From broadcast to breakthrough: Realising the power of global sponsorship assets locally

Yet, these same global sponsors too often settle for little more than a local broadcast buy. It’s an illogical dynamic – and one that leads to missed opportunities.

Because local marketing teams inherit these rights 'for free', there is a tendency to undervalue, underestimate, and under-appreciate what can still be achieved, often assuming the job is done with a media buy applying the global creative assets. It isn’t. Without genuine activation, this approach is little more than garage décor – an exquisite car idling behind the gate. From my experience, brands typically allocate less than a third on leverage/activation for every rand spent on rights when they invest in local sponsorship properties. That leaves significant value on the table and is typically the result of rights fees that command a substantial proportion of the marketing and sponsorship budget.

Author: Struan Campbell, managing director at Futures Sport and Entertainment Africa

For brands fortunate enough to have access to global platforms that attract widespread local devotion, there’s a shrewd way of looking at it: recognise the strength of a fully leveraged (no rights costs) opportunity. Maximise value by building stronger connections and benefits around the world’s most sought-after sponsorships, where there is significant local demand.

To illustrate, we only need to look at football. The English Premier League and UEFA Champions League consistently outrank local football interest among SEM 7–10 audiences. Both competitions regularly attract quarter-million-plus average-minute audiences. The Premier League provides more than 700 hours of live matches on Supersport alone, complemented by the country's most popular fantasy sports participation with over 250,000 registered users – the Fantasy Premier League.

More than ten major companies operate in South Africa within those two properties alone. Yet, most of these brands don’t leverage what’s in front of them. Some even inexplicably spend large amounts on local rights that, at best, provide a similar or inferior impact in this position. This doesn’t mean that buying locally isn’t worthwhile, but in many cases, it can be a real waste of money through unnecessary duplication.

The Euro 2024 final between England and Spain attracted a higher average audience per minute on SuperSport than any Springbok match in the past year, which really highlights the potential. The 2026 FIFA World Cup looms large, with huge interest from the South African audience – if Bafana Bafana qualify, the moment multiplies.

Other valuable opportunities on the horizon that brands with rights should consider as full leverage with multi-faceted campaigns include AFCON 2025, the ICC Women’s and Men’s World Cups, and the F1 season.

I haven’t even touched on global teams with local followings – a similar opportunity.

If you already have access to a locally relevant, compelling global proposition, you simply need the right backing and execution. These mega properties provide a stage; it’s up to the South African marketing teams to realise the value.

How South African brands with global rights can win:

1. Understand your audience and the extent of local engagement that your global sponsorship properties command.

2. Identify the rights secured by your global HQ that can be utilised locally.

3. Motivate for significant budgets – using a rationale that includes what equivalent local sponsorship rights would cost to reach the same audience, the multiplier effect these global assets can unlock across the marketing mix, and how full-scale leveraging can achieve broader marketing and business goals.

4. Develop a robust, creative leverage strategy well in advance – ideally 6 to 12 months beforehand. Engage your target audience through the platform.

5. Implement measurement methods that track against core metrics and KPIs.
   

If your brand is sponsoring major global platforms within the next 24 months, consider how you can leverage the partnership as your most significant asset.

Rights are there for the taking – upside awaits – time to convert.