Raising the standard of sponsorship effectiveness
The Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum is a cross-industry group that raises standards in sponsorship effectiveness. We publish research, develop shared evidence, identify best practices, and foster collaborative learning among rights holders, brands, agencies, and researchers.
New from SEF
Sponsorship Measurement:
A Best Practice Guide
SEF's latest publication tackles the eternal question of how to measure the commercial impact of sponsorship. Building on the core pillars of marketing effectiveness, the guide defines best practice from setting integrated objectives to calculating a return on investment that finance will recognise.
It distils what can seem overwhelming into a practical seven-stage process that any organisation can follow, regardless of budget. It offers the sector a common standard for evaluating sponsorship with the same rigour expected of other marketing investments.
Coming soon: All To Play For
SEF's new landmark study in partnership with the IPA
For the first time, the sponsorship sector and the marketing effectiveness community have come together to examine what defines effective sports sponsorship. In partnership with the IPA, SEF has surveyed 143 senior practitioners across brands, rights holders and agencies on how objectives are set, how effectiveness is evaluated, what is invested in measurement and how openly data is shared between partners.
The result is the first industry benchmark of sponsorship measurement since 2018, and a new north star for the sector. It identifies the fundamentals of effective sports sponsorship and introduces the Sponsorship Effectiveness Model, a diagnostic that redefines how sponsorship works for brands and shows where each partnership can go further to maximise its impact.
SEF:04
A Different
Ball Game
Wembley Stadium | Thursday 29 October
The fourth Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum marks the launch of A Different Ball Game, SEF's new research into sponsorship effectiveness in women's football, authored by Lydia Crudge of Lunar Insights. Drawing on interviews with more than 20 practitioners, the research examines how sponsors value partnerships in the women's game and proposes new measures to capture that value more accurately.
Get involved
Since launching in 2025, SEF has convened three forums, published The Sponsorship Effect and Sponsorship Measurement: A Best Practice Guide, and completed the first industry benchmark of sponsorship measurement since 2018 in partnership with the IPA.
Our programme continues through:
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new research into specific areas of sponsorship effectiveness,
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forums, working groups and further publications
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standards and guidance for sponsorship measurement and evaluation
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an expanding case study database, coded to IPA standards
SEF welcomes contributions from sponsors, rights holders and agencies committed to raising the standard of sponsorship effectiveness.