caytoo analyses trends in companies sponsoring governing bodies to help them know where to focus targeting and with what message

This analysis looks at deals signed in the last three years across governing body organisations. For this purpose, governing bodies include those responsible for organising/ administering an entire sport/field within a geographic region (be it a continent, country or domestic region) or a specific competition.

In some cases, the analysis drills down into governing bodies among five rights holder fields with the largest sample sizes – basketball, cricket, golf, multisport (namely athletics and university organisations) and soccer.

1. Which subcategories to prioritise

From a simple ‘numbers game’ perspective, these are the most viable subcategories overall to target, as these sign the most sponsorship deals with governing bodies.

However, from a probability perspective, these are the most viable subcategories to target based on their likelihood to sponsor a governing body versus any other type of rights holder.

For example, nearly 40% of sponsorship deals undertaken by Online Delivery Services are with governing bodies.

2. Where to target: domestic vs overseas

Naturally, the starting point to finding sponsors is looking at companies in your own country. However, half of deals singed by governing bodies are with overseas-based companies.

However, this differs significantly by rights holder field, so it’s important to understand your situation so you can prioritise where to target most effectively.

For instance, the concentration of domestic-based companies ranges from 60% in multisport down to just 40% in soccer.

Chart available in full Insights article.

The report covers the most viable overseas countries to target for finding a sponsor. This is led by US-based companies who account for nearly 1 in 4 sponsorship deals between a governing body and an overseas-based company.

From a simple ‘numbers game’ perspective, these are the most viable subcategories to target within each of the five countries responsible for the most overseas-based sponsors.

3.  What benefit to lead with

In terms of pitching why companies should sponsor a governing body, Brand Awareness and [platform-only insight] resonate more strongly for governing body deals, so it makes sense to focus more heavily on these.

In contrast, doing deals due to [platform-only insight] carries far less weight, so it makes sense not to lead with/focus on this.

However, different motivations resonate more strongly in certain rights holder fields, so it’s important to understand those and play on them.

For example, Brand Awareness resonates more strongly in cricket, Values Alignment and [platform-only insight] in basketball, Social Impact, [platform-only insight] and [platform-only insight] more so in multisport (namely athletics and university organisations).

In turn, these are the most viable subcategories to target depending on which benefit you plan to lead with in your pitch. As one rule doesn’t fit all, it’s important to know which key message is likely to resonate more with each target subcategory and adapt your pitch accordingly.

4. What rights package to sell

In terms of pitching a particular type of rights, Category-type deals (e.g. Official Airline Partner) resonate more strongly among governing body deals, so it makes sense to focus more heavily on these.

However, depending on your field, different rights packages resonate more strongly, so it’s important to understand those and play on them.

For instance, General deals are most likely to resonate in multisport and soccer, Category rights in multisport, Title/Headline/ Naming rights in golf and On Kit/Training rights in cricket.

These are the most viable subcategories to target depending on which rights package you plan to lead with in your pitch. As one rule doesn’t fit all, it’s important to know which package is likely to resonate more with each target subcategory and adapt your pitch accordingly.

Chart available in full Insights article.

5. Who to target for longest deals

These subcategories average the longest deal-length among governing bodies. This is led by Banks whose average deal length is 7.9 years.

So, if you’re wanting longer-term security and having to deal with fewer renewals, it makes sense to prioritise these subcategories.

More details on companies sponsoring governing bodies available in full Insights article.