Future Predictions for the Sponsorship Industry 2015 7th January, 2015

Following a fantastic 2014, the entire Slingshot team is gearing up to embrace 2015.  With a number of new exciting clients to kick the year off including Wales Rally GB, Ideas Britain, and the Chartered Institute of Marketing – we can’t wait to get started!

Another great thing about 2015 is that we are expecting a significant amount of change – both for our own agency as well as the industry as a whole.  This has been brought about by a shift that has been discussed at length for years, but is actually starting to take place.

  1. More Confusion on What Sponsorship Is:  The age old argument of ‘sponsorship’ vs ‘partnership’ has evolved.  It is no longer an argument about semantics, but rather an argument about what sponsorship actually is.  One of my favourite things to ask people who work in sponsorship (especially at sponsorship conferences) is what their definition of sponsorship is.  It is astounding how so many people have such different definitions when pressed for specifics.  Most people can spout the typical ‘partnership’ speak, but when queried on specific campaigns (typically digital based) they trip up on whether they believe that is sponsorship or some other type of marketing/advertising.  As the lines get more blurred, the value of understanding becomes greater.  Which leads me on to my second prediction…
  2. Sponsorship Education and Sponsorship Training Will Be Desperately Sought After: Whether in the form of great content online or in books, taught at conferences or through webinars, or consultancy in the form of course training or at Slingshot Sponsorship’s one day Bootcamp, people are trying to get to grips with what to do, and how to do it better.  Through our own sponsorship training sessions alone, we have seen interest in sponsorship training double within the last 3 months.  While this is due to increased confusion on what sponsorship is, it’s also driven due to the fact that it is becoming harder to understand how to make money from it.
  3. New Sponsorship Agencies Will Crop Up: Sponsorship is becoming more diverse and it takes specialists who truly understand how to harness this commercial value to maximise it.  No longer is sponsorship confined to agencies helping out with Olympic sponsorship applications or designing sponsorship proposals, industry professionals are becoming driving forces within the overall business.  And because of this, more diverse and specialist sponsorship agencies and professionals are required to fill this need.
  4. The Value of Sponsorship Services Will Increase: Although there is increased confusion about what sponsorship actually is, the value of doing it well is becoming much clearer with better measurement tools, better purchasing behaviour, smarter activation, and clear demonstration of ROI.  When done well, sponsorship can be transformational – and when you can do this, your value is apparent and worth much more.
  5. Digital Agencies Will Sneak Up Around Sponsorship: The industry has still yet to get to grips with digital and its implications on how brands influence consumer purchase behaviour.  Although there are a few brands who are doing this well, on the whole it is being ignored or undervalued within the sponsorship mix.  Digital agencies are hungry to get more involved within their brands business and regardless of skill set, are actively pitching for sponsorship business by showcasing smart digital activations.  This poses a real threat to our industry.

Whatever the future holds for you this year, the entire Slingshot Sponsorship Team wish you a successful one!


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