Advertising best practice, evidence and insights

What we know about sponsorship effectiveness

Article • WARC Best Practice, February 2020

Examines how brands can build awareness and increase equity through effective sponsorship.

What’s working in sponsorship

Article • WARC Category Intelligence, February 2020

Global strategies, campaign updates and trends in sponsorship.

Darling X LFW19

Case Study • SABRE Awards, Gold, Africa, 2020

Darling, a hair extensions brand, promoted its brand in Nigeria by becoming an official partner of Lagos Fashion Week.

Aquafina: Aquafina Vietnam International Fashion Week

Case Study • Trac Tran, WARC Awards, Entrant, Effective Social Strategy, 2020

Bottled water brand Aquafina elevated brand awareness in Vietnam through sponsorship of a leading Vietnamese fashion platform.

US sponsorship sector savaged by COVID-19 pandemic

News • 23 April 2020

Sponsorship deals worth over $10 billion will be hit by the COVD-19 epidemic, some 38% of the $26 billion committed to sports and entertainment events in the US in 2020, according to a new report from IEG, the sponsorship valuation company.

COVID-19: How sponsors should handle the turbulence upending the 2020 sports calendar

Opinion • Alex Burmaster, March 2020

As sports competitions around the world are suspended, Alex Burmaster, co-founder of sports marketing platform caytoo, offers advice for how brands can salvage their investments in sponsorship programmes.

Sponsorship in transition: The outlook for 2020

Article • Jim Andrews, Admap, February 2020

A summary of key trends in the North American sponsorship market.

mytaxi: jazz cab

Case Study • Integrated Marketing Communications Council Europe, Grand Prix, 2019

Mytaxi, a taxi service, increased passenger numbers and brand growth in Ireland by launching a live jazz piece at the Cork Jazz Festival based on GPS data from its taxis.

adidas: MAP YOUR RUN

Case Study • Integrated Marketing Communications Council Europe, Silver, Sponsorship and Small Budget Campaign, 2019

Adidas, a sportswear brand, promoted its sponsorship of the Prague Half Marathon by launching an app for supporters to track where their runners are during the event.

Smirnoff x Live Nation UK: Sustainable waterfall and bar festival activations

Case Study • Beryl Crofton-Atkins, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Smirnoff, the vodka brand, promoted its Infusions drink to socially-aware consumers by partnering with Live Nation to run sustainable activations at summer music festivals across the UK.

Co-op x Live Nation UK: Festival Partnership Programme

Case Study • Beryl Crofton-Atkins, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Co-op, the food retailer, partnered Live Nation to connect with a younger audience by creating convenient pop-up supermarkets at six leading music festivals in the UK.

Carlsberg Danish Quarter x Live Nation UK: Festival Programme

Case Study • Beryl Crofton-Atkins, WARC Media Awards, Silver, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Carlsberg, the beer brand, launched Danish Pilsner to music fans in the UK through a number of brand activations at six major summer music festivals.

Aquafina: Aquafina Vietnam International Fashion Week

Case Study • Anh Vu, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Bottled water brand Aquafina elevated brand awareness in Vietnam through sponsorship of a leading Vietnamese fashion platform.

Volkswagen: Bye Bye Beetle

Case Study • Eliza Poor, Jordan Heathfield, Delinda Pu, WARC Media Awards, Shortlisted, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2019

Volkswagen announced it would be retiring its much-loved VW Beetle, so it launched a farewell event in China to give the Bug one last sales push.

New Balance: The Runaway Pub

Case Study • Jay Chiat Strategic Excellence Awards, Silver, Product/Service Creation, 2019

New Balance, a sportswear brand, created The Runaway pub, a pub specifically for runners where the only way to pay for a pint was with miles run, to connect with London Marathon runners in the UK.

Axe: Mard Ban yaar

Case Study • Emvies, Bronze, 2019

Axe, a deodorant brand, encouraged Indian men to break stereotypes at a youth festival by getting them to write common struggles and stereotypes on clay pots before smashing them.

Aquafina: From essential to quintessential

Case Study • Lam Ung, WARC Prize for Asian Strategy, Entrant, 2019

Bottled water brand Aquafina used digital and social media to amplify its strategic partnership with Fashion Week and elevate the brand in Vietnam.

Standing out from the crowd: A global study to define the perfect music festival

Research Paper • Christian Kurz, Anna Noel Taylor, Kerri Fortune, Ian Wright, Jo McIlvenna and Ben Allen, ESOMAR, Congress, 2019

Viacom, an American multinational mass media conglomerate, set out to learn the 'secret sauce' of the best festivals and to evaluate how that might be improved.

Cadillac drives social conversations, positive sentiment and digital traffic with Oscars campaign

Article • Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, IAB NextGen Marketing Summit, June 2019

Cadillac used a campaign around the 2019 Academy Awards to encourage consumers to reappraise its family of sports utility vehicles.

Bacardi taps indie music to engage Indian consumers

News • 17 May 2019

Advertising alcoholic drinks is banned in India, but that has not stopped veteran rum producer Bacardi from building its brand by engaging audiences through the medium of independent music.

Citi strikes a new note for inclusion in ads with “#SeeHerHearHer”

Article • Stephen Whiteside, Event Reports, #SeeHer 2019 Creative and Media Leadership Summit, March 2019

Citi, the financial-services provider, is using its marketing muscle to boost female empowerment in the music industry.

American Express: Coachella 2018

Case Study • Effie Worldwide, Finalist, North American Effies, 2019

American Express, a financial services company, encouraged attendees of the Coachella festival in the US to pay using their American Express cards rather than cash by creating wristbands that unlock exclusive benefits.

Hotlink: PokéMobile

Case Study • Chan Su Ling, Jacinth Lum, Lau Su Lin, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Telecoms company Maxis partnered with ride-hailing service Grab to piggy-back on the Pokémon trend to raise awareness of its mobile phone payment service Hotlink Cash Online (HCO) in Malaysia.

Virgin Media: Sharing awards love with TV superfans

Case Study • Data and Marketing Association, Silver, 2018

Virgin TV, a cable television service, put UK viewers front and centre of its sponsorship of the BAFTA's treating them as a 'plus one' from the red carpet to backstage.

Wiko: La Notte del Maestro

Case Study • Simone Foggiato, Francesca D’Auria, Michele Ciccarese, WARC Media Awards, Entrant, Effective Use of Partnerships and Sponsorships, 2018

Mobile phone brand Wiko used sponsorship of a football event to increase brand awareness in Italy.