The iconic sports sponsorships and partnerships in Australia right now have all been going for years.

Think Kia and the tennis, Toyota and the AFL, McDonald’s and Little Athletics. And, without knowing any insider details, we’d probably say that these are ‘successful’ partnerships. 

Big brand sponsors are the lifeblood of sports in Australia. But what defines success? And why are we finding that brands are coming up against resistance to setting up new partnerships and are erring towards sticking with more traditional marketing channels? Well, the common thing that we’re hearing is that there’s no proof that it actually works. We can’t measure an ROI. It doesn’t work in driving sales. Which could be true. And if the goal is purely to drive immediate sales, then no, sponsorship probably isn’t the right platform.

But when a business understands that sponsorship is about so much more than just seeing an immediate return on investment, then they can start to appreciate its real effectiveness. They can action it properly and can understand its ‘why’.

If you are interested in learning more about connecting with Australians and making your sports sponsorship soar into success, please download the booklet: Rules of the Game – Achieving Peak performance in Sports Sponsorship.