The latest results of the ESA Sponsorship Sentiment Tracker (SST) showed record highs, with confidence in the health of the industry peaking at 7.5 out of 10 in Wave 12 (see above).
Sustainability shone through as a key topic for participants, especially those representing brands. Around two-thirds (64%) of brands highlighted the importance of potential partner organisations having a sustainability policy in place, while only 32% of rights holders and 24% of agencies reflected this sentiment.
Focus on sustainability initiatives seemed to be on the rise across the board with 27% of all respondents having multiple programmes under way, more planned, and a corporate culture that espouses core principles of sustainability. However, brands again skewed the average with 75% having multiple sustainability initiatives in place, versus 21% of rights holders and 14% of agencies.
The discrepancy in focus between rights holders and agencies and their brand-side partners and clients could become a deciding factor in who brands choose to work with in the future, as sustainability credentials increasingly become non-negotiable.
Three-quarters of ESA SST respondents also believed that sustainability credentials would become more important over time, suggesting that rights holders and agencies needed to reflect on both their own agendas and the priorities of their customers.
The European Sponsorship Association has been tracking the sentiment among professionals in the industry for over 18 months, since the first European lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic took place in 2020. After Wave 10 (W10) in April 2021 recorded a dip in optimism, positive sentiment increased in W11, rising to an unprecedented high in the latest W12 results, which covered the summer months.
ESA Chairman, Andy Westlake, said: “This latest wave of the sentiment tracker should give our industry real confidence that the sponsorship business is beginning to return to normal. With agencies’ confidence rising so significantly, there is clearly strong momentum in the market, with existing sponsors spending again and new organisations seeing value in our sector. I’m sure this will continue in 2022.
“The momentum behind brands prioritising sustainability investment and activation is clearly an important outcome of this latest wave of research and something that our agency and rights holder members will certainly take notice of. Many already have active strategies in place but it’s clear that those that don’t should elevate its importance.”
Click here to view the previous set of results.
–ENDS–
For media queries, please contact:
Jonathan Coates | ESA Marketing, Communications and Events Manager
marketing@sponsorship.org
