Drive Sponsorship Success with 3 Key Opportunities

Sponsorship strategies evolve to keep pace with shifting consumer behaviors, technological advancements, and the ever-growing competition in the marketplace, so we wanted to share three opportunities that will help shape the sponsorship landscape in 2024 and beyond.

Sponsorship dollars increase for women’s sports

Brands are increasingly recognizing the importance of empowering women and women's sports within the sponsorship space. They are investing in partnerships with female athletes, teams, and events, providing much-needed visibility and resources to women in sports. And this support goes beyond just financial as it includes initiatives aimed at breaking gender stereotypes, promoting inclusivity, and fostering equality in the sports world. 

Currently, 3,450 brands are buying sponsorships in women’s sports, a 20% YoY increase. And while there has been a 130% increase in women’s sponsorship activations, only one-third of major pro sports teams are doing this, so there is plenty of room for other brands to cut through the clutter using this strategy. 

Why is this important for your business? There has been a 67% increase in average social media engagement per post for women’s empowerment causes across men and women’s domestic pro sports. By championing women's sports and athletes, brands not only contribute to positive social change but also tap into a growing market of passionate fans and consumers.

College athletes take the sponsorship world by storm

College athletes are increasingly making waves in the sponsorship world, thanks to recent changes in NCAA regulations allowing individuals to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). This transformation has unleashed a new era of opportunities for student-athletes to secure sponsorships and endorsement deals while still in college. 

Knowing social media appeals greatly to the high school- and college-aged cohorts, a whopping 76% of NIL deals include a social media component. College and high school athletes have accumulated over 28M in total branded engagement over the last 12 months, and these athletes average 3.95% follower engagement rate—a rate that is 69% higher than the average follower engagement rate across major pro athletes. 

As these NIL athletes amass large social media followings and showcase their talents on national platforms, they become attractive partners for brands looking to tap into the passionate college sports fanbase, helping to reshape the sponsorship landscape.

YouTube should be integrated into sponsorship activations

YouTube is the second most widely used social media platform in the world; however, less than 50% of major pro sports teams have leveraged it. Teams that have integrated the platform into their marketing partnerships have created YouTube videos, series, and channels. The NFL is the major pro sports league utilizing YouTube the most, with 20 teams integrating at least one YouTube sponsorship activation. 

And just 25 brand categories currently include YouTube integration into their marketing partnerships, so there is so much opportunity. Brands should take advantage of this uncluttered space and unlock creative sponsorship activations with the teams or athletes they sponsor through YouTube integration.

Conclusion

Sponsorship is a powerful marketing tool that can help brands reach a large audience, build brand awareness, obtain goodwill, drive sales, and connect with consumers on a deeper level. Involvement in women’s sports, partnerships with NIL athletes, and YouTube integration are just three sponsorship strategies we see as we move toward 2024. Brands that are able to leverage these opportunities will be well-positioned to succeed in the years to come.

Unless otherwise cited, all numbers are proprietary first-party data from the SponsorUnited platform.

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