Defining best practice and shared standards 

The first edition of SEF's Sponsorship Measurement Best Practice Guide provides a practical framework for measuring the commercial contribution of sponsorship and considers what this means for how brands, rights holders and agencies plan, evaluate and justify their partnerships.

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Rather than treating sponsorship measurement as a separate discipline, it seeks consensus on measurement with the wider marketing industry. It draws on established advertising effectiveness concepts and research, including the work of Binet and Field and the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, adapted to the particular conditions of sponsorship.

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The guide covers:

• setting integrated objectives that ladder back to a business goal

• selecting KPIs and measurement tools, and establishing a baseline

• designing incrementality tests proportionate to budget

• triangulating evidence and building a chain of evidence from exposure to value

• calculating profit and return on investment 

It is intended for all levels of experience, from entry-level novices to industry veterans, and a worked example follows a fictional fashion brand's Women's Super League partnership through all seven stages to bring the concepts to life. ​

The guide is authored by SEF co-founder and chair Rory Natkiel, with contributions from Bruce Cook (SponsorLab) and Billy Ryan (the7stars). It offers a common standard for evaluating sponsorship with the rigour expected of other marketing investments, for organisations and budgets of all sizes.