Guide · Sponsorship
How to evaluate a sports sponsorship, and what it should cost
For marketing, community and CSR teams deciding whether a sports event sponsorship is worth it, from a community bike race to anything else.
Most sponsorship decisions get made on a feeling: the event seems nice, the price seems fair. This guide gives you a better way to decide, and the questions that separate a good organizer from a good pitch.
It works for any sports event. Where we use the Berkeley Omnium as an example, the numbers come from official results and the club's own published figures.
The short answer
Evaluate a sports sponsorship by starting from one objective, choosing the activation that serves it, agreeing up front how you'll measure it, and checking the event's audience and impact against sources rather than estimates. Cost depends on the audience, scale, exclusivity, placement, activation and what the organizer actually delivers.
Start with the objective
Before you look at packages, decide what the sponsorship is for. Most come down to one of these:
- Brand awareness with a specific audience
- Product trial
- Community impact
- Employee engagement
- Leads or new customers
- Customer relationships
- Content for your own channels
If you can't name the objective, you can't judge the price, the activation or the result.
Objective, activation, metric, result
For each objective, write down the activation that serves it, what you'll count, and what result would make it worth doing again.
| Objective | Activation | Metric | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product trial | Racer samples or podium prizes | Samples given out, offer redemptions | Follow-up sales or sign-ups |
| Community impact | Support for a youth program | Dollars given, participants, what it paid for | The organizer's impact report |
| Employee engagement | A volunteer crew | Employees taking part, hours | What employees say, and whether they come back |
| Local customers | A discount for racers and families | Code redemptions | New customers through the door |
| Brand awareness | A named race or prize sprint | Mentions and photos you can see | Recall among the people you care about, if you survey them |
| Content | Photo and video of your moment | Usable photos and clips | How they perform on your channels |
Don't promise yourself a return the event can't measure. A community race can tell you how many racers started, from the official results, and where its proceeds went. It usually can't tell you impressions or brand lift. Measure what you control: redemptions, conversations, samples and volunteers.
How much does event sponsorship cost?
There's no standard price. These are the things that move it:
- Audience: who attends and how many, with a source.
- Scale: one race, a weekend or a season.
- Exclusivity: whether you're the only brand in your category.
- Placement: title or presenting partner versus a supporting role.
- Activation: staff, space and products you'll bring.
- Digital exposure: the website, emails and social posts that come with it.
- Hospitality: guests, passes or a hosted space, if there are any.
- Product requirements: how much product the event needs from you.
- Content rights: whether you can use the event's photos and video.
Price it against your objective, not against the size of the event, and ask what's included at each level in writing.
Questions to ask before sponsoring an event
- Who attends, and what's the source for that number?
- How many people take part, and how many come to watch?
- What does this audience care about?
- What exactly is included, in writing?
- Can we activate, and where?
- Is there category exclusivity?
- What happens before and after the event: website, emails, social posts?
- Where does the money go?
- How is impact measured and reported?
- Can our employees take part?
- What does success look like for both of us?
What a good sponsorship proposal includes
Whatever you're considering, a good organizer should be able to give you:
- The audience, with sources
- The event and its history
- The impact, and where the money goes
- The assets on offer, and which are confirmed
- Activation options
- How success will be measured
- Deliverables in writing
- A timeline, with deadlines for prizes, products and artwork
- A named person to talk to
If a proposal is mostly logos and superlatives, ask for the numbers behind it.
Red flags
- Attendance figures with no source.
- Promised impressions nobody will measure.
- "Exposure" with no detail about where, when or to whom.
- No clear answer to where the money goes.
- Pressure to commit before the details are written down.
Evaluating the Berkeley Omnium
We'd rather you evaluate us properly than sponsor on a feeling. Start with where the money goes, then pick the race and the moment that fits your objective.
Not sure which race fits? The road race and the criterium suit different goals.
Tell us your objective, and we'll tell you honestly whether the Berkeley Omnium fits it.
Questions
How to evaluate a sports sponsorship, and what it should cost: FAQ
How do you evaluate a sports sponsorship?
Start with one objective, choose the activation that serves it, agree how you'll measure it before the event, and check the organizer's audience and impact figures against sources rather than estimates.
How do you measure sponsorship ROI?
Measure what you can track yourself: samples given out, code redemptions, conversations, sign-ups, volunteers and content. Most community events can report participants and where their proceeds went, but not impressions or brand lift.
How much does it cost to sponsor a local sports event?
There's no standard price. Cost depends on the audience, scale, exclusivity, placement, activation, digital exposure, hospitality, product requirements and content rights. Many community events also accept products or services instead of cash.
What should a sponsorship proposal include?
The audience with sources, the event and its history, the impact and where the money goes, the assets on offer, activation options, how success will be measured, written deliverables, a timeline and a named contact.
What questions should you ask before sponsoring an event?
Who attends and the source for it, what's included in writing, whether you can activate, whether there's category exclusivity, where the money goes, how impact is reported, whether employees can take part, and what success looks like.