Sponsoring dominated by sport and social media
The ZHAW study “Sponsor Visions Schweiz” reveals that sponsorship today predominantly takes place on social media. Sport continues to attract the most sponsorship money, receiving over half of the overall sponsorship budget.
Increasing digitalisation and consumers’ changing media habits also have an impact. In an attempt to raise their profile, 96% of Swiss businesses integrate their social media platforms into their sponsorship strategy, while more than half of them use these activities to disseminate content relevant to their target groups. This is one of the findings of “Sponsor Visions Schweiz”, a study conducted jointly by the ZHAW School of Management and Law, the Association of Swiss Advertisers (SWA), the Fachverband für Sponsoring (FASPO) (Sponsorship Agency Association), Sponsoring Schweiz and the communications agency Felten & Compagnie for the third time. More than 80 companies of all sizes and from all sectors participated in the survey in 2017.
Sponsorship investment on the increase
Companies increasingly invest in sponsorship activities. On average, over a fifth of a company’s marketing budget is allocated to sponsorship activities today, the number one beneficiary being sport. Sport-related sponsoring has received the largest share of the budget for years, but still increased by 15% compared to 2014. In 2017, roughly 53% of the “cake” went to sport, followed by culture with 17%. However, sport is not just the largest beneficiary of sponsorship deals, it is also the area in which companies are most involved, with 80% of participants naming it as their area of choice. Culture and corporate responsibility (51% each) are also popular, followed by media at 31%.
Football and ice hockey at the top
Swiss wrestling, triathlon and floorball enjoy increasing popularity among sponsors. “However, it might be a while before these newcomers manage to catch up with football and ice hockey,” says ZHAW researcher Leticia Labaronne. With 47% of companies engaged in sponsoring these two sports, they share the top ranking, followed by alpine skiing (26%), running (23%), Swiss wrestling (21%), cross-country skiing and mountain-biking (19% each). Sponsors identify the greatest growth potential in e-sports, which currently enjoy a mere 5% of the share. “While sponsoring money is broadly distributed in Switzerland, football is in a decidedly dominant position in Germany and Austria,” Labaronne adds.
Rock and pop music
Companies engaged in sponsorship deals in the culture sector often support rock and pop music events (44%). However, classical music (33%), museums and cultural heritage preservation, satire and comedy, drama and theatre (31% each), film and jazz music (28% each) are also popular with sponsorship partners. It is estimated that the significance of culture in sponsoring will remain relatively stable. Half of Swiss companies support cultural institutions even without the prospect of a reasonable return. “Art patronage is still a relevant factor in cultural promotion and unlikely to be fully replaced by sponsoring,” concludes the ZHAW researcher.
Improving image and profile
Corporate social responsibility is another area of growing importance, currently benefiting from roughly 13% of the overall sponsorship budget. While this may be a comparatively small share, more than half of the companies participating in the survey are active in this field. For many sponsors, the promotion of social commitment is an increasingly important concern. However, improving their company’s image and raising its’ profile remain the key drivers for corporate sponsors.
Contact
Leticia Labaronne, ZHAW School of Management and Law, Center for Arts Management, phone 058 934 71 07, e-mail leticia.labaronne@zhaw.ch
ZHAW Corporate Communications, phone 058 934 75 75, e-mail medien@zhaw.ch