A new survey of sponsorship motivation in the UK has revealed a strong trend towards brands becoming involved in sponsorship and activation that benefits local communities.
51% of an audience of 7,000 interviewed by Havas Sports and Entertainment felt that brands should be actively involved in supporting social causes.
84% felt that “brands should help enable more people to play sport”. This resonates well into sponsorship of mass participation events such as the Flora Women’s mini marathon or the Dublin Rock ‘n Roll event that took place in August, as well as work based projects like the Grant Thornton event staged in Dublin’s Docklands and the Dublin Staff Relay in the Phoenix Park in May.
81% said that “brands should promote healthy living” which covers most aspects of any sports sponsorship programme.
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77% were in favour of “brands supporting their local community”. Local means something a little larger in the UK but in Ireland that idea of pushing activation and funds towards grassroots is a strong element in the activation programmes of Supervalu, Ulster Bank through Rugby Force and GAA Force, and Diageo through the Arthur Guinness Projects.
Importantly from a brands perspective the survey went on to highlight that sponsorship led the way in terms of marketing effectiveness with 32% of those questioned claiming to have a better understanding of a company as a result, 22% saying they would have an increased affinity towards a sponsor active in their area of interest and 20% that they would be willing to advocate a brand to their peers as a result of a good sponsorship.
The survey was conducted across a range of sectors including financial services, energy, mobile services and sports governing bodies.
Read more insight and analysis of the sponsorship market in Ireland here.
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