This increase represents an exceptional year for the UK sport sponsorship market, with major new deals in football, cricket and Formula One. Simon Lincoln, Ipsos MORI Sport & Sponsorship notes, “whilst it’s fair to say that for many sports there were highs and lows on the field in 2006, in commercial terms, those properties and sports with a proven track record of success have seen nothing but highs. In the main, contract renewals and the search for new sponsors of existing properties resulted in higher rights fees. The emergence of new opportunities, such as stadia sponsorship and second tier sponsorship, has also contributed to the increase seen last year.”
Increases are not just consigned to the major sports. Traditionally over the years ‘minor sports’ have not found it easy to secure major commercial investment. However with an Olympics on home soil in 2012, many of the traditional Olympic sports can be obtained at a reasonable price bringing with them a guaranteed high profile. Developments to date have included Siemens & GB Rowing and LG & Gymnastics.
A further area of development has been online gambling’s movement into sports sponsorship, a move that has helped plug the hole left by tobacco’s forced withdrawal. Lincoln notes, “On the whole, the removal of tobacco companies from the sponsorship mix has not been as great a loss as many insiders feared at the time. Other sources of revenue have been identified and capitalised on, such as new markets like online gambling”
Ipsos MORI’s outlook for 2007 sees the UK sports sponsorship market set to grow further, even excluding the current bidding frenzy surrounding the sponsorship of the 2012 Olympics. Three deals announced in 2006 contribute to next year’s market estimate by a further £3.8 million (Barclays Bank & English Football Premier League, Clydesdale Bank & Scottish Football Premier League, nPower and Cricket’s home-test matches & Twenty20 Cup). Lincoln adds, “With some, if not all, the top tier sponsors to be in place by the end of 2007, the 2012 Olympics are clearly going to impact massively on the UK sports sponsorship market with immediate effect. However, the indications are that in ‘real terms’ the market is also set to perform strongly this year”.
