Hollis Sponsorship Bulletin

The European Sponsorship Association this week flagged up a new report from Sponsorium which shows just how hard the sponsorship sector has been hit by the downturn.

According to The Sponsorium Report, global sponsorship asking fees are down 50% (period Jan-Dec 2008 to Jan-June 2009). Based on a study of 10,000 sponsorship opportunities, the company found that most properties other than the premium end of the market have had to adjust their prices significantly. According to Sponsorium head of marketing Mark Cornish this is the firmest evidence yet of the impact that the economic crisis has had on sponsorship.

Sponsorium’s report also revealed that many sponsorships fail to meet brand expectations. According to Sponsorium, the average proposal meets just 44.8% of brands’ needs. “At its best, the top 10% of sponsorship opportunities meet 76.9% of brands’ sponsorship criteria,” said Cornish. “Increasingly, those who are successful at meeting the needs of brands are steering away from standard rights package and are adopting a more flexible and customised approach.”

ESA chairman Karen Earl said: “Benchmarking the performance of sponsorship is key to understanding how sponsorship can improve, and ultimately increase its share of the marketing budget. ESA welcomes such data.”

[The Sponsorium Report is based upon 9,827 proposals from 35 countries, submitted to and evaluated against the criteria of 61 different brands from Jan 2008 to June 2009.]