Sport and entertainment’s unique ability to deliver meaningful, scalable, brand-safe experiences is
reframing the role of sponsorships and partnerships in the modern marketing mix.

• As we look ahead to the macro trends shaping the 2024 marketing landscape, the importance of
  cultural strategies will be omnipresent.

• Understanding and adapting to the ever-changing relationship between fans, rights holders and
  influencers (in their many forms) will only become more paramount into 2024 and beyond.

• Complementary to traditional advertising, sponsorships and partnerships allow brands to
  showcase themselves in new, more immersive contexts helping to keep their identity fresh over
  the long term.

Why it matters

From a renewed emphasis on brand-building to a growing appetite for savvy media alternatives along with the exploding creator economy, the sport and entertainment opportunity has never been greater for brands.

Takeaways

• While the power of sponsorships is evident, brands are also exploring more cost-effective ways into culture through smarter exchanges of audiences and assets.

• Complementary to traditional advertising, sponsorships and partnerships allow brands to showcase themselves in new, more immersive contexts helping to keep their identity fresh over the long term.

• As influencers become household names, investor/owners, and media companies in their own right, the lines between platforms, properties and personalities will only continue to blur while evolving brands’ decision-making criteria for future cultural partnerships and strategies more broadly.

As we look ahead to the macro trends shaping the 2024 marketing landscape, the importance of cultural strategies will be omnipresent. From a renewed emphasis on brand-building to a growing appetite for savvy media alternatives along with the exploding creator economy, the sport and entertainment opportunity has never been greater for brands.

However, while the conditions are ripe, the dynamics of this increasingly nuanced space are evolving at
breakneck speed. Understanding and adapting to the ever-changing relationship between fans, rights holders and influencers (in their many forms) will only become more paramount into 2024 and beyond.

1 | Partnerships as catalysts for growth

Following a decade or so of increasingly short-term marketing, the industry finally appears to be experiencing a renewed commitment to brand as a growth driver. Creative effectiveness is once again positively trending, with brands striking a more optimal balance of the long and the short.

For example, Marks & Spencer attributes much of its recent commercial success to finding the right ratio of brand and performance. And while the importance of a ‘two-speed’ approach shouldn’t be new news, the integration of M&S’s partnership with The FA and England national teams highlights a unique role for sponsorships in connecting brand-building and sales activation through one unified platform. Through their Eat Well, Play Well initiative, M&S have been able to elevate the brand’s cultural standing and ‘purpose’ while seamlessly linking to product and retail, all connected through England Football.

There is also increasing evidence of sponsorship’s disproportionate role in driving cultural relevance and subsequent brand and commercial growth. According to Kantar’s Cultural Vibrancy report, brands that manage to embed themselves in culture are reported to grow six times faster than their counterparts. And as the AI revolution draws ever closer, ‘brand’, creativity and culture can only become more important as the rest is taken care of for us.

2 | Partnerships as savvy alternatives to traditional spend

We will see innovative new avenues emerge which will redefine the way businesses establish and grow their brand equity. While the power of sponsorships is evident, brands are also exploring more cost-effective ways into culture through smarter exchanges of audiences and assets. Savvy alternatives to traditional investment driven strategies are evident in partnerships such as Pepsi’s collaboration with EA Sports. The partnership has seen Pepsi support the launch of EA’s hotly anticipated EA FC through its advertising and on-pack promotions allowing players to unlock in-game rewards. In return, Pepsi are positioned at the heart of one of the biggest gaming re-brands in history.

The rapid ascension of women’s sports is also providing more economical openings for brands, perhaps best exemplified by Ally in the United States. Unable to compete with the price-tags paid by other financial services brands in mainstream sport, Ally have instead doubled-down on women’s properties, athletes and media, with a clear mission in the form of their 50/50 Pledge to close the visibility gap with men’s sport.

What’s more, in the face of economic uncertainty, sponsorships can also provide equally efficient and effective ways to remain present and relevant amidst the inevitable cost-cutting by many into 2024. Learning from the
gains made by those who kept the marketing taps running during COVID-19, the unique reach, resonance, and frequency afforded through sponsorships – namely season-long sports campaigns – could prove to be a stand-out source of excess share of voice (ESOV) as the noise dials down.

3 | Partnerships as an enabler of brand-building fundamentals

Sport and entertainment are increasingly breathing new life into the unwavering foundations of any successful brand. Complementary to traditional advertising, sponsorships and partnerships allow brands to showcase themselves in new, more immersive contexts helping to keep their identity fresh over the long term.

Fluent devices

Since 2009, Aleksander the Meerkat has graced our screens as Compare the Market’s brand mascot, with his role extending throughout the brand and product eco-system over time, from the Meerkat app to Meerkat Movies. However, in 2023, as a play to again refresh Aleksander’s role and relevance – CTM placed their long-standing talisman at the heart of their recently announced partnership with The Hundred. Positioned alongside the brand’s new character, Carl the Wombat, the new brand narrative of ‘don’t wombat it, meerkat it’ was seamlessly extended to a sports context, bringing a whole new dimension to the 14-year-old (and counting) brand platform.

Aldi’s Kevin the Carrot also starred in the brand’s unofficial 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup ad as a savvy
substitute for the brand’s string of hit Christmas campaigns since 2016. With the Paris Olympics set to take centre stage in 2024, marketers have an ideal platform to reinvigorate long-standing brand cues in more modern, emotive environments.

Distinctive assets

As brand’s look to establish a more consistent and meaningful role in culture, we can expect to see more
creation of new and ownable cultural assets in 2024. From Budweiser’s BudX platform weaving a red thread throughout its extensive sport and music portfolio, to the continued roll-out of Coke Studio, proprietary platforms will be a key strategy for distinction in an increasingly saturated landscape.

Long-term commitments

In response to shortening campaign lead times, 2023 has produced a flurry of data to support the case for multi-year strategies, suggesting creative ‘wear out’ could be less of a factor than the industry has been led to believe. Through multiyear commitments, sponsorships can provide brands with clear guardrails to stay on course over the long-term while maximising impact and ROI, spanning brand, business and fan communities.

4 | Partnerships and the creator economy

As the industry increasingly prioritises attention over impressions, the prominence of creators will continue into 2024, with influencer spend now outpacing traditional social ad spend. eMarketer research shows that influencer marketing spending growth was 14% throughout 2023, compared with only 4.1% growth for social ad spending. This key area of marketing has remained resilient despite economic instability and spending on social media brand sponsorships is predicted to remain ahead throughout 2024, as marketers continue to shift budget in favour of quality audience connections.

What’s more, some creators have single-handedly sparked shifts in audience passions, like the remarkable influence of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce on NFL audiences, as explored in NPR’s report on the “Taylor
Swift effect”. Celebrities have also expanded their reach, becoming influential investors. For example, notable figures such as Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Rory Mcllroy are part of a group that has invested $200m in the Alpine Formula One team.

Fuse’s own research – ‘The Sport Dividend’ in partnership with the creative effectiveness agency System1 also found that campaigns featuring a celebrity (that felt a natural fit for the brand) scored higher with regard to emotional intensity and brand-building potential.

As influencers become household names, investor/owners, and media companies in their own right, the lines between platforms, properties and personalities will only continue to blur while evolving brands’ decision-making criteria for future cultural partnerships and strategies more broadly.

The power of culture

Culture’s influential force remains a steadfast presence among these trends. Whether it involves the
establishment of cultural platforms, active and authentic engagement with celebrity culture or a strategic
immersion into cultural nuances, it becomes clear that brands must wholeheartedly embrace culture as a pivotal element in the landscape of trends, both in 2024 and beyond.

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