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Sport sponsorships: A whole new ballgame
Covid-19 will force the global sports industry to rethink sponsorship – a shift is expected from multiyear sponsorship deals linked to sports events, to purpose-built campaigns that are digital in nature
As sports events start to make a slow return, team and match sponsors are retooling their strategies after massive revenue losses.The UK-based sports marketing agency Two Circles estimates the global sports industry is set to miss out on over R1-trillion in revenue this year as almost half of all sports events are scrapped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.With events like the Premier Soccer League and Super Rugby postponed, the local sector has also been hit hard. Bronson Mokabela, founder and MD of Digigage Sports & Entertainment, says: "The sports industry is made up of a number of role-players and stakeholders, beyond just teams and players. It may be difficult to quantify the actual impact, but it certainly runs into the tens of millions."Others echo that concern. Clinton Paterson, head of the M&C Saatchi Abel-aligned sports marketing agency, Levergy, says: "Every part of the sporting value chain, including athletes, organisations and the many thousands of people who work in the spo...
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