Evaluation Research Drives Extra Revenue For Rights Holders

Results from REPUCOM’s Global Outlook Survey undertaken in March across six continents by a panel of marketing and sponsorship professionals, show that two thirds of rights holders said that their sponsorship revenues increased in 2012, thanks in part to the provision of sponsorship evaluation data, according to REPUCOM’s recently appointed president of global strategy Glenn Lovett. 

“We need the tools to prove the value that sports sponsorship can deliver. In today’s tight economic environment, no brand will sign off a multi-million pound/dollar/euro deal on the basis of a hunch and accountability is key,” says Lovett

“Ultimately there are three key reasons why sponsorship research and valuation is more important than ever. Firstly, measurement of sponsorship has never been more important than it is today. The need to prove performance is now standard practice amongst sponsors – four-fifths of whom now carry out regular research to assess delivering according to our numbers.

“There is also a much greater emphasis on both pre-assessment and accountability. This is reflected by the fact that the Global Outlook study found that around two thirds agree that pre-evaluation is becoming more critical and 80% are investing more into assessing the return on investment on their deals once they have committed to a sport or a property.

“The second key point is that sponsorship is becoming much more integrated with other parts of the marketing mix. Two-thirds of sponsorship managers think that sponsorship can have a greater impact on a brand than traditional advertising – the test for these sponsors is to educate their teams internally to show how sponsorship can work either alone or as part of a wider marketing campaign.

“Finally”, Lovett concludes, “I see a recognition that sponsors and rights holders need to work more closely together – a true partnership. Our data shows that sponsors are looking for.”