By Mark Harrison

I am not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. Nor do I have much talent or desire to make predictions about the economy, the world, or my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers, although I can predict with a high degree of certainty that we won’t win the Super Bowl this year.

I often head into a new year with a mangled sense of optimism and concern that tilts to optimism because I am naturally a glass-overflowing person.

Yet, 2025 is giving me some pause as I look around at a world wrestling with war, food & housing insecurity, political fireworks, and economic malaise. You may have your own list of concerns on both a micro and macro level that are keeping you up at night. This is the time we need to act like the best race car drivers in the world and remember that if we look at the wall, we will run into it, and the only course is to focus on the open road ahead.

For sponsorship marketers, what is that road? How fast will it allow us to drive? Are there unexpected curves ahead, perhaps inclement weather or bad drivers? What course should we set our GPS to follow?

My personal, and therefore biased, roadmap says that we should be very excited about the destinations ahead for the industry. Economists may say otherwise. Fine. I have already declared to you that I am an optimist.

Some of my optimism is rooted in the pessimism around us. That is because I have experienced several major economic crises during my tenure. Each time the marketing world has seen marketing budgets under attack, the opportunity to directly engage with the consumer proves to be a resilient strategy in the brand playbook. Whether at a conference, music festival, or charity run, a sponsor who cleverly activates generates the rewards of new leads, in-store support, and brand affinity. So when the media world is hard hit with massive budget cuts, your response as a sponsorship practitioner is to put forward an alternative that costs 1/3 of mass spending and can deliver 3X the impact.

A second reason for my optimism is that today's tools help validate our pursuit of the right audiences for our brands. For those of you old enough to remember doing sponsorship marketing at the start of the last quarter century, also known as Y2K, I dare you to recall what platform, data stacks, tools or software existed to allow you to identify consumer preferences and affinities. Similarly, what did we have at our disposal for tracking, measuring, evaluating and optimizing our programs? Today, we have the equipment to do the job, when in the past, our DIY efforts were not only a significant lift but were unconvincing to CEO’s and CFO’s.

Combined with the need to find great value, those tools will continue to help under the radar and smaller properties thrive. The upcoming year will allow smaller properties to strut their stuff with big brands as they demonstrate the uniqueness of their offering and, correspondingly, of their audiences. Articulating this story to marketers while showing that you are a flexible, collaborative partner will resonate with budget-conscious decision-makers. The eye of the storm, which challenges more prominent properties, can be easily avoided by a more nimble, agile property.

Let’s take this third point of optimism and flip it around from the benefit it bestows on the property to the brand. As a marketer, you will be challenged in 2025 to find cost efficiencies. Often, leaders revert to the fewer, bigger, better mantra. While this may be a worthy outcome to pursue, implementers frequently confuse the end with the means. Doing fewer, bigger, better things does not mean doing less. In fact, I would argue the opposite, that you should do more specific, detailed micro activities that ladder into a discreet list of defined and focused goals. If you agree with me, take the time in 2025 to do the due diligence to find those properties you may have overlooked. They may be a unique aspect of a well-known large, an emerging, or a long-standing property that you realize how to unlock its distinctive elements once you get to know them.

As life becomes more challenging, consumers will continue to look for moments to celebrate—the big and the little. They will reward the brand that helps them enjoy the day with their family, meet their favourite artist up close, support the cultural attraction they could not afford to attend on their own or ensure their children’s hospital is ready when needed.

Sponsorship can do those things that no other marketing activity can, in good times or bad.

Mark Harrison, Founder, SponsorshipX

In an era where sponsorship accountability and impact are paramount, The ROI Forum by SponsorshipX, March 28-30, 2025, offers a strategic platform for companies to showcase leadership, engage with decision-makers, and demonstrate measurable value. More than a single event, this partnership will serve as a powerful launch point for 2025, positioning your brand at the heart of the industry’s most critical conversations around metrics, ROI, and meaningful sponsorship.

Showcase Your Expertise Through Thought Leadership: As a partner, you can lead workshops, host prospective clients, and share insights through panel discussions. The ROI Forum is an ideal stage to position your brand as a trusted resource in the metrics and sponsorship space. Shaping strategic perspectives will reinforce your brand’s leadership role in delivering accurate, measurable results.

Demonstrate Product Value with Live Demos: The ROI Forum provides a high-impact setting for live demos, allowing partners to showcase products, analytics platforms, and tools to an engaged audience. Delegates can explore and interact with your offerings in real-world applications, creating lasting connections and meaningfully supporting your brand’s value proposition.

Build Relationships with Key Clients: You’ll have exclusive opportunities to host prospective clients and foster meaningful relationships throughout the event. From private sessions to networking receptions, The ROI Forum brings together industry leaders and decision-makers, creating a valuable environment to deepen relationships and reinforce your brand’s commitment to advancing ROI and sponsorship effectiveness.

Measure Partnership Impact with SponsorshipX: Together, we will assess your involvement's reach, engagement, and ROI, providing valuable data and insights that quantify the success of your partnership. This commitment to measurement reinforces your brand’s position as a results-driven leader in sponsorship.

Brands: Drive the industry conversation on sponsorship ROI, showcasing your dedication to strategic, data-driven partnerships.

Suppliers & Service Providers: Connect with potential clients seeking innovative solutions through hosting, demos, and targeted networking.

Position your brand as a leader in sponsorship measurement and ROI. Join us at The ROI Forum by SponsorshipX, where metrics matter, the impact is measured, and your brand’s influence endures long after the event.

Be part of the essential conversations that will shape the future of sponsorship.

Global Partnerships That Caught Our Eye

By SponsorshipX

Here are a few deals and happenings that caught the eye of the SponsorshipX team over the past few days.

Responding to requests from the corporate community, the Japanese Olympic Committee and Japanese Paralympic Committee plan to allow companies to sign a single joint sponsorship contract with both bodies from 2025. This outcome has been expected for over a decade since Japan was first awarded the right to host the 2020 Games, but given conflicting policies, the two bodies have been unable to make it happen until now. Ironically, one of the most loved customs for participating athletes is a parade of Paralympians and Olympians in Tokyo to celebrate the Games. It was held in 2016 and again this past Fall. It's nice to see the collaboration go beyond symbolism, and this new relationship should increase the number of companies who associate with both bodies from the existing five.

Women’s sports are on a surge, and the proof is in the 2025 Women’s Basketball Championship rates, which have risen 250% for premium placements over 2024. This reflects the 285% rise in viewership since 2022. This rate increase is driven by viewership growth and advertiser demand, as ESPN has reported its earliest sellout ever. To put it in perspective, these rates are on par with the NBA Finals!

Speaking of women’s sports, the PWHL Takeover Tour™, which launched January 5th, seems ripe for a title sponsor to take it over. The tour features nine neutral-site regular-season games that will be played outside the League’s current complement of cities. The tour allows the PWHL to build its market reach, engage new fans, expand its media footprint, and test out possible expansion markets. The league launched neutral site regular season games in its inaugural season. It was rewarded with events such as the game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, home to a PWHL contest on March 16 and housed a U.S. professional women’s hockey attendance record of 13,736. It seems like a logical next step to integrate brand champions looking for a North American-wide presence with the fastest women’s sports in the world.

We want to hear from you if you have a unique perspective, activation, or partnership worth sharing! Whether you’re a marketer, a creator, or an unsung hero driving results, this is your platform to shine. Send your stories and ideas to [email protected].