How Sponsorship Can Help Brands Navigate a Turbulent World
Author - Norm O’Reilly
Just a few years ago this would have been a silly question to ask, but since clicking into the decade of the 2020’s, the world – and the sponsorship world – have been turned upside down, sideways, down and up again. After sponsorship was stalled (for the most part) during the pandemic, it has bounced back in a more advanced, digital, and innovative way since.
This has been well documented in many reports, but most impactfuly in our own Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study (CSLS): sponsorship in the past couple of years has grown rapidly, adopted better analytical tools, embraced technology, and seen the rise of agencies dedicated to the discipline. At a recent talk for the Sponsorship Marketing Council of Canada, I characterised it as the 'golden age of sponsorship.'
But let's hold that optimism for a moment and consider the turbulent world in which we live. Regional wars, supply chain bottlenecks, closing borders, and investments in military installations are characterising our news, our feeds, and our conversations. What does that mean for sponsorship - and for the brands that rely on it?
TL;DR
Global conflict and geopolitical turbulence are creating new pressures on brands and their partners.
Academic research suggests marketing — and by extension sponsorship — can reduce the negative impacts of conflict.
Five concrete actions exist for brands, properties, and agencies to activate meaningfully during turbulent times.
Sponsorship, done with purpose, can be a force for community recovery — not just brand visibility.
The brands that show up during difficult times are the ones that earn lasting trust.
What Does Academic Research Tell Us About Marketing in Conflict?
This question led me to revisit a special issue published just over a year ago in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, on the topic of "Marketing to End War, Create Peace, and Enhance Sustainable Well-Being," edited by Clifford Shultz, Jose Rosa, and Alan Malter. A series of peer-reviewed articles argued that marketing could reduce the negative impacts of war and other conflicts.
Topics covered included refugees as consumers, marketing activism by war-torn communities, brands using marketing to rehabilitate their image or attract customers, and the role of CEO communications. The research is rigorous and the implications are real.
Sponsorship, as a key component of marketing, could be - by extension - a tool that brands with international presence and global audiences adopt to help mitigate the negative consequences of conflict: from contributing to shorter conflict timelines to aiding in the recovery of the countries, communities, and organizations involved.
Why Does This Matter for Brands Right Now?
Brands that operate globally cannot afford to ignore the geopolitical context in which their sponsorships exist. Partnerships that were forged in stable times may look different — or feel hollow — when a community is under duress. The question is not whether to act, but how.
The CSLS has shown us that cause marketing is back as a priority category, and brands are diversifying into community rooted properties at rates not seen since before the pandemic. Community trust is not just a nice-to-have; it is a measurable return on objective. Brands that activate with purpose during difficult times build deeper belonging than those that stay silent.
Five Sponsorship Actions Brands Can Take Right Now
Building from the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing special issue and insights from the CSLS, here are five actions that brands, properties, and agencies can pursue:
Integrate the CEO in activations with a sponsored property impacted by the conflict. Visible leadership signals authentic commitment, not just corporate obligation.
Activate using product placements that directly help individuals - including refugees -impacted by the conflict. Usefulness is its own form of brand storytelling.
For brands whose reputation could use some rebuilding, leverage existing partnerships with activations focused on showcasing meaningful support for affected communities.
For global properties that are impacted, seek out brand partners - even at reduced cost - who are willing to activate with purpose and visibility.
For agencies, foster partnerships between brands and properties that both stand to benefit from reducing the conflict's impact on communities and commerce.
What Does a Purpose-Driven Sponsorship Activation Actually Look Like?
You might ask, what would one of these five look like?
Well, an example of the type of activation that could result from these scenarios above would be a logistics, architecture or construction company (brand) supporting efforts (activation) to rebuild a community (property), in a community-based sponsorship effort.
Elements might include a ‘remember’ campaign, public art, rebuilt schools, commentary by affected people, donation matching, and co-branded community integration.
T1's POV: Sponsorship Can Be a Force for Good - If It's Built That Way
At T1, we believe sponsorship is most powerful when it is rooted in community, measured against real objectives, and activated with genuine intent. During turbulent times, the brands that earn lasting trust are not the ones that go quiet — they are the ones that show up, activate with meaning, and own their impact.
It may be a leap. But sponsorship can help.