A large sponsorship portfolio — sport, music, festivals — had grown deal by deal across markets, with rights under-leveraged, activation booked through scattered agencies on opaque terms, and no central view of what the group paid or owned. Renewals ran on inertia and activation cost ballooned.
VA pulled scattered activation into one integrated platform, built a structured market-by-market panel on transparent terms and defined clear activation briefs per property — so every property earns its place and every right is activated for measurable value.
Head of Brand, Head of Communication, Head of Marketing Procurement
The strategic problem
A large sponsorship portfolio — sport, music, festivals — had grown deal by deal across markets, with rights under-leveraged, activation booked through scattered agencies on opaque terms, and no central view of what the group paid or what it actually owned. Renewals ran on inertia and activation cost ballooned.
Diagnose & Design
VA ran a marketing & production ecosystem audit and spend mapping & cost baseline analysis across the full portfolio — sport, music and festivals — covering rights fees, activation cost and utilisation rates, applying a zero-tolerance test on opaque agency cost. A fixed-term utilisation-and-value review then weighed each property against market benchmarks of value and renewal terms, with AURA/FRC (Fulltime Ratecard Calculator) used in the commercial assessment. Governance design (RACI, KPI framework, scorecards) and a phased transformation roadmap closed the diagnostic, establishing which properties earned their place and which did not.
Ecosystem & Remuneration
VA designed the partner ecosystem for activation, opening with a cross-agency alignment workshop that pulled scattered activation into one integrated platform. Roster rationalisation & consolidation built a structured, market-by-market panel, and a remuneration model design with fee benchmarking & validation made costs transparent and comparable. Scoping & SOW design defined clear activation briefs per property, while the incumbent partner challenge surfaced where existing agencies were not delivering value commensurate with their position on the roster.
Rollout & relationship management
Contracting & onboarding formalised the redesigned activation roster with standardised agreements covering rights utilisation, deliverables and exit terms; handover, rollout & commitment tracking then ensured that each market activated its properties on the agreed calendar. AURA/Planner back-planned the rollout to two dates — renewal windows and campaign go-lives — tracking that commitments were honoured, while relationship management sustained the governance cadence through the full transition.
Execution Oversight
VA exercised bid governance over activation production, applying production cost validation & budget control to prevent cost inflation at rights-renewal and campaign execution. Usage rights, talent & licensing management brought oversight to a portfolio where rights had frequently been exceeded or left unleveraged. Wrap & final reconciliation at each renewal and campaign cycle closed the loop between planned and actual spend.
Performance Measurement
KPIs and scorecards from governance design — rights-utilisation rate, activation cost per property, cost per engagement — tracked via partner performance evaluation on a 90/180/360 appraisal cadence; cost saving and cost avoidance reported separately. Outcomes: 18% reduction in sponsorship and activation cost, 14% cost avoidance from exited and renegotiated rights, 60% rationalisation of the activation roster (today closure reports; full performance measurement on the roadmap).
Why VA
Sponsorship is bought on passion and renewed on inertia. VA governs the portfolio so every property earns its place and every right is activated for measurable value.
Common questions
What is sponsorship portfolio governance?
Central oversight of rights and activation across every property — a structured agency panel on transparent terms, clear activation briefs and rights-utilisation tracking — replacing deal-by-deal growth with no view of what is paid or owned.
How do you cut sponsorship cost without weakening the portfolio?
By exiting and renegotiating under-leveraged rights, consolidating activation onto one governed panel and briefing each property clearly — so cost falls while rights are actually used for measurable value.
How are renewals kept from running on inertia?
KPIs like rights-utilisation rate and activation cost per property are reviewed on a 90/180/360 cadence — so each property must earn its renewal on evidence rather than habit.