The Evolution of Sports Sponsorship Marketing

What brand can exist without a loyal audience, interesting events, and collaborations? None. However, the first moves of brands in sports sponsorship marketing were different because advertisers were limited in technology. The evolution of sports sponsorship along with development in technologies has brought to the table Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and many other innovative tools that completely changed the approach to raising brand visibility in sports. Sports sponsorship from the very beginning helped brands to establish emotional connections with the audience and win fans’ trust and loyalty, even though brands initially wanted just to be noticed.

In this article we will walk through the history of how sports sponsorship marketing evolved and impacted our new reality. 

The Early Days of Sports Sponsorship

In the past, sports sponsorship had a simple mission: to attract the audience's attention. Early brand partnerships were all about placing their logos and banners at events. In 1928 Coca-Cola Olympics sponsorship proved this way that sports tournaments can be used as an effective way to raise brand awareness. 

In the racing world, Ferrari cooperated with sponsors in Formula 1. It partnered with brands like Shell for fuel sponsorship, prominently displaying the Shell logo on its cars. In the 1930s Shell sponsored racing events like the endurance race 24 Hours of Le Mans, pushing its motor oils and fuel. Shell’s logos were placed on the racing cars and racing tracks. During Le Mans Porsche was equally present and partnered with other brands in the same way.  

In football Adidas was one of the first brands to sponsor teams with branded boots and equipment. This way the German brand got a massive benefit: association with success and high-class football. 

Later, in the 1940s, Gillette arranged for the broadcasting of boxing contests in the United States. It provided free shaving supplies to professional boxers and strengthened its connection with its male audience.  

Back then brands' strategy was simply to be visible. The examples above prove that advertisers could easily adapt to different sports audiences, and this approach layered the foundation for modern sponsorships.

The Television Era: Reaching a Mass Audience

Television opened a new era in sports marketing, as it enabled brands to reach millions of viewers at once. In the middle of the 20th century broadcasting tournaments on TV played an instrumental role in elevating the status of sports marketing.

The brands that were the first to collaborate with tournament competition organizers gained a significant competitive advantage. Broadcasting major sports tournaments and adding TV commercials, with their catchy tunes and compelling storylines, became an indispensable part of the sports viewing experience. TV commercials were the gateway to mass media marketing through the big leagues, offering a priceless platform to showcase their products.

Let’s talk a bit about the Adidas & FIFA partnership. In the 1970s Adidas signed a contract with FIFA to supply the official match ball for the World Cup. This eventuality boosted the reputation of Adidas and influenced the perception of the viewers. As a result, the brand set a new standard of sports marketing through the culture of broadcasting tournaments and was associated with champions.

And ten years later, in the 1980s, Pepsi started sponsoring the broadcasting of huge sporting events like the Super Bowl and the Cricket World Cup. This helped them to win over younger audiences. 

By sports sponsoring brands got exceptional opportunities to imprint their names into the minds of an array and engage a mass audience worldwide.

The Digital Revolution: Interactive Sponsorships

Sports marketing progressed with the advent of the Internet and social media. The objective transformed into establishing relationships with fans and fostering a sense of community around the brand.

Traditional methods of marketing were rapidly replaced by innovative digital strategies that focused on creating an immersive experience for fans. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram became invaluable tools for teams and event organizers to engage with fans on a more personal level. Sports brands give away exclusive promo codes to their subscribers in return for the activity on their socials. Features of Instagram give brands opportunities to interact with their audiences through Q&As, Polls, “Messages to Reveal”, “Photos to Reveal on Shake”, and other eye-catching tricks.

With the fast development of the Internet and social media, brands have access to huge loads of data and metrics they have never used before. Hence, there appeared a need to analyze the data and calculate the media value of campaigns. AI-driven marketing platforms like Entyx were developed to cover all the needs and serve as sponsorship intelligence agents who not only help brands boost their brand awareness but accurately calculate the efficiency of their investments.

Social media gave rise to a new entity - the sports influencers. They started to shape public opinion, drive discussions on social media and influence purchase decisions. Recognizing their potential, sports organizations and brands began to partner with these influencers, incorporating them into their marketing strategies to reach a wider audience and build hype for their products. Gatorade partners with famous Twitch influencers to promote its products among gamers. It's amazing to see these worlds collide.

Streaming platforms like Twitch, YouTube and TikTok have revolutionized the sports marketing realm by introducing innovative ways for interaction and communication. These digital spaces transformed the marketing paradigm by fostering an online community built on shared sports experiences, live streams and discussions. They gave advertisers global platforms, enabling brands to tap into fandoms that were previously inaccessible due to geographical limitations.

Technology-Driven Sponsorships: AI and AR Lead the Way

Approaches to sponsorships have significantly changed, as now it's not just about seeing ads, it's about experiencing them in a way that feels natural and doesn’t disrupt the process. Envision this scenario: you slide on a virtual reality headset, and suddenly you find yourself teleported to the center of a high-stakes football match. You're not merely a spectator, you're a part of the action. You can feel the electrifying passion of the crowd, the adrenaline-fueled intensity of the players wearing branded uniforms in real time.

Imagine this: you're customizing your avatar with virtual clothing and accessories from real world brands, or use your phone to unlock exclusive content and discounts in a game. The possibilities for such brand integrations are limitless.

Picture yourself walking through a bustling virtual city where every billboard and storefront is an interactive ad tailored just for you.

As technology advances, we can expect even more immersive and interactive advertising experiences. Virtual reality and augmented reality are already changing the way we play games, so just imagine what AR sponsorships can do in sports marketing.

AI-driven sports sponsorship analytics enables brands to analyze the efficiency of logo placement, brand mentions and audience engagement in virtual environments. VR can transport you to a branded world where you can interact with products in a 3D space, while AR can overlay digital elements onto your real world environment, making the ads feel like a part of your everyday life. These technologies are not only enhancing gameplay, but also creating new avenues for brands to engage with their audience. Gaming and advertising are becoming increasingly intertwined.

The Future of Sports Sponsorship Marketing

Sports sponsorship marketing has undergone a significant transformation from simple logo placement to the development of complex strategies and building strong connections between brands and viewers.

In this new era, emerging technologies such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and augmented reality have become integral constituents of the eSports marketing ecosystem. Modern AI-enabled marketing platforms such as Entyx provide a range of analytics that assess the effectiveness of ad campaigns, calculate Media Value in real-time, monitor logo placement and brand mention, and time in frame. Entyx offers brands a 360-degree view of their success paths and tools to deepen the engagement of their target audiences.

Innovative technologies are shaping the future of advertising and setting future trends in sponsorships, which are: creating personalized fun experiences, using deep data analysis technology, taking advantage of full automation of marketing campaigns and capturing the results of brands' integrations in automated marketing reports.

Sports sponsorships now are all about building strong connections between brands and viewers. Let's build them together?