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Benedikt Becker
Marketing Director
Insights / 3 Min.
Nayeemul Islam
Junior Content Marketer
The Sponsorship Sentiment Tracker by the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) for Wave 18 of 2024 highlights a growing divide in the confidence levels within the sponsorship ecosystem. While agencies and rights holders have hit record levels of optimism, brand sentiment is on a downward slide.
While the overall industry trends upward, the decline in brand sentiment from 7.4 to 7.1 signals a potential shift that can't be ignored.
Brands are the financial backbone of the sponsorship ecosystem. They fuel the campaigns and investments that keep rights holders and agencies thriving. But when brand confidence wanes, the ripple effects can jeopardize the entire sponsorship value chain.
The sentiment dip is more than just a number, it reflects growing concerns from brands about their return on investment. In 2025, brands will be asking tougher questions:
Is their sponsorship investment delivering measurable outcomes?
Are they receiving timely, transparent, and actionable insights?
Are they getting the full picture beyond just visibility metrics?
Unfortunately, many brands are still navigating blind spots in their sponsorship strategies due to outdated or fragmented reporting practices.
Let's consider why brands might be losing confidence. As Benedikt Becker, Marketing Director at Shikenso Analytics, highlighted in his recent LinkedIn post, brands face key challenges in understanding their sponsorship ROI due to delayed and fragmented reporting. In his words:
Brands often face:
❌ Delayed insights: Reports that arrive too late to influence active campaigns.
❌ Lack of transparency: Missing the granular data needed to evaluate individual sponsorship/brand placements.
❌ Narrow analysis: A focus on visual impressions but limited integration of sentiment, text, and audio metrics.
❌ Data silos: Multiple tools that don't speak to each other, forcing managers to piece insights together manually.
This disjointed approach creates uncertainty, leaving brands unable to confidently assess their sponsorship performance or trust in its value.
At Shikenso Analytics, we understand the challenges brands face, and we're committed to providing solutions that empower confident decision-making. Here's how we help:
Forget waiting months for reports. Our platform delivers insights in days, so you can optimize campaigns on the fly.
We go beyond visibility metrics to analyze audio, text, and sentiment offering a 360-degree view of sponsorship impact.
Our reports break down individual placements, showing exactly where and how your sponsorships are performing.
Eliminate data silos with a single platform that consolidates impressions, media value, and sentiment in one place.
Harness the power of AI to uncover patterns, predict trends, and unlock deeper insights.
As the ESA report shows, the sponsorship ecosystem is only as strong as its brands. For the industry to thrive, we must prioritize transparency, speed, and actionable data.
“Can you walk confidently when you don't see (or see too late) where you're stepping? No way!"
Benedikt Becker, VP Marketing, Shikenso Analytics
Building trust in sponsorships starts with clear insights and accountability. By addressing blind spots and embracing a more transparent approach, brands can not only shift the narrative but also lead the way in setting new benchmarks for sponsorship confidence in 2025 and beyond.
