The Changing Value of Sponsorship: 2021 Sports Marketing Trends

Return on Sponsorship Investment

50 Most Marketable Athletes

Quarterbacking Positive Change Through Sports

Driven to watch: How a sports docuseries drove U.S. fans to Formula 1

May 5, 2022

TV programming has a long history of inspiring audiences to get more involved in their passions and pick up new hobbies. In some cases, TV shows have given a lucky few the opportunity to live out their dream jobs, such as Last Comic Standing winner Iliza Shlesinger and Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard.  But TV programming can do more than just fuel internal passions: In the case of docuseries,...

Year in review: sports consumption evolution

Apr 12, 2022

The sports industry continues to adapt to the new habits fans have developed over the last two years, with the pace of change accelerating substantially since the start of the pandemic in 2020. This is evidenced by the increasingly flexible and dynamic approaches to competition formats, fan engagement, and content distribution by the world’s biggest sports properties. TV remains a dominant player, producing large cumulative audiences and significant broadcast time....

Sports sponsorships are raising more than just brand awareness

Mar 16, 2022

The universal breadth and appeal of sports continues to present brand sponsors with significant upside, both through exposure and how well consumers regard brands’ involvement. Combined, sports activations are doing more than boosting brand awareness—they’re leading to higher conversion rates. The higher conversion rates reflect: Increased brand sponsorships following the global ad pullback in 2020 A high level of trust among fans with respect to sponsorships Brand advertising increased...

Fans are changing the game: 2022 global sports marketing report

Feb 23, 2022

Change is certainly nothing new, but its impact is seldom as sizable—or accelerated—as what the world has experienced over the past two years. For the sports industry, the return of fans at live events midway through 2021 was cheered by all, yet life has evolved too much during the pandemic for the sports industry to simply snap back to a mirror image of its pre-COVID self. The tried and...

Consumer behavior shifts and new experiences are broadening fan engagement

Feb 23, 2022

Few industries have been immune to the effects of the global pandemic, but the impact has been particularly notable for global sports. While the return of fans at live events midway through 2021 was cheered by all, behaviors have evolved too much for the sports industry to simply snap back to a mirror image of its pre-COVID self, particularly with respect to how fans engage with sports content. The...

A tale of two teams–and their fans

Feb 9, 2022

The word fan comes from the word fanatic, meaning an enthusiastic devotee, usually as a spectator. And on Sunday, February 13, there will be inspiring moments both on the field and on screen–for fans around the globe to experience.  Not surprisingly, the NFL is the most popular sports league among Americans; 92 of the top 100 most watched telecasts in 2021 were either live NFL games or NFL studio...

Esports Economics Podcast Episode 3: Mobile Gaming in Asia

Jan 10, 2022

This is the third episode in our six-part podcast series Esports Economics in collaboration with Unofficial Partner. Today’s conversation moves east with a focus on the mobile gaming market in the Asia Pacific region.  Our speakers are Ajay Jilka,  Director of Regional Esports Partnerships at Moonton Games, and Mike Wragg, Nielsen Sports’ Managing Director for Asia Pacific and International Head of Strategy Consulting and Research. Moonton Games was established in...

Slam dunk: How crypto brands are making a splash with the NBA–and fans

Dec 22, 2021

Despite the recent proliferation of cryptocurrency in Americans’ lives—hello, Elon Musk on Saturday Night Live—cryptocurrencies have some ground to gain before they become ubiquitous with consumers and their finances. But they have quickly become omnipresent across the global sports industry. The significant rise in crypto sponsorship deals provides massive visibility to the budding industry–yet these crypto brands will eventually need to extend their efforts beyond naming rights, logo patches...

Video Interview: The Evolution of Sports Sponsorships

Dec 16, 2021

Uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated shifts in the way sports rights holders sell sponsorships and how brands make sponsorship investments and activate partnerships. New sponsorship entrants, new channels and new consumer necessities will impact key sports sponsorship value and call for enhanced measurement methodologies. Jon Stainer, Nielsen Sports Manager Director, and Adweek’s VP Event Partnerships, Matt Steinmetz, took the Brandweek Sports Marketing Summit stage to discuss key...

Five factors shaping the future of sports marketing

Dec 2, 2021

Over the last 18+ months of uncertainty, the ongoing pandemic has affected every facet of the sports advertising arena. Areas of focus for marketers, including measurement, changing media consumption habits and the power of athletes as influencers have only increased in importance. To effectively engage consumers, marketers have had to remain nimble in an increasingly fragmented—and challenging—environment. Heading into 2022, areas of focus for marketers will continue to transform....

Excitement in the air as the 12 month countdown to FIFA World Cup 2022™ begins

Nov 30, 2021

With the FIFA World Cup 2022™ kicking off one year from now, Nielsen is sharing the results of its Nielsen Sports brand tracking study showing a high level of excitement globally in anticipation of the global event in Qatar. As a part of FIFA’s Research Programme, Nielsen surveyed respondents across 28 global markets, and 79% noted that they are “excited” about the upcoming tournament. This scores higher than both...

Blockchain companies intensify jersey sponsorship investments in European football

Oct 27, 2021

More and more companies from the blockchain industry detect sports sponsorship as a valuable marketing platform. Nevertheless, automotive, tech and airline companies invest nearly one third of total volume for jersey sponsorships. These are key results of the annual European Football Jersey Report, which Nielsen Sports analyses for the top six European football leagues. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, jersey brandings become more valuable from year to year. If revenues...
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