10 questions, no sign-up. Answer for one sports partnership, from the sponsoring brand’s side; agencies and rights holders answer for the brand they work with.
- 1Inventory Buy
- 2Rights Activation
- 3Creative Platform
- 4Distinctive Asset
- 5Category Advantage
- 6Brand Narrative
The model describes how far a sponsorship is integrated into the brand’s wider marketing, from logo exposure, supply rights and hospitality at Stage 1 to a partnership the brand would be meaningfully different without at Stage 6.
Where a partnership sits is significantly associated with confidence that it delivers business results. Confidence rises from 28% at Stages 1–2 to 47% at Stage 3 and above, and peaks at Stage 4. Yet 69% of partnerships sit at Stages 1–3.
The model was developed and validated by Rory Natkiel for All To Play For, the first report on sports sponsorship ever published by the IPA.
Question 1 of 10
Stage of 6
Some of your answers point higher, but Stage 3 is defined by a consistent creative idea. Without one, the partnership holds at Stage 2.
- 1Inventory Buy
- 2Rights Activation
- 3Creative Platform
- 4Distinctive Asset
- 5Category Advantage
- 6Brand Narrative
The three fundamentals
All To Play For found three practices that separate partnerships people are confident in. The Confident were nearly six times as likely as the rest to practise all three (34% against 6%), and only 17% of the sample did.
The questions worth asking
A self-assessment can place a partnership on the model. Knowing why it sits there, and what it would take to move it up, needs a more structured look.
If you can answer all of these, you probably don’t need us. If even one makes you pause, it’s worth a conversation.