The spend represents a 12.5 per cent increase over the $458 million spent in 2006, said IEG, and reflects ‘corporate marketers' growing interest in using college athletics to reach students, alumni and staff.’
The increase outpaces IEG SR's projected 11.7 per cent increase for the overall sponsorship industry.
The report said that schools and conferences have taken a’ more sophisticated’ approach to sponsorship - including bundling media buys and working with third-party aggregators such as Host Communications and CBS Collegiate Sports Properties – to raise the value of their properties.
