Andy Brember
Head of Commercial
In brief, what does Turnstile do and what is your approach to sponsorship and partnerships?
Turnstile is the global market leader in the transparent assessment of the fair market value of sponsorships.
Engaged by brands and rightsholders, but with no commercial stake in the buying or selling of sponsorship, Turnstile is working to strengthen the trust of the market in the valuation process.
When all parties know the true value, without the distraction of inflated media equivalency driven figures, meaningful and constructive negotiation can take place. In turn this sets a strong foundation for long and productive partnerships.
What approach differentiates Turnstile and makes your sponsorship strategy unique?
Turnstile’s approach to valuation was built specifically to provide the industry with a pricing mechanism that is accurate, credible and defensible. Our work is underpinned by more than $4.5bn of sponsorship contracts valued to date. Which enables our clients to benefit from unparalleled benchmarking, delivering valuations that reflect how the market is actually transacting.
Intellectual property is at the core of our approach, and is always the starting point from which we build bottom up valuations. For us, intellectual property and the opportunity for brands to associate with an iconic property is the most significant motivator for getting involved with sponsorship, and should be treated accordingly.
Sport is all about the power of passion, and at Turnstile we have a deep understanding of the value of passion and its role in sponsorship. A key point of difference for us is that we do not see media equivalency as the foundation of value.
What do you see as current trends within sponsorship, and how are they affecting how you work and how you deliver on strategy?
A key development we have seen, over the past 18 months in particular, is the increasing involvement of procurement teams on the brand side.
The majority of brands are now required to engage procurement when considering a potential sponsorship. This has resulted in greater interrogation of sponsorship valuations and directly impacted on the appetite for independent, accurate and defensible valuations.
This increased formalisation of the process is not only about financial due diligence, it is also reflective of the best practice required for publicly listed companies. Stakeholders, governance and competition regulations demand greater levels of transparency.
The chaos caused by COVID-19 drew attention to the need to be better prepared for incidents of force majeure, establishing metrics and baselines that protect both parties should the worst happen. This is achieved through a granular understanding of the value that lies within a sponsorship package, and how each of the individual assets contributes to the overall package.
Companies have a greater focus than ever on diversity, equity and inclusion, and this is also a factor when considering ambassador renumeration. This is something that we support our clients with by assessing “sweat effort” and intellectual property value.
How has sponsorship changed for Turnstile over the past few years, and what predictions can you make about how it’s going to change in the next five years?
Over the past few years, Turnstile has seen perpetual evolution in sponsorship, increasingly moving away from the simple badging exercise of old. The focus is no longer simply about achieving high exposure, being seen on screen by as many eyeballs as possible.
Sponsorships are infinitely more nuanced now, and aimed not simply at the biggest audience, but the right audience. This has resulted in a growing focus on data-driven valuation, transparency and the inherent value of different audiences.
Looking ahead, sponsorship is likely to evolve further with ever more emphasis on personalisation, sustainability and tech integration to track and optimise performance. Brands will increasingly prioritise partnerships that reflect shared values and deeper fan connections.
Technology has opened up the possibility of identifying and creating entirely new assets and platforms for sports to offer to potential partner brands. This unlocks more meaningful ways to communicate with fans that were not possible previously.
Consequently, it is impossible to know exactly what tomorrow holds, but while the future of sponsorship is rapidly evolving, Turnstile is committed to staying at the forefront. We are committed to continuously refining our tools and thinking to ensure we are providing cutting edge, data-driven insights to brands, rights holders and investors.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
It is a privilege to work in an industry you love – at Turnstile we want to see that industry not simply survive, but thrive. The key to a thriving future for the sports industry is the support of trusting brand partners who completely understand what they are buying into, why they are buying into it, and how they can contribute to a legacy that benefits all parties: the brand, the sport and the fans.