Sponsorship rewired: From brand placement to cultural operating system

Sponsorship has long been a cornerstone of the commercial playbook in sport. Traditionally a world of pitch-side hoardings and logos on shirts, it offered brands a ticket to visibility and a stable income stream for sporting organisations. But like merchandise, ticketing and fan engagement, the role of sponsorship is evolving. What once functioned as simple exposure has been revolutionised into a dynamic engine for business value in sporting organisations through advanced personalisation and cultural relevance. 

Sponsorship is no longer simply paying for visibility and association. It’s the utilisation of a network of innovative technology to pivot and flex in real-time, altering the message depending on the variables at play.  

Sponsorship as a platform, not a purchase 

Global spend on sponsorship is projected to hit $90.1 billion by 2029, and the most forward-thinking organisations are implementing sponsorship systems which transcend the boundaries of traditional sports marketing. These systems are dynamic, configurable and seamlessly scalable, allowing organisations to increase sponsorship revenue whilst also effectively tailoring messaging depending on audience preferences and in-play events.   

Take virtual advertising as an example. In the 2023-24 season, the NHL introduced Digitally Enhanced Dasherboards (DEDs), developed in partnership with advertising provider Supponor. This technology enabled the league to tailor rink-side sponsorship messages depending on where and how audiences were watching. Beyond sharper personalisation, it also unlocked a new commercial model: a single rink-side space could not how multiple sponsors simultaneously, rather than being tied to one advertiser. 

This innovation allowed the NHL to take on 700 new sponsors, resulting in a 21% increase in revenue, reported to be worth $1.28 billion. Organisations like the Bundesliga and Premier League have taken note, with advertising hoardings in these leagues now displaying as many as five different messages, depending on where the audience is situated. 

A single moment can now carry dozens of bespoke messages. What was once ‘one size fits all’ has become hyper-targeted, high-margin, and culturally relevant wherever the audience may be. Not only does this improve the effectiveness of the advertising through targeted personalisation; it also unlocks significant additional revenue.  

Personalised, programmable, performative 

What sits behind this transformation? Data.  

Sponsorship is undergoing the same shift that retail and entertainment experienced a decade ago: the move from mass segmentation to personalisation at scale. 

Modern sponsorship ecosystems can now: 

• Trigger offers to individual fans based on where they’re sitting. Mapsted, a Canadian location technology company, have developed a hardware-free location-based marketing technology which pinpoints fans’ locations within a venue, cross-references this with stadium data, and sends targeted offers to their devices, increasing matchday revenues through boosted food, drinks and merchandise sales. 

• Auto-generate creative overlays and bespoke offers, tied to real-time events. Stagwell’s ‘ARound’ platform has introduced interactive experience in stadiums for sports organisations such as the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Twins. Fans can use their smartphones, which are linked to real time data streams, to take part in mini-games, access exclusive content, and unlock promotions tied to real time events like touchdowns or home runs. 

From AI-curated highlights, specific to each audience segment, to immersive virtual reality spectating experiences which utilise eye-tracking technology, the world of sports sponsorship is now one where every brand moment can be traced, valued and optimised. Several leading sports organisations are already moving to outcome-based sponsorship models, where sponsors pay for measured engagement, not just for a certain number of advertising hoardings or an amount of screentime. 

So what? 

Sponsorship is evolving from exposure to experience. Effective sponsorship is no longer just visibility; it’s interactivity and configurability. And this shift demands new thinking. 

To capture the opportunity, organisations must: 

• Deliver dynamic personalisation throughout the entire fan interaction journey to maximise sponsorship media impact.  

• Reimagine sponsorship assets as adaptable, digital-first resources. 

• Build data architecture that connects sponsorship exposure to actual business impact. 

• Craft narratives that resonate culturally, not just commercially. 

• Treat fan interaction as an ongoing, personalised journey. 

This is no longer a simple partnership strategy. It’s a brand strategy. 

How Elixirr can help 

Elixirr partners with rights-holders and brands to reimagine sponsorship models for the modern era. Leveraging advanced research and insight capabilities, we pinpoint the most effective personalisation approaches and identify high-potential market segments. Our data and AI expertise enables the design of bespoke strategies that acquire and harness the right data to unlock untapped business value. Industry-leading development capabilities allow us to build intelligent data architectures to support these strategies, creating multi-layered, configurable sponsorship structures.