With brands wanting to say ever more about themselves, we look at just how important shared values in sponsorship are and who they are most relevant for
We analysed around 7,300 sponsorship deals signed since the beginning of 2023 in terms of what the sponsor cited as being the primary motivation for doing the deal.
Shared Values is now the fifth most common, accounting for 1 in every 9 deals. It lies behind generating Brand Awareness, be seen to be doing good (Social Impact), having a Local Connection and Engaging Fans.
Shared values typically fall into five major types:
- Characteristics: by far the most dominant at around 75% of such deals. This is particularly prevalent among the likes of watch brands (promoting terms like precision, accuracy, performance) and technology brands (e.g. Innovation, speed, decision-making)
- Behaviour: this is particularly prevalent among the likes of health firms (private hospitals, clinics) health insurance and food brands encouraging people to live healthier lives (“exercise more, eat better”)
- Emotive: this is seen a lot among travel brands talking about exciting new adventures, exploration etc. “the excitement, uncertainty, and trepidation that couples face during their first holiday together”
- Attitude/Ethos: such as “empowering people to express their true selves”
- Goal: such as “a commitment to being the best”
Which categories are shared values most important to?
Shared values are most prevalent in deals done by Accessories manufacturers (primarily watches): they account for 18.3% of deals in this category compared to the average of 10.9% across all categories.
This is followed by and Health Services (namely private clinics/hospitals). Therefore, it makes sense for rights holders to prioritise these categories when pitching deals around shared values.
Which rights holder fields are shared values most common in?
Water sports, particularly sailing and surfing, is where shared values-led deals are most common. Shared values account for 2.3x the share (24.8% / 10.9%) of deals in Water Sports compared to the average.
These sports embody the likes of adventure, exploration, new horizons, seeing the world etc which fits endemically with travel-related brands in particular.
Water sports also speak to professional services firms who want to talk about ‘pushing boundaries’ as well as consumer goods brands that want to promote the idea of protection (e.g. sunglasses, suncream) or a love for nature.
In contrast, shared values in film sponsorship deals are focused on characteristics around creativity, artistic excellence, (common among car brands promoting the quality of their designs) and diversity (common among Professional Services firms).
Therefore, it makes sense for rights holders in these fields to focus more on pitching deals around shared values.
