Money spent on sponsorship deals are set to rise 4.9% this year, with most of the cash going on sports as it offers engaged, multi-screen audiences, according to data by the World Advertising Research Center (WARC). The report further highlighted how brands and companies are set to spend $65.8bn on sponsorship deals in 2018 without being sure of the return on investment (ROI). North America will receive the greatest share of sponsorship money from brands, with $24.2bn followed by Europe with $17.6bn, Asia-Pacific with $16.6bn, Latin America with $4.6bn and the Middle East and Africa with $2.8bn. For example Facebook recently acquired £200m Premier League broadcast rights for south-east Asia in landmark move meanwhile, at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, official sponsors got out an average of $25.8m each. WARC surveyed 500 executives globally and found that 37 % of people have a standard way to measure the impact of sponsorship, with digital and social media analysis methods.
New research suggests that sport is driving the growth of sponsorship deals globally as companies seek to take advantage of a platform which offers sustained exposure to highly engaged , multi - screen audiences . A study by the World Trade Research Center found that the majority of the 4.9 % growth in sponsorship partnerships projected for this year will come from sports , with businesses expected to spend a total of $ 65.8bn on deals in 2018 . North America will receive the greatest share of the investment at $ 24.2bn , with Europe and the Asia - Pacific region in second and third with $ 17 and $ 16.6bn , respectively .