The Pandemic Reset: Implications for Sport Management and Sport Marketing

The pandemic significantly disrupted society and several industries, including the sports industry. One of the areas most affected in the sports industry was the area of sponsorship. Sports organizations, especially those at the professional level, rely heavily on these resources to support their athletes, teams/leagues, facilities, and other sport properties. Sponsors have traditionally used sports sponsorship to heighten awareness and support for their brand, broaden their corporate exposure, and garner greater consumer loyalty. The pandemic and the commensurate economic hardship forced both sport administrators and corporate marketing leaders to rethink their sponsorship strategies and, in many cases, shift away from traditional targets to support emerging sporting events. While there is still room to grow, interest and commensurate sponsorship of women’s sport are on the rise. Hopefully, greater support for other interest-deserving groups (e.g., LGBTQ, seniors) and other sports (e.g., e-sport, alternative games) will follow suit. In this review article, the authors analyze the sports sponsorship strategies and trends before, during, and after the pandemic and provide readers with a blueprint of what may lie ahead.