Sponsorship Impact Platform Launches Down Under

Consumer data specialist Fonto has teamed up with dentsu Sports Analytics for the Australian launch of SponsorshipBI, a platform measuring a sponsorship's 'true business impact'. The roll-out follows a successful pilot program with Cricket Australia.

dentsu Sports International launched a 'sports analytics' division just over a year ago, bringing together the research, data and analytics capabilities of dentsu's data-driven marketing wing Merkle and two partner firms MKTG Sports + Entertainment and Sponsorship Research International (SRi). The new unit's offer includes custom consumer research, syndicated fan and audience data, rights valuation and measurement services.

The new SponsorshipBI platform links traditional 'top of funnel' sponsorship brand impact metrics with actual transactions by fans. The tool launched earlier this year in the US following a pilot demonstrating the business impact of NFL and NBA sponsorships in partnership with Merkle's Merkury platform. The Australian deal, the first outside the US, brings in Sydney-based consumer data and research group Fonto to connect with financial data from over 70,000 Australians.

Phil Rigby, Acting Head of Commercial Development at Cricket Australia says of the recent trial: 'the ability to link fan transactions directly to sponsorship activities is a game-changer in demonstrating the true value of our commercial partnerships'. Fonto CEO Ben Dixon (pictured) comments: 'We are delighted to partner with dentsu Sports Analytics to build a new capability in the sports sponsorship arena. The ability to link longitudinal transactional data with consumer research at an individual level is completely unique and will make the measurement of sponsorship spend far more accurate going forward'.

Martin Ansell, Head of Strategy & Insights at dentsu Sports Analytics and MKTG, says SponsorshipBI enables users 'to look further down the consumer funnel to actual, verified transactions and track the spending or market share differences between fans and non-fans'.

Web site: www.fonto.com.au .