Mind the sponsorship gap
How brands can reach bigger digital audiences through sponsorship
Sponsorship, when done well, is the most powerful brand-building tool at a marketer’s disposal. We’re not alone in that belief - Les Binet and Peter Field, the founding fathers of marketing effectiveness, have long championed the power of sponsorship in driving long-term brand growth.
But while sponsorship is powerful, it isn’t always effective.
Having advised brands on hundreds of sponsorships globally, we’ve seen a recurring pattern: when CMOs sign off on a partnership, the most common reason for sponsorship is access to the millions of fans who follow the property being sponsored.
Fast forward a year. When it comes to evaluating impact, we hear:
“I love what we’re doing, but I don’t feel like we’re getting our message out there.”
And they’re right.
Our research* of the top rights holders’ total fanbase and digital following shows that sponsorships activated through rights-holders digital channels, on average, only have the potential to reach only 23% of the total audience following that sport. It’s an even more striking picture if you factor in that the organic reach on owned social channels is only about 5% - which means sponsors are on average only reaching 2% of the total fan base.
If you consider that 73% of advertising spend is digital, then not only is sponsorship out of sync with the broader industry there is value being left on the table.
The gap between where audiences actually spend their time and where brands’ sponsorship messaging lands is stark and is a threat to the industry. The recent Sports Leadership Benchmark report from PTI reported that 54% of rights holders are expecting major revenue growth in the next five years from sponsorship. For the industry to continue to grow, we need to show greater value - both in demonstrating impact and in reaching significantly more fans through digital channels.
So why does this happen?
Rights holders’ limitations – they rarely have access to their entire fanbase.
Fragmented audiences – particularly in sport, where viewership is split across platforms, regions, and devices.
Underspending on digital – brands invest heavily in rights but underinvest in digital amplification.
This is the sponsorship gap.
Introducing Cascade
We created Cascade to close this gap with smarter digital amplification - ensuring brands reach more sports fans, more effectively, with sharper creative.
Here’s how it works:
Diagnosis – We assess how many of your audience you’re currently reaching through your digital rights package. This reveals the gap.
Targeting – Using your brand’s audience data, we identify the fans you’re missing and where they are.
Amplification – We use a combination of tools across social publishers, content creators and paid media channels to deliver content directly to those audiences.
Optimisation – Every campaign generates insights into what fans are talking about, and which creative performs best to inform stronger creative
Guaranteed results – A media plan that guarantees reach to your target audiences.
The primary benefit is clear: brands reach a larger and more targeted audience via their sponsorship. The secondary benefit is equally powerful: campaigns get smarter over time, generating sharper creative and richer audience insight.
Built for an AI Future
The AI revolution is set to make it even more critical for businesses to get their brand message consistently represented across credible sources. While still in its early stages, Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) will shape how large language models like ChatGPT recommend and reference brands. A key factor in this will be the strength and consistency of brand messaging across trusted channels.
This means that sponsorship activity - across rights holders, creators, social publishers, and other paid channels - will increasingly influence how brands are surfaced and represented in AI-driven environments.
This is built into our thinking and as this landscape evolves, Cascade will continue to adapt our strategies to help brands maximise their visibility and impact through GEO.
Proven in market
While this is the formal launch of Cascade, it’s far from untested. We’ve already helped brands like Under Armour and Metro Bank extend the reach and impact of their sponsorships. Cascade has been built with clients, not just for them.
For marketers, the message is simple: if sponsorship is meant to be about engaging fans at scale, it’s time to bridge the gap between promise and delivery.
To find out more about how we can help your sponsorship reach more fans email hello@spacebetweenagency.com
*GWI Sport