Sponsorships can be a great way to gain high levels of publicity and "in your face" brand awareness at all kinds of festivals, community groups or sporting events. But, is it worth it?

Let's take a step back and look at the industry sponsorship spending overall as an indicator of performance. eMarketer research shows that sports sponsorships themselves have grown by nearly 5% annually for the past 5 consecutive years and outpaced spend and growth over any other segment including entertainment, events and causes. The growth in this space, even as the advertising landscape has become more complex, points to a growing need to connect with the customer where they are. That theory is only supported by research from various sports sponsorship studies that point to what Nick Buchanan from B&T Weekly says "is one of the best ways to build a communication path toward consumers."