What can rights holders learn from the latest trends across Australian sponsorship deals as well as New Zealand compared to the rest of the world?
To answer this question, caytoo analysed two data sets (1) the current sponsors and partners of teams in eight Australian-based sports leagues and (2) nearly 15,600 sponsorship deals signed around the world since the start of 2023.
The leagues are A-League (soccer), Australian Football League (Aussie Rules), Big Bash (cricket), National Basketball League, National Rugby League (rugby league), Sheffield Shield (cricket), Super Netball and Super Rugby (rugby union).
The central idea being: what can organisations selling sponsorship in Australia and New Zealand (aka ANZ for short) learn from how they’re managing to attract sponsors compared to the rest of the world?
Key findings: ANZ sports team sponsors vs deals signed around the world
1/ The most common category sponsoring ANZ sports teams, Consumer Services (accounting for 13.2% of deals), is led by the large number of non-profit organisations (encompassing government entities and charities) alongside Restaurants & Bars and Specialised Consumer Services. The latter, for example, encompass a wide range of micro-categories including ticketing marketplaces, parking services and home maintenance services.
2/ When comparing the above partners to deals signed around the world since the beginning of 2023, ANZ sports teams score much less well in Financial Services, Information Technology, Telecoms and Automotive. So, in this sense, these are categories to prioritise going after, as there is a lot of room to grow, based on what is being achieved around the world.
3/ The most common subcategory sponsoring ANZ sports teams, Specialist Professional Services, encompass a wide range of micro-categories including waste management, office and media solutions and facilities management. It highlights the vast array of companies that rights holders can target in this area.
4/ When comparing the above partners to deals signed around the world since the beginning of 2023, ANZ sports teams score much less well in [see the full ANZ Sponsorship Deal Trends report.]
Key findings: all ANZ sponsorship deals signed since 2023
1/ The most common category signing deals with ANZ rights holders since the start of 2023, Food & Beverage (accounting for 13.6% of deals), is driven by Alcohol and Foods, while Financial Services is led by Insurance and Banks. Consumer Goods is driven by household Electronics/Appliances brands and Accessories & Watches.
2/ When comparing the above partners to deals signed around the world since the beginning of 2023, ANZ rights holders have scored noticeably less well in Consumer Services, Information Technology and Professional Services. So, in this sense, these are the categories to prioritise going after, as there is a lot of room to grow, based on what is being achieved around the world.
3/ For the most common subcategory signing deals with ANZ rights holders and how this compares to the rest of the world [see the full ANZ Sponsorship Deal Trends report.]
4/ Brand Awareness is the main reason sponsors sign deals in both ANZ and RoW although it is more of a factor in RoW. In contrast, Values Alignment and Social impact (AKA the need to be seen to be doing good) is more of a factor in ANZ compared to RoW. So, these are the elements to continue focusing on when pitching the advantages of sponsoring your organisation because it looks to resonate more strongly in the ANZ market.
Key findings: How the current portfolio of ANZ sport team sponsors differs across the eight leagues
The report on Australian sponsorship deals as well as New Zealand analysed how the different eight leagues compare in terms of the most popular sponsor subcategories. This gives rights holders an idea on what fellow leagues they can learn from if looking to target a specific subcategory.
For instance, if they’re looking to target Hotels & Cruise Lines, look at the Big Bash (cricket) and the National Basketball League because these two leagues over-index / over-perform on attracting sponsors from this subcategory compared to the average.
All the data and insights are covered in the full ANZ Sponsorship Deal Trends report. which includes the following sections:
- How the current portfolio of ANZ sport teams sponsors/partners compares to deals signed globally since the start of 2023
- How deals signed across all rights holders in ANZ since the start of 2023 compares to the rest of the world
- How the current portfolio of ANZ sport team sponsors/partners differs across the eight leagues
- Extras:
- Most popular Front of Shirt sponsor subcategories
- Top sponsor brands
Want to see all the data?
The full report is available in our platform and will be covered in our special Australia and New Zealand webinar on Oct 8th which you can register for below.
