The recent avalanche of private equity investment in sport presents a new opportunity for sponsors to earn the goodwill of fans, writes James Wynne.
In recent years, private equity has been changing the fabric of sports investment. From the fans’ perspective, it raises more questions than answers in terms of how that will impact their enjoyment of the sports they love.
One of the biggest challenges facing any investor or owner is balancing profit with success, as one does not always follow the other. This isn’t new. Look at Tottenham Hotspur in the 1990s at the dawn of the Premier League, where, despite the best efforts of the owner, Lord Alan Sugar, his tenure is remembered, not for trophies, but for Spurs becoming a profitable, but perennial mid-table club. It’s a trend we’re likely to see more of as investors prioritise returns over trophies.
So, as more teams and clubs fall into the profit before people cycle, the goodwill of fans, of which there is plenty, is up for grabs. That’s a massive opportunity for sponsors who can give fans some respite from the hard sell of profit seeking investors by activating brilliantly, adding genuine value to the fan experience and basking in the goodwill that can be earned from that.
So what brands are leading the way? I hit the jackpot when I was assigned my first ever client back in 2000. That was Diageo. They wrote the playbook on brand building through sponsorship. Its not surprising to me that 25 years later (where did that go?) Diageo are still the leader of the pack in sponsorship making big, bold moves armed with great strategy.
Stout Ambitions
Just look at last year, Guinness teaming up with the Premier League which now shares a sponsorship stable with the Guinness Six Nations. The brand’s aim is as true as it has been for the last three decades; providing occasions of “communion” where fans come together in the shared experience of their favourite sport in pubs, clubs, and viewing centres and where they drank enough Guinness to cause a stock shortage across the UK last year.
The UK is of course, but a drop of in the global barrel that allows Guinness to activate its sponsorship of the Premier League in over 70 countries. And all the while, far from the noise of inflated ticket prices, relentless merchandise sales or fan protests. There won’t be a “Guinness Out” sign to be seen. You’re more likely to see an “Out of Guinness” sign.
Just having the biggest and best sponsorship properties isn’t enough though. The magic happens when the activation strategy comes to life. Guinness has cultivated a “creativity with precision” approach that uses data-driven insights to refine the brand’s activation, as outlined recently by Grainne Wafer, Global Director at Diageo. Its why they keep winning.
When it comes to social activation in particular, the brand is on the money, connecting itself and embracing the creativity of social creators without compromising on the brand’s identity or values. It’s a different league of sophistication from so many brands that react to social trends like dogs barking at cars.
Brands can often try too hard to be perceived as great social creators themselves when the really big wins appear to be through collaboration with established creators, whose followers are thirsty for entertainment and inspiration.
But whether you’re activating through traditional media, which remains a high priority for reach and frequency, or on digital and social channels, audience insight and understanding is the common denominator. Grasping the needs, motivations and habits of your audience is the foundation for brilliant creative activation. And it’s getting more and more complex, particularly when your audience is young and seemingly elusive.
Any brand in sports sponsorship has to be prepared to lose some sleep over the behavioural trends among Gen Z, not to mention the terror of the emerging Gen Alpha. It comes into focus when you see research like that of Nielson’s Gamechanger Report (2021) which examined notions such as “Star Centric Fandom”. This finding showed that “Gen Z and Gen Alpha tend to focus more on individual athletes than teams or leagues. And that means their loyalties shift as athletes move around in their careers. European footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and U.S. basketball phenom LeBron James, two of the biggest names in global sports, demonstrate this phenomenon.”
So, while eight-year-old me was told by my older brother when I decided to support Everton FC, “you have to support them until you die!”, the same rule isn’t being followed by the eight-year-olds of today, or possibly even the 18-year-olds. They follow the stars. Sponsors should follow suit.
Every Lidl Helps
Lidl’s longstanding and lauded partnership with Ladies Gaelic Football reinforces this fact. Lidl’s own research examining attendance at women’s sports events, published in January 2025, threw up the insight that 42% of the Irish public are more likely to attend female games to watch a high-profile player. You can bet that percentage is even higher among Gen Zer’s. The implication there being that we need to highlight more female role models. And what are role models if not stars to follow.
Women’s sport has been riding a wave of popularity that shows no sign of crashing anytime soon. It’s fair to say, that there has never been a better time to watch, participate in, and support women’s sports. Why? Because the audiences are growing at a rapid rate and so are the revenues – the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup generated over $570 million which made a lot of investors sit up and take notice. For example, private equity firm, Sixth Street, acquired a majority stake in women’s football team Bay FC who compete in the National Women’s Soccer League in the US. The deal makes Bay FC part of a portfolio which includes FC Barcelona and Real Madrid – good company to keep.
But it’s not just for PE firms to benefit, for sponsors too women’s sport makes for a happy hunting ground when it comes to generating brand value, affinity, loyalty and goodwill. A study by Change Our Game, an organisation striving for equality in sports based in Australia (a similar sized market to our own) showed that for every $1 dollar spent by a sponsor in women’s sports, more than $7 is generated in “customer value for that brand or organisation”. While you could challenge the methodology or the metrics of research such as this, the overall trend is undeniable.
All of this is pushing sponsorship higher up the priority list in the marketing mix and custodians of brand sponsorships stand to gain if they are willing to put in the hard yards of building winning strategies around sponsorship activation to help earn all the goodwill that’s on offer.
So, chase the data, pull the insights and use it for “creative precision”. Otherwise, your sponsorship could be doomed to fail, and the Commercial Director will end up sounding like Lord Sugar who, on his exit from Spurs famously said, “It’s the managers’ fault… It ain’t mine.”
James Wynne is the founder and Director of Playbook – a sponsorship advisory firm.
