Sponsorship News: April 2023 Edition

April 25, 2023
SponsorPulse Staff

The NHL and NBA playoffs are here, the MLB pitch clock is taking the baseball world by storm, music festival season is upon us, and Ryan Reynolds continues to impress.

Find out what's on our radar in the sponsorship world:

Broadway is calling your name

🎶Across North America, 88M+ people engage with musicals every year, be it by attending, watching content online, or following socially. That's greater reach than many top sport properties.

🔁Where non-sport properties are generally limited by frequency of exposure to consumers, musical productions have jam packed calendars that create ongoing opportunity for connection.

😍The musical experience is begging for activations with pre-show, intermission, and post-show foot traffic. From behind the scenes experiences, to branded giveaways, to photo ops - the opportunities are endless to drive memorability.

👏🏼The end-of-show standing ovation rivaled that of a stadium. This is an emotionally connected audience that offers a way to diversify your sponsorship portfolio.

Ryan Reynolds' Wrexham promoted, as he makes another investment

🤩With near universal awareness (97%) and likability (82%) across North America, more than 1 in 2 are interested in his work, and 1 in 3 support the brands that he partners with.

🍁He's unapologetically Canadian, and continues to invest in Canadian-based companies...1Password, Wealthsimple, and most recently, Nuvei.

🍸📱From his role in Aviation Gin (acquired by Diageo for a reported $610M) to Mint Mobile (acquired by T-Mobile for a reported $1.35B), he continues to build value for the companies he touches.

⚽🥅He bought a small Welsh football club and got a docuseries, Welcome to Wrexham, greenlit with FX. Now we wait to see if he can add part-owner of the Ottawa Senators to his wildly impressive resume.

🎤Most people likely caught his collab with Will Ferrell in last year's holiday hit, Spirited, which has most certainly been developed for an inevitable Broadway debut one day.

Which brands are winning March Madness?

How do collegiate, professional, and global sporting events compare in delivering sponsor impact? NCAA March Madness is leading the way.

💭March Madness sponsors achieved average aided awareness of 61%, tying it to the NFL. Despite the number of brands involved, you can still break through.

⏳Long-tail category sponsors, Capital One, and AT&T rose to the top in driving awareness. Although smaller populations of their category buyers engage with the tournament, they've put themselves on the map with future customers in a big way.

🎯Brand impact results were strongest for March Madness sponsors as well, with sponsors achieving an average of +43% net greater favorability, and +40% net increased purchase consideration, among aware.

🍕Short-term category sponsors like Buffalo Wild Wings, and Pizza Hut claimed top spots in driving impact, highlighting the tournament's ability to drive audiences to take action with sponsors.