The Year Ahead 2025: The sports sponsorship evolution marches on
From PepsiCo to Who Gives A Crap, brands of all sizes are paying attention to the opportunities in sports partnerships, beyond simply slapping their logos down.
By Molly Innes
Sports sponsorship has moved on from the days of slapping a logo on a sports kit or car bumper. Now, brands are looking at multi-faceted ways to drive growth from their partnerships, beyond just awareness.
We saw it happening in 2024 as brands looked to make their relationships more personal and connected to consumers. It was a blockbuster sporting year, given the “summer of sport” we watched unfold, but the fun isn’t over as brands up their game.
Take education tech platform Udemy as an example. CMO Genefa Murphy told Marketing Week in July about the firm’s deal with McLaren Racing: “Sports partnerships often have been in consumer goods and then it went into tech […], but people are realising the value of it, because it really is multifaceted.”
