Sports sponsorship has long struggled to put a commercial value on purpose. Think Beyond’s new advisory – and the methodology behind it – aims to change that by turning impact into marketable inventory.
Think Beyond, a UK consultancy working in social impact and sustainability in sport, has launched a Commercial & Sponsorship Advisory service aimed at sports rights-holders and brands.
The offer is built around the firm’s Purpose Performance Model, which it says is designed to support the planning, activation and measurement of sponsorship strategies that incorporate social and environmental goals. Think Beyond said the model has been tested with existing clients ahead of the launch.
According to the consultancy, the advisory helps rights-holders identify and develop purpose-led assets that can be packaged and sold as standalone commercial propositions, creating revenue beyond standard sponsorship inventory. For brands, it argues the approach can strengthen audience affinity and differentiate partnership activations.
Think Beyond said the lack of a consistent methodology has made purpose-led sponsorship difficult to justify or scale. Sam Shave, Managing Partner at Think Beyond, said: “We believe that in an age when rights-holders are under increasing financial pressure and looking at how to maximize the value of their inventory, this is an overlooked and under-developed area.”
The service covers partnership strategy, purpose integration, activation design and performance measurement. The consultancy has appointed Oly Meade as Senior Director to lead the advisory. Meade joins from Three UK, where he was Sponsorship Lead. Shave said the hire was central to formalising the offering.
