In 2024, Sky was facing several challenges. We were launching a new product, Sky Mobile, in a competitive market. A renewal date for our highly successful sponsorship of the Irish Women’s National Team (WNT) was approaching – but the property lacked scale. And the Men’s National Team (MNT) remained unsponsored, open to approach from a mobile competitor.
Sky couldn’t decide on any approach to these business needs without proper analysis and research, using all available data and insights to support better decision making in relation to our sponsorship investments.
We knew from WNT tracking that sponsorship drove commercial results. To test whether these would translate to the MNT, we undertook a large-scale research project examining market dynamics, fandom insights, and stakeholder interviews across the company.
Researching market dynamics proved mobile category SOV changed dramatically when sponsorship spend was accounted for. Examining fandom proved football was the most popular sport in the country, particularly among our customers. And stakeholder interviews proved there was internal appetite to continue to support the nation and get the influence and scale that only football can bring.
As a result, we extended their sponsorship to the MNT and haven’t looked back. New highs in sponsor awareness for both teams have been achieved, mobile sales are up 21% against targets, and the MNT achieved their first Nations League win and their highest TV audience in 18 months.
We will continue to measure and follow the data on our sponsorship journey, supporting both teams equally into the future.
