Summary

Throughout history, sports sponsorships have been a massive part of the sports industry. Many sports are completely reliant on sponsorships and for others, sponsorships make up a big portion of their revenue. With the global sports sponsorship industry estimated at being worth more than $45 billion, it’s clear that there is a lot of value for both brands and rights holders in sponsoring sport.

Whether it’s through sponsoring an event, a sports team or an individual athlete, brands across the world see sports sponsorship as a way of gaining mass exposure and building their brand to a global audience. The very first sporting events in history relied on amateur athletes who needed sponsorships in order to dedicate their lives to training. This financial security helped athletes improve and get better over time and as the level of competition has grown, so too has the size of the sponsorships.

As the sports industry has rapidly expanded in the last few years, so have sports sponsorships. The arrival of new technologies such as the radio, tv and then the internet have all brought fans closer to the sport and given sports marketers new ways to reach fans. This has led to massive growth in the money companies are willing to spend on sponsorships, but companies need to understand how to use these deals effectively.

Sports have gotten saturated by marketing over time, and brands need to recognise that there is more to sponsorships than just buying views. A smarter approach to sponsorships needs to be taken to ensure that deals are being used effectively. Activating a sponsorship has become just as important as the sponsorship itself and brands that carefully plan out their sponsorships are much more likely to get a better return on their investment.

With technology continuing to improve and social media giving fans a closer connection to their favourite sports and athletes, sports sponsorships will find new ways to promote brands to fans. Sports are also becoming more inclusive to all types of people, and sports marketers need to focus on these new audiences to get the best possible results out of sponsorship deals.

What You’ll Learn

Through this course you’ll learn the following:

· What is sports sponsorship, and how does it work?

· Why do companies use sports to advertise their brands?

· What types of sponsorships are there?

· How did sports sponsorships first begin, and why?

· How sports sponsorships have changed and adapted over the years

· What role does sports sponsorship play in the marketing mix?

· All about sponsors activation and its role in successful sponsorships

· How do naming rights deals work, and what is their purpose?

· The process of sports merchandising and how brands can deal with counterfeiting

· How can a brand conduct market research the improve the effectiveness of their sponsorship?

· Are sports sponsorship deals worth it for the sponsor?

· What makes a sponsorship deal successful?

· What factors can lead to a sponsorship being unsuccessful?

· How technology is helping to improve sponsorships

· In what ways is globalisation changing the sports industry and affecting the way sponsorships work?

· What is digital sponsorship?

· How social media is affecting the world of sports sponsorship

· Future trends in sports sponsorship

Words from the Author, Saam Momen:

I have a true passion for teaching! I have proudly taught university courses in Switzerland, USA and Brazil. My career spans over 15 years in the sporting industry with jobs at the London Olympic Bid Committee, UEFA, CSM and TEAM Marketing. I possess a Master Degree in Sports Management and an Executive Education diploma at Harvard Business School on The Business of Entertainment, Media and Sports. I hope that throughout this course you are able to have a wonderful learning experience! Please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any queries.

Why Choose This Course?

Those working in the sports industry will understand just how important sponsorships are. Every major event such as the Olympics and the World Cup have a large part of their revenue made up entirely from sponsorships. A lot of athletes still make the majority of their salary from endorsements and other sponsorships. This course has been designed to help improve your understanding of how sports sponsorships affect the industry.

Considering how important sponsorships are to sports, it makes sense to try and develop your knowledge of this area, especially if you plan on working in the industry. It’s an excellent way to learn more about how sports revenue is generated. As the sports industry continues to grow, it provides new opportunities to people who understand how to create successful partnerships between brands and sports.

If you’d like to work in the sports industry, particularly if you have an interest in how sponsors work, this course is specifically tailored towards you. For those looking for careers in brand management and product management, there is also a lot of useful information here on how to plan and activate sports sponsorships. The course has been designed to be beneficial for anyone interested in sports marketing and those who want to gain a real-world perspective on how the industry operates.

Throughout the course, you’ll be able to see direct examples of sports sponsorships, both those that were successful and the less successful. This information will help you apply the theory you learn into practice and understand sponsorship practices more clearly. These examples are all up to date, giving you a modern perspective of how the industry works and why sports sponsorships fail or succeed in the present day.

Some courses may focus on a single aspect of sports sponsorships, but this course will give you a clear picture of how deals work from all sides. You’ll be able to see the perspective of sponsors and activation from the viewpoint of brands, sports teams and events plus the fans themselves. This multifaceted approach is useful in developing a better understanding of why sponsorships are important to sports. You’ll also be able to understand how a brand can work with sports to deliver a better experience for the fans and why this is important for building brand recognition.

This course will aid you in understanding not just how sports sponsorships have changed over time, but why. You’ll be able to use this knowledge to better prepare for how they might change in the future. The sports industry is incredibly competitive and fast-moving. New technologies and concepts are helping to change how sponsorship works all the time.

If you want to be successful in the sports industry, you have to understand how to adapt and change with the industry as it progresses. This course is designed to help you do exactly that, giving you insights into how sports sponsorships are evolving over time and examples of new practices that are helping to increase the return on investment of sponsorships deals.

Sports sponsorships can be complicated deals, but this course will help you to understand what makes them successful and how a deal can be improved. Once you’ve completed the course, you’ll feel more confident in your understanding of sports sponsorships and the sports industry as a whole. You’ll have a better idea of how brands choose and create sponsorships and the steps they take to be successful. You’ll also have a good idea of how sports sponsorships have changed over time and how they might continue to change.