Work
Proprietary brand-side research into how senior sponsorship decision-makers think, plan and spend.
The situation
Back in 2018, Platformation identified a gap in the market. The industry had plenty of commentary on sponsorship trends, but very little primary research into how the most senior brand buyers actually made decisions. What did they prioritise? What did they worry about? What would change their appetite for investment?
Those questions were not being answered directly. The Sponsorship Decision Maker Survey was built to answer them.
The need
Rights holders, brands and agencies needed a reliable, independent picture of what senior decision-makers actually think — not in theory, but in the data. Longitudinal research, run on a consistent methodology year on year, so that shifts in sentiment and strategy could be tracked with confidence rather than inferred from anecdote.
Our approach
Each wave of the SDMS surveys senior sponsorship decision-makers directly: heads of partnerships, commercial directors, chief marketing officers, and their equivalents, across multiple countries and sectors. The questionnaire covers budget confidence, strategic priorities, emerging properties, measurement standards, and the forces reshaping commercial partnerships.
The methodology has remained consistent since 2018, making year-on-year comparison meaningful. The 2026 wave — the fifth — surveyed 204 senior decision-makers across 23+ countries, with fieldwork completed in August 2026.
The outcome
The SDMS 2026 is 70 pages of primary data across 30+ questions, covering five waves of longitudinal context. Key findings this year include: budget confidence at its most bullish since 2022, with 51.5% of senior brand buyers planning to increase sponsorship investment in 2026/27; women’s sport moving into the top four forces reshaping sponsorship strategy; AI shifting from measurement to fan-facing activation; the FIFA World Cup resetting buyer appetite for top-tier IP; and measurability becoming a baseline expectation rather than a differentiator.
Related reading: What Are You Actually Buying When You Commission a Sponsorship Valuation?
Services
Formal KPI-driven review is now the majority position among senior brand buyers. The question is whether rights holders and agencies can meet the standard their clients now expect.
Our Services
We support organisations at different stages of the sponsorship lifecycle, from understanding value to applying insight in practice. Each service addresses a specific question, while together they provide a clear, connected view of sponsorship performance.
Client Solutions
We support the different audiences involved in sponsorship decisions, each approaching value from a distinct perspective.
What they share is the need for credible, independent evidence to support confident commercial choices.
Advising on, structuring, or activating sponsorship partnerships
Objective sponsorship insight to support confident Agency recommendations when value, pricing, or performance are challenged.
Investing in sponsorship to drive brand and commercial outcomes
We help Brands evaluate whether sponsorship investment is delivering value, connecting ROI, exposure and impact to support confident, evidence-led decisions.
Owning, managing, or commercialising sponsorship rights
Rights Holders are responsible for maximising the value of sponsorship assets while balancing pricing, renewal and long-term partner relationships. Understanding what assets deliver in practice, and how that value stands up in negotiation, is essential.