Executive Summary
Sponsorship of sport is ‘the funding of a sporting activity for commercial gain’. According to one industry estimate (IPSOS-RSL Sportscan), it was worth £322m in 1997. However, companies spend three times this amount if other marketing costs are attached, such as advertising, mailing and special promotions.
The number of major deals has reached nearly 1,000 a year, usually with agreements lasting 2 to 3 years for leagues or clubs. However, the most expensive contracts are for major events, such as the World Cup or the Olympics.
Football is the dominant sport for sponsorship in the UK and globally, but each sport has its particular attractions. In the UK, sponsorship is also particularly important for cricket, rugby and motor sport.
Sponsors are drawn from most industry sectors, but in particular from insurance and banking, alcoholic drinks and tobacco, and from certain multinational giants (e.g. car makers, oil companies, sportswear and soft drinks companies). A sport may be chosen for its general appeal, its targeting possibilities, to fit in with corporate image, or because it offers a multicultural language for marketing communications.
Deals are usually struck directly between sponsors and sports bodies, often on the advice of the Institute of Sports Sponsorship (ISS), sometimes using consultancies. The ISS and Sports Councils also administer the Sportsmatch scheme, a channel for joint finance by sponsors and government funds.
The prospects for growth are strong, assuming a global depression is avoided, with digital broadcasting and multichannel television (TV) offering the chance for exponential growth. Key Note forecasts that the Sports Sponsorship Market will be worth £500m by 2002.
The converging interests of sports bodies and media owners could become a problem, but the most urgent issue is an impending (early 2000s) ban of tobacco sponsorship in Europe.
First Edition 1998
Edited by Jane Griffiths
ISBN 1-85765-865-5
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