More is less: the risks of a broad sponsorship portfolio that neglects brand alignment

Following a ‘State of the Industry’ report from Kore Software, the question marketing teams have been asking is this: is it better to increase partners, or assemble fewer partners with more focused campaigns?

A striking conclusion from the report suggests that despite a 3% increase in spending since 2019 ($273k-$326k avg. spend per deal), we’re seeing a continued trend in consolidated partnerships. So much so, that there has been a 17% decrease in partners per brand across sport, despite the spending uptick. In short: brands are committing to top performers, with a shifted focus towards long-term objective setting and planning. This is further evidenced by concurrent increases in the average deal length.