Dentsu Sports Analytics and consumer data specialists Fonto have announced the official Australian launch of SponsorshipBI, a platform that measures a sponsorship’s true business impact.
Since launching in the market in 2023, dentsu Sports Analytics, a global offering in conjunction with MKTG Sports + Entertainment (MKTG), has provided expert research, data, and analytics insights to brands and rights holders, driving better outcomes across the sports and entertainment measurement industry.
SponsorshipBI – first tested locally through a Cricket Australia pilot program – is a platform that links traditional “top of funnel” brand impact metrics of sponsorship to actual transactions by fans.
Phil Rigby, acting head of commercial development at Cricket Australia, said: “We engaged with dentsu Sports Analytics and MKTG to leverage the power of SponsorshipBI because it provides a new level of insight into how sponsorship connects brands with fans through sport and ultimately creates significant business impact for our sponsors.
“The ability to link fan transactions directly to sponsorship activities is a game-changer in demonstrating the true value of our commercial partnerships.”
The platform launched earlier this year in the US following a successful pilot demonstrating the business impact of NFL and NBA sponsorships in partnership with dentsu sister agency Merkle’s Merkury platform.
In Australia, dentsu Sports Analytics has partnered with Sydney-based consumer data and research group Fonto to connect with financial data from over 70,000 Australians, making this the first non-US market to access SponsorshipBI.
“We know that despite all the data that’s now available—from reach and viewership to exposure and brand health tracking—less than 1 in 5 people in our industry say they can very confidently measure the business return of their sponsorships,” Martin Ansell, head of strategy and insights at dentsu Sports Analytics and MKTG, said.
“Those top-of-funnel measures will always be an important part of the story. But now, with SponsorshipBI, we can look further down the consumer funnel to actual, verified transactions and track the spending or market share differences between fans and non-fans. SponsorshipBI paints a fuller picture of how fans behave throughout the fan experience—from being exposed to sponsorship, to spending their hard-earned cash on sponsors’ products.”
Ben Dixon, CEO of Fonto, added: “We are delighted to partner with dentsu Sports Analytics to build a new capability in the sports sponsorship arena. The ability to link longitudinal transactional data with consumer research at an individual level is completely unique and will make the measurement of sponsorship spend far more accurate going forward.”