Platformation, the sponsorship valuation agency, has published the fifth wave of its Sponsorship Decision Maker Survey (SDMS 2026, n=204), the only longitudinal brand-side study of its kind, run on a consistent methodology since 2018.
The 2026 edition surveyed 204 senior sponsorship decision-makers across more than 23 countries in August 2026, ahead of the FIFA World Cup, and finds sponsorship budgets recovering after two years of tight marketing spend. 51.5% of buyers plan to increase their sponsorship investment in 2026/27, and 29.4% expect to raise spend by more than 20%.
The survey also tracks a decisive shift toward women’s sport, now ranked among the top four forces reshaping sponsorship strategy, above esports and athlete activism. 69.1% of brands are investing in or actively considering women’s sport, the lowest divestment rate anywhere in the dataset.
Other findings include a shift in AI’s role from back-office measurement to fan-facing activation, with 83.3% of buyers now willing to consider an AI-powered fan activation, and measurability moving from differentiator to baseline expectation, rated the highest priority by 70.6% of senior buyers.
“Women’s sport has stopped being a values-led gesture,” said Andrew Walsh, CEO of Platformation and author of the study. “It’s now a mainstream allocation decision.”
If you’d like to talk through what the results mean for your partnerships, we’d be glad to help.
Contact us: info@platformation.global
Related read: Platformation Work: Sponsorship Decision Maker Survey
And: Platformation Insight: SDMS 2026: The Full Picture
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About Platformation: Platformation Enterprise Services Limited is a specialist sponsorship valuation agency, ISO 9001:2015 certified (Certificate No. GB2006233). The only sponsorship valuation agency, to our knowledge, whose methodology has been tested in a court of law. platformation.global
