Lumency

In highly competitive sponsorship categories, or for the most in-demand properties, this has long been the operating reality. When two or more category players are vying for the same property, the buyer effectively becomes the seller. Rights holders are choosing the partner who will

Aside from IP rights, data is the most valuable asset a property can provide a brand owner. Many brand owners underleverage it. Across brand owner organizations, marketers are grappling with a familiar set of pressures. Performance marketing efficiency has flattened. CRM health is weakening

A global marketing leader told us recently that his brand was investing millions in a new sponsorship. When we asked how he planned to measure it, he paused and said, “I haven’t really thought about it.”  That moment captures a

Sponsorship has the ability to address multiple objectives in the marketing and business funnel simultaneously. It can build awareness and consideration, influence preference and purchase intent, and even deliver internal benefits like employee engagement, trade motivation, or regulatory goodwill. Few

Every property has a partner stack, the structured hierarchy of sponsors that support it. At the top sit the brands paying the largest rights fees, and holding the broadest set of assets. Near the bottom are smaller cash partners and,

Too many brand owners still confuse outputs with outcomes when it comes to sponsorship measurement. The distinction isn’t subtle. It’s fundamental. And it’s one of the biggest reasons sponsorship programs struggle to demonstrate real business impact.  Outputs Are Not Outcomes 

Sponsorship renewal discussions can move at two very different speeds. When a renewal is well-governed and initiated early, negotiations are more likely to be efficient, constructive, and predictable. When they’re not, both the sponsor and property can find themselves in a slow, reactive process that burns time and erodes

Most forms of marketing communication start with the brands. Its features, benefits, values, or purpose. Sponsorship behaves differently. It starts with the audience.  That difference is easy to overlook. Many marketers try to apply the same playbook they use for

Too often, after a portfolio review or just based on managing the rights, brand owners discover that parts of their sponsorship portfolio aren’t delivering what they should. The inefficiency is rarely about the property itself. It’s about the spend to

Unlike most marketing spend, sponsorship is inelastic. There’s often only one asset, one renewal window, and potentially multiple category competitors vying for the same rights. That scarcity drives behaviour. When markets heat up, fees escalate beyond inflationary pressure or incremental

For many brand owners, sponsorship without a funding formula creates friction. Decisions take longer, teams spend energy on internal budget negotiations, and the sponsorship delivers less impact than it should.  The role of the sponsorship leads shouldn’t be to broker

Most brand owners don’t actually know.  Sponsorship portfolios are often built over time: legacy renewals, opportunistic buys, and deals shaped more by momentum than strategy. The real risk isn’t overspending. The bigger risk is not knowing whether the portfolio is

Different brand owner organizations use different labels for sponsorships. The real distinction isn’t in the terminology, it’s in how unevenly they’re managed and evaluated. For clarity in this article, “sponsorship” refers broadly to four relationship types: commercial, community investment, athlete/entertainer,

Strong partnerships start with clear expectations.  The best property partners aren’t just rights holders. They’re collaborators in driving your business outcomes. But even great partners can underperform if expectations aren’t set early and clearly.  Compressed timelines and internal scrutiny aren’t

Sponsorship agreements shouldn’t just protect the brand owner. They should set the partnership up to perform.  Done well, a sponsorship agreement becomes the operational framework for a successful relationship. Done poorly, it introduces friction. Especially when expectations are unclear, rights

In today’s landscape, sponsorship isn’t just a channel. It’s a statement.  Every partnership a brand chooses, and how it shows up in that partnership, signals something about what the organization values. Externally, it shapes perception. Internally, it drives alignment or

Tension between global and local teams is a recurring theme in sponsorship portfolio planning. Global teams, often including marketing, procurement, and connections stakeholders, are tasked with delivering consistency and scale across markets. Meanwhile, country market teams are navigating local context,

Most brand owners under-activate their sponsorships.  Most know it. But few have the structure in place to assess how well a sponsorship is being activated across the full marketing mix.  Sponsorships are among the most complex tools in a marketer’s

According to a global study by the World Federation of Advertisers and Lumency only 31% of brand owners say they have a standardized or structured approach to sponsorship evaluation. That means nearly 7 in 10 brands are investing in sponsorship

Sponsorship activation refers to the omni-channel marketing activities a brand undertakes to promote and leverage a sponsorship. Activation costs are separate from rights fees; the amount paid to secure sponsorship assets (although sometimes activation is included as part of the

In sponsorship, timing isn’t just important, it’s often the difference between opportunity and loss. Yet, too often, deal timing is treated as a passive element instead of a strategic lever.  Over the past few months, we’ve seen first-hand how brand-side

A sponsorship’s performance isn’t just shaped by how it activates—it’s often determined by how the deal itself is structured. When brand-side teams treat sponsorship deal architecture with the same level of discipline they bring to media, shopper, or agency relationships,

For many brands, sponsorship is the second-largest marketing investment after media. On average, 16% of brand marketing budgets go toward sponsorship rights and activation spend—yet this spend is often unmanaged and unmeasured.  Sponsorship is both emotional and messy.  Messy, because

In today’s dynamic sponsorship landscape, brands often find themselves at a crossroads—struggling to align sponsorship investments with business objectives, measuring ROI effectively, or ensuring activations resonate with target audiences. Without a clear strategy, sponsorship decisions become fragmented, limiting the impact

Women’s sports are seeing unprecedented growth—with rising viewership, increased investment, and new professional leagues taking shape. Our latest industry report looks at what’s driving this momentum and what it means for the future of the sports landscape. Read and download

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆: 𝗔 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 The world’s most popular sport continues to evolve—driven by international investments, digital platforms, emerging markets, and the explosive rise of women’s football. Our latest industry report dives into the key trends shaping

Fans and consumers may be the same individuals, but their roles, behaviors, and expectations are fundamentally different. When engaging with a property or rights holder, a consumer transforms into a fan, dramatically shifting their context and expectations. Recognizing these distinctions

We live in a time where consumer behavior is evolving rapidly. Economic pressures are forcing businesses to rethink how they stand out in an increasingly undifferentiated marketplace. And yet, amidst these challenges, there’s one truth we can’t ignore: the power

If you’re a brand owner operating on a calendar fiscal year, you’ve just passed the midpoint of your year. As part of your annual marketing or procurement plan set in Q3 or Q4 of last year, you likely set objectives