_{published June 2024}

Understanding how sponsorship ROI varies across different industries is crucial for brands aiming to maximize their investments. Each category has different goals and presents unique challenges and opportunities, requiring tailored strategies to achieve the best results. This blog post delves into the specifics of sponsorship ROI across ten industries. Notably, the ten industries we’ve chosen are the top sponsors across the five major pro sports; however, in this article, we will mostly focus on their sponsorship activities outside of sports to provide a comprehensive view of each category’s potential and impact.

Alcoholic Beverage Sponsorships

The alcoholic beverage industry thrives on sponsorships that boost brand visibility and engagement, particularly through sporting events and festivals. Sponsorships in this category often involve experiential marketing to create memorable consumer interactions and enhance brand recall.

• Potential Goals: Increase brand visibility, drive sales, enhance brand perception
• Key Metrics: Brand recall, sales uplift, event engagement
• Unique Challenges: Advertising restrictions, responsible consumption messaging
• Opportunities Outside of Sports: Experiential marketing, festival and event sponsorships, lifestyle branding

Auto Sponsorships

Auto industry sponsorships are often centered around driving consumer interest and engagement, oftentimes through test drives and dealership visits. These sponsorships often feature high-value experiential marketing and innovation showcases to build brand loyalty and attract potential customers.

• Potential Goals: Drive test drives, increase dealership traffic, build brand loyalty
• Key Metrics: Test drives, dealership traffic, brand loyalty
• Unique Challenges: High-value investments, long sales cycles
• Opportunities Outside of Sports: Innovation showcases, experiential marketing, roadshow events

Construction/Industrial Sponsorships

Sponsorships in the construction and industrial sectors focus on enhancing brand visibility and generating leads, oftentimes through trade shows and industry conferences. These sponsorships aim to engage with industry professionals and potential clients through targeted events and community projects.

• Potential Goals: Increase brand visibility, generate leads, engage with industry professionals
• Key Metrics: Brand visibility, lead generation, project engagement
• Unique Challenges: Long sales cycles, niche market segments
• Opportunities Outside of Sports: Trade show sponsorships, industry conference partnerships, community development projects

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Sponsorships

CPG sponsorships leverage events and influencer partnerships to drive product trials and boost sales. This highly competitive sector benefits from dynamic sponsorships that align with current consumer trends and preferences, enhancing brand recall and visibility.

• Potential Goals: Drive product trials, increase sales, enhance brand recall
• Key Metrics: Product trials, sales uplift, brand recall
• Unique Challenges: High competition, rapidly changing consumer preferences
• Opportunities Outside of Sports: Sampling programs, festivals and other music events, influencer partnerships

Finance Sponsorships

The finance industry uses sponsorships to build brand trust and acquire new customers through strategic partnerships and community initiatives. These sponsorships often focus on financial literacy and community engagement to establish the brand as a trusted advisor.

• Potential Goals: Build brand trust, acquire new customers, enhance community engagement
• Key Metrics: Brand trust, customer acquisition, lead generation
• Unique Challenges: Regulatory constraints, market volatility
• Opportunities Outside of Sports: Financial literacy programs, community engagement, high-value partnerships

Technology Sponsorships

Technology sponsorships emphasize user adoption and brand visibility by showcasing innovation at sporting events, tech conferences, and via digital engagement campaigns. This category leverages sponsorships to position brands as leaders in technological advancements and industry trends.

• Potential Goals: Drive user adoption, enhance brand visibility, showcase innovation
• Key Metrics: User adoption, brand visibility, innovation perception
• Unique Challenges: Rapid technological changes, market saturation
• Opportunities: Tech and innovation conferences, digital engagement campaigns, hackathon events

Media Sponsorships

Media sponsorships aim to expand audience reach and increase content engagement through cross-platform promotions and content partnerships. These sponsorships align brands with relevant media properties to enhance visibility and consumer interaction.

• Potential Goals: Expand audience reach, increase content engagement, align with media properties
• Key Metrics: Audience reach, content engagement, brand alignment
• Unique Challenges: Content saturation, audience fragmentation
• Opportunities Outside of Sports: Content creation partnerships, festivals and other music events, cross-platform promotions

Non-Alcoholic Beverage Sponsorships

Non-alcoholic beverage sponsorships, often for products like sodas and energy drinks, focus on boosting brand recall and sales uplift through high-profile events and sports sponsorships. These sponsorships frequently involve sampling engagements and lifestyle integrations to resonate with a wide audience, from sports enthusiasts to everyday consumers.

• Potential Goals: Drive brand recall, increase sales, engage health-conscious consumers
• Key Metrics: Sampling engagements, brand recall, sales uplift
• Unique Challenges: Short shelf-life, high competition
• Opportunities Outside of Sports: Influencer endorsements, lifestyle integration, music and entertainment events

Hotel/Restaurant/Leisure Sponsorships

Sponsorships in the hotel, restaurant, and leisure industry aim to boost booking rates and guest engagement through travel and leisure events and influencer collaborations. These sponsorships focus on creating memorable experiences that build brand loyalty and enhance visibility.

• Goals: Increase booking rates, enhance guest engagement, build brand loyalty
• Key Metrics: Booking rates, guest engagement, brand loyalty
• Unique Challenges: Seasonal demand fluctuations, high competition
• Opportunities Outside of Sports: Travel and leisure events, influencer collaborations, loyalty programs

Healthcare Sponsorships

Healthcare sponsorships enhance patient engagement and health outcomes by aligning with community health initiatives and wellness programs. These sponsorships build brand trust through educational outreach and support for health-related causes.

• Goals: Enhance patient engagement, improve health outcomes, build brand trust
• Key Metrics: Patient engagement, health outcomes, brand trust
• Unique Challenges: Regulatory constraints, sensitive subject matter
• Opportunities Outside of Sports: Community health initiatives, educational outreach, wellness programs

Final Thoughts

Understanding the nuances of sponsorship ROI in different industries allows brands to tailor their strategies to maximize impact. By recognizing the unique goals, challenges, and opportunities within each category, brands can better align their sponsorship investments with their overall business goals. This strategic approach ensures that sponsorship dollars drive meaningful results and foster long-term brand growth.

Knowing the common pitfalls when measuring sponsorship ROI is also important, as is being aware of the best practices to drive healthy sponsorship ROI and learning how to measure and evaluate sponsorship ROI. You can also visit our insights page to read about corporate sponsorship trends and other news.

Sign up for a quick demo to learn more about our media and sponsorship database. Clients might refer to our sponsorship platform as a sponsorship marketing platform or even a sponsorship analytics platform since we track over 360,000 brands, 1.8 million deals, and 16.9 million data points across sports, entertainment, media, and talent.