In the past year, this area has been impacted by major changes, returns and departures. "Rights holders are adapting to new realities and setting trends that will define the future of the industry," writes the SportBusiness Sponsorship website in its forecast, from which we select the most interesting expected trends.
AI takes root in sport
Artificial intelligence is expected to be the fastest growing category this year, with several major deals between tech companies and sports organisations already announced last year (mostly involving the expansion of existing partnerships just to include AI).
The most significant was the technology partnership between Lenovo and the International Football Federation (FIFA) in October, worth around $230 million. The world's largest MMA organization, the UFC, also got its first AI sponsor, signing IBM.
Conversely, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) lost out to Intel, which provided AI technology for last year's Paris Games, according to SportBusiness Sponsorship. However, no extension of the original contract until 2024 has been officially announced, and the IOC still counts Intel among its partners.
The end of the brandless Olympics?
Speaking of the Olympics, the ones in Paris produced something of a breakthrough in product placement when the Louis Vuitton suitcases from LVMH, which was a local partner of the Games, appeared in TV footage during the opening ceremony. Since the IOC lost three Japanese partners last year (Toyota, Panasonic, Bridgestone), it may be under pressure to adjust its current strategy when looking for new ones.
After all, even Jiri Kejval, who is responsible for this area within the IOC, confirmed at the Sport Alive conference that brands are likely to start appearing a lot more under the five rings. "Product placement is the way we will have to go," he mentioned.
Nike is making
The US sportswear brand is looking to boost its flagging relevance with consumers and new or renewed major sports partnerships are set to help. Last year it re-upped deals with the US NFL and NBA leagues and the national soccer teams of France and Brazil.
And in sensational news, it announced a partnership with the German national football team (until 2027), which has been supplied with sports equipment by the home-grown Adidas. Nike was to 'overpay' its rival with a commitment to support football at a lower level.
Bookmakers hungry for football
It is not only in the Czech Republic, where Chance won a tender for a title partnership with the league last year for a quarter of a billion crowns a year, that bookmakers are hungry for a link to a successful football product. Bet365 has become the first ever betting brand to sponsor the Champions League (until 2027).
European federation UEFA opened up the category altogether when it partnered with Betan not only for last year's Euros, but also for two European Cups - the Europa and Conference Leagues.
Source: mam.cz