Never before has the sponsorship industry faced a more serious challenge with sports and entertainment events and venues shut down indefinitely. There is no template to follow moving forward. As a leader in sponsorship intelligence, IEG recently surveyed the industry to understand the perceptions of decision makers for context and guidance on how to move forward when the COVID-19 pandemic ends. Find out what industry decision makers are saying below.
Survey Results Infographic
How are buyers and sellers of sponsorship aligned and where could tensions arise? What are the top concerns of sponsorship decision makers? Download
Executive Summary
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we estimate 38% of the annual U.S. sponsorship value ($10 Billion) will need to be made up. There are 120,000 active sponsorship agreements in limbo while we practice social distancing and more than 5,000 brands are faced with decisions on how to recoup lost value. Download
Related Links
PRESS RELEASE:
$10 Billion in Sports and Entertainment Sponsorship Value Gap Will Need to be Made Up
CLICK HERE
ARTICLE:
Live Sports and Entertainment Are Shut. Sponsorships Are Taking a Hit
CLICK HERE
Insights from Industry Experts
“The sponsorship market has reached the point of no return for fully capturing lost value based solely on the length of the ongoing stoppage. There are three likely scenarios for sponsorship reconciliation which include value forgiveness, value forbearance and value foreclosure. We expect to see all three of these scenarios play out.”
Peter Laatz, Global Managing Director, IEG
“Both sides have been too reliant on assets like signage and media that exist around the live event itself; instead the focus should be on how the two can work together to engage and add value to the community and fan base outside of a game day. If that partnership strategy is already in place, there’s no need to pivot when the play stops, only the need to develop new tactics and messaging.”
Brian Gordon, CEO, Engine Shop
“In a very counterintuitive way, this global pause in sport may actually be healthy for both brands and properties in the long term - a great realignment. Brands are necessarily rethinking every sport investment from a value basis, and some properties won’t make the cut. Properties will have to look beyond the previous, often antiquated grant of rights to create new and more importantly, measurable, benefits for brands.”
Terrence Burns, Executive Vice President of Global Sports, Engine Shop