The European Sponsorship Association has announced that the annual figure for the size of the European sponsorship industry in 2013 has risen to €26.05bn ($35.7bn), a slight increase on 2012 of 0.7 per cent.
The ESA reported that 2013 was a good year for many European countries, with the Nordics doing particularly well and the UK, Germany and France also enjoying growth. Some markets, including Italy, continue to decline with Poland and Ukraine experiencing a slight drop following their co-hosting of the Uefa Euro 2012 football tournament.
Karen Earl, chairman of ESA, said France has recovered from a difficult year in 2012 and that the effect of the 2012 London Olympics in the UK shows that the same level of investment has been sustained. “It is encouraging for the UK to see brands which supported the Olympics and which may not have been traditionally involved in sponsorship, recognising the benefits and continuing their support post the event,” Earl added.
Russia’s figures for 2013 showed a continued uplift from local sponsor investment in Sochi hosting the Winter Olympics at the beginning of 2014. The 2013 figures also show that non-sport sponsorship revenue remains strong. For the year, the ratio of sport versus non-sport sponsorship stands at 65:35.
Earl said that growth in the Nordics provided good news for the European sponsorship market as a whole. “The Swedish Events & Sponsorship Association has reported a 6.4 per cent growth, while Norway has seen a 3.1 per cent increase and Finland 6.6 per cent,” she said. “In Poland there is evidence that a better understanding of sponsorship exists post the European Championships and sponsors are introducing more creative and innovative campaigns.”
ESA’s figures cover all forms of sponsorship, excluding activation, for sports and non-sports across the 50 European countries.