The activation of sponsorship rights is more creatively and strategically complex than ever – but the potential rewards are far greater too. The challenge for marketers is to keep up with the most relevant ways of maximising value and to stay ahead of the competition. Activative provides intelligence and insight services that help our clients – rights owners, brands, agencies and professional services – remain at the forefront of this evolving landscape.

Our role is to advise, analyse, explore, filter and stimulate marketers across the entire space – from traditional sponsorships, to brand tie-ins, strategic collaborations and commercial partnerships. We provide clients and subscribers with trends insights, activation stimulus, creative idea generation, competitor/sector analysis and strategic planning. Through our interactive trends and showcase magazine, online monitoring source and our research and consultancy we guide sponsorship professionals through this changing space.

The old sponsorship model, based on one directional brand-biased claims, vanilla hospitality, badging brands with logos, eyeball metrics, cost per thousand, reach and frequency, is being replaced by one founded on authenticity, customisation, dialogue, interactivity and permissive engagement. Sponsorship is flourishing in this new communications environment as brands seek symbiotic and passionate platforms around which to build consumer conversations. So we focus on emerging strategies and tactics, original and innovative ideas, future-facing media and new technologies across the sponsorship community – from sports, music, arts and culture, to education, ecology, cause and CSR.

Activative looks beyond the sponsorship stalwarts of logo rights, arena billboards, shirt sponsorship, celebrity spokespeople, on-pack ticket promotions and traditional above-the-line advertising, and focuses on original ideas and fresh initiatives that leverage new technologies and trends, including: ambush and guerrilla work; branded content and entertainment; blogs and social media; consumer creation; experiential and interactive; gaming and video; utilities; word of mouth; and relationship marketing.

We seek out the unconventional, champion daring ideas and analyse breakthrough thinking. Our team is committed to innovative thinking. We are not a mouthpiece for the profession, the rights holders or the sponsors themselves. The real value of our work lies in linking trends and making connections, exploring new ideas and identifying original approaches. We offer independent research and objective analysis and use this to make directional insights and actionable recommendations.

For further information please email Jeremy Edwards at  jeremy.edwards@activative.co.uk or call on 02081445345 / 07818416572