How the pandemic is altering sports sponsorship, now, and in future

The short-term outlook for sports sponsorship is tepid in the US, providing problems and opportunities.

This article is part of the March 2021 Spotlight US series, “Media strategies for a shifting US landscape.” Read more

Assessing the state of sports sponsorship and brand partnerships in the wake of the events of 2020 begins with answering this question: What has been the pandemic’s impact on sponsorship spending?

In the absence to date of reporting information on how much was spent last year, we have two relevant data points to rely on. The first is the 2008-09 recession’s effects on sponsorship and activation. If past is prologue, we can expect year-on-year spending to have declined...

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