Fans are the third party in every sponsorship agreement. They never appear on the contract, but their relationship with the property is what gives the deal its value.
Fans as emotional shareholders
In every sponsorship, two parties sign. The property brings its equity, its platforms, and its audience. The sponsor brings its objectives, its brand, its equity, and its investment. The fan is the de facto third party: the emotional shareholder whose attachment to the property makes any of this matter. When that perspective is missing, both the property and the sponsor risk breaking the very system they depend on.
Fans are emotional shareholders in the properties they care about. They invest with their time, their attention, and their passion, often over many seasons or years. That relationship is personal and accumulative; it is built through habits, rituals, family ties, and identity. Smart properties understand that this fan relationship is their
most valuable asset. They prioritise the fan above any sponsor or broadcaster because they know that without the fan, the entire commercial ecosystem collapses.
The property’s duty of care
That responsibility comes with choices. When a property permits a sponsor to overreach or to activate without regard for the fan experience, it trades shortterm revenue for longterm damage to the equity it needs to sell the next deal. The primary duty of care sits with the property. Properties are the gatekeepers of the fan relationship and must be rigorous in vetting how sponsors show up: what they say, where they appear, and how they behave inside the experience.
Sponsors carry responsibility as well. It is not enough to assume that the property will protect the fan experience. Sponsors need to understand the fan mindset in the specific environment they are entering: pregame versus ingame, concourse versus seat, festival grounds versus retail. When sponsors misjudge the moment, the risk is twofold. They may not be seen at all because the fan’s focus is elsewhere, or, worse, they may draw negative sentiment because they are interrupting a moment the fan values. Either outcome undermines the investment.
Designing for three parties
Both parties need to recognise that every sponsorship deal involves three interests. Asset selection should consider not just whether a right delivers reach or logo presence, but whether it aligns with how fans engage with the property. Activation design should ask what the fan gets out of the interaction beyond being sold to. Evaluation should measure outcomes for the property, for the sponsor, and for the fan, not just impressions and redemptions. When one of these three is missing, the deal does not work as well as it could. “Win win win” is the right benchmark.
The examples are everywhere. A credit card issuer pushing hard for signups on the concourse as fans are trying to get to their seats may meet an internal KPI, but it does little to build positive association with the brand in that moment. The context is wrong: the fan is in a flow of arrival, connection, and anticipation, not in a signup mindset. There is a pathway to acquisition at a live event, but a hard sell when fans are in a relaxation, bonding, or fandom mindset ignores the reality of the moment. The right question is simple: does this activation add to the fan experience or interrupt it.
The same principle applies when a consumer electronics brand activates at a music festival. A static product display that feels like a retail aisle might be technically correct from a brand standpoint, but it is contextually off. Fans come to a festival to be with their friends, to immerse in the environment, and to experience something different from their everyday lives. A demo can work in this setting if it elevates the experience, creates a memorable moment, or supports the energy of the event. Treating a festival environment like a store shelf ignores the needs of the third party in the relationship.
Making fanfirst design the standard
Not all properties and sponsors miss this. Many already design with the fan in mind and deliver activations that strengthen the entire system. They look for ways to solve real fan frictions, to enable rituals, or to unlock access that feels earned rather than imposed. The opportunity for the brand owners and property is to move this from best practice to baseline.
For brand owners, the call to action is clear. Evaluate your partnerships through a threeparty lens. Ask whether, in a specific moment and environment, a fan would feel that the sponsorship improves their experience. Build deals that create value for the property, for your brand, and for the people who make the property matter. That is what a win win win sponsorship looks like.
