Connected, Trusted, Effective: What the IPA and Bauer Study Means for Irish Sponsorship Activation

Connected media planning is under the microscope, and sponsorship has a stake in the result. The PPA reported on 4 November 2026 that the IPA and Bauer Media study Winning The Great Brand Race analysed 569 campaigns from the IPA Effectiveness Databank between 2010 and 2024. Campaigns combining audio, out of home and publishing reported 33% more brand effects and 8% more business effects than campaigns using none of them. The study does not examine sponsorship directly, but its logic matters to an Irish market that ONSIDE projects at €247 million in 2026.

That caveat shapes a measured but optimistic reading. Connected planning offers sponsors a promising route from rights fees to results, and Irish properties are well placed to benefit. Three findings stand out: the gains in trust, the strength of activation, and the case for integration across channels.

Campaigns using all three channels were 69% more likely to report very large improvements in brand trust, alongside gains of 43% in perceived quality and 30% in brand commitment. Trust is the currency of sponsorship, because fans reward brands that feel part of their community. A sponsor heard in commentary, seen at the roadside and read in the matchday programme builds familiarity and credibility cumulatively, not through a single placement.

The activation finding is equally encouraging. Some 45% of campaigns using all three channels reported large or very large activation effects, against 15% of campaigns using none. For sponsors, brand activation is where rights fees are won or lost, and this suggests brand-building channels can also drive action. The caveats deserve respect: the data covers award-entered campaigns, findings are associations rather than proof of cause, and The Media Leader notes the analysis was carried out for Bauer, which sells all three channels.

Integration is where Ireland can gain most. The IPA and Sponsorship Effectiveness Forum reported in October that only 17% of respondents consistently set commercial objectives, measure impact and integrate sponsorship with wider brand communications. Those that do all three are almost six times more likely to be confident of commercial results. ONSIDE reports that nearly four in ten Irish sponsors plan to use AI for measurement in 2026 for the first time, so the tools to prove sponsorship ROI are arriving.

Three actions follow for Irish C-suites. Sponsors should build sponsorship strategy around a connected channel plan, not a single placement. Rights holders should package audio, outdoor and publishing inventory within media partnerships alongside the rights. Both should track brand trust beside awareness, so that sponsorship marketing is judged on the outcomes the evidence links to growth.

Integrated sponsorship earns trust, and trust earns returns. Irish properties that connect their channels, and prove results, will lead the field.