorship is expected to reach a new record of £35 billion during the present year and to increase by an average of 6% per year between 2020 and 2024 increasing to £48 billion by the end of this period. However, according to the London-based ‘Two Circles’ Sports Marketing Agency, the power of digital marketing is being underutilised by sports bodies, who are continuing to use traditional avenues, such as linear TV broadcasting, to leverage sports sponsorship. According to Gareth Balch , the Head of this Agency, there could be extra revenues of some £14 billion available, due to outdated packaging of sports sponsorship rights. He says that sport also has “to move beyond backers such as car makers, financial services, airlines and gambling.” Gambling represents some 12% of sports sponsorship in the UK and such sponsorship by gaming companies is coming under increasing pressure in Europe, as a result of increasing concerns about the negative aspects of gambling on society generally, resulting in restrictions in certain quarters. For example, the likes of Ladbrokes and Coral is discontinuing football shirt sponsorship and perimeter advertising at matches. Also, the UK Gambling Commission has a three-year programme on prevention, education, treatment and support of individuals with gambling addictions. See further the post on the GSLTR website of 18 July 2019 on ‘E-Sports: The Rise of Gambling! Good or Bad?’ Other sectors involved in UK sports sponsorship include:

• Financial Services: 19%
• Automotive: 14%
• Airlines: 13%
• Alcohol: 9%
• Soft Drinks: 7%
• Others: 26%

Balch further comments: “By embracing the power of digital and data to create sponsorship assets that better satisfy the objectives of brands, rights-holders will realise the true value of their sponsorship businesses.” We, at APC Sports Consulting, offer a dedicated and all-embracing professional service on sports sponsorship, which we recognise as an increasingly important and lucrative segment of the sports marketing mix. Athena Constantinou may be contacted by e-mail at ‘This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.’    

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