With the Lions Tour landing in Australia for the first time in over a decade, Jo-Ann Foo, senior director at Analytic Partners, unpacks how brands can use these events to build lasting value – and why if you’re going to invest in a rare event, you’ll need more than just a logo and a dream.
Every four years, the British & Irish Lions unite to form one of rugby’s most iconic teams – and every 12 years, they land in Australia for the famed Lions Tour. For local fans and broadcasters, this is a major moment and one marked in their calendars months, if not years, in advance.
But for marketers, it can present a difficult question: is it worth the sponsorship bucks to invest in such an infrequent event, no matter how popular it is?
On paper, the Lions Tour ticks many of the boxes that marketers love: national pride, a high-profile sporting event, a passionate fanbase and a platform to drive mass awareness. But unlike season-long codes or global tournaments with year-round engagement, the Lions Tour is short, sharp and – in the scheme of things – over in a flash.
Of course, sponsorship deals for this Tour would already be locked in. But with the spotlight now on rugby, this is a timely opportunity to reflect on how brands can make the most of rare, high-stakes sporting moments beyond the usual codes that dominate the headlines – and what it really takes to turn that exposure into long-term impact.
So how can marketers make the most of it?
Niche audiences can be a pro, not a con
There’s no denying rugby union has a smaller footprint in Australia than sports like the AFL or NRL. But what the code lacks in size, it often makes up for in depth.
Rugby fans tend to be highly engaged – and in many cases, more affluent – which can be a drawcard for brands in premium or niche categories.
In these cases, aligning with the tour may actually help to minimise media wastage. Rather than investing in broad-reach campaigns where only a fraction of the audience fits your demographic, events like the Lions Tour can help marketers go narrow and deep – provided it aligns with your brand’s customer base.
This isn’t true for everyone, of course. But for brands already active in the rugby space, or with customers that overlap with this fanbase, the Lions Tour can be a smart and efficient platform to amplify existing equity.
Don’t just show up. Build a campaign around your investment
Sponsorships rarely deliver strong ROI when they stand alone. In fact, we consistently see lower effectiveness for sponsorships that aren’t part of a broader campaign. That’s not because sponsorships don’t work – it’s because they’re often under-leveraged.
To unlock value, marketers need to look beyond the signage and build a multi-channel campaign around the moment. That means amplifying your presence across owned, earned and paid channels, integrating with content where possible and finding ways to extend the message before and after the event.
Analytic Partners’ data shows that brands who do this well can see 2-6x the ROI over the long term compared to those who don’t. When broadcast integrations are part of the mix, we’ve seen an additional 30 per cent uplift in effectiveness.
That’s the difference between a flash of exposure and a campaign that builds memory, mental availability and commercial impact.
If you’re going to invest, you need to measure it
It’s one thing to plan a great activation, but if you can’t prove the value back to the business, that spend becomes harder to defend.
Recent research we’ve conducted revealed 90 per cent of sponsorship investment goes unmeasured. In today’s budget-conscious environment, that lack of accountability can quickly become a blocker to long-term sponsorship success.
The issue isn’t that sponsorships can’t be measured. It’s that marketers often focus only on surface-level exposure metrics – like impressions or logo views – without understanding the total commercial impact across channels.
What’s needed is a more holistic approach. Measurement should capture not just the sponsorship itself, but the entire activation ecosystem around it, from media and creative to promotions, integrations and social extensions.
We’ve seen brands unlock $5-10 million in additional revenue for every $10 million spent when they accurately measure and optimise their sponsorship programs.
That means measurement isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s what separates campaigns that break even from those that generate real growth.
So if you’re planning to invest in the Lions Tour, or any major event, make sure your measurement strategy is part of the plan from day one.
Start early – it matters whether you’re already in the game
Global tournaments like World Cups or the Lions Tour don’t come around often. So when they do, brands need to start early – not just in planning activations but in thinking about how the event can drive long-term value.
If we look at Lions Tour specifically, this would present a different opportunity depending on where your brand is starting from.
If you’re already involved in rugby, it would be your moment to double down as the eyes of even the most casual fan are on the sport this winter. The Tour can then be an amplification tool for your brand sponsorship, reinforcing your long-term association and making your presence feel natural and expected.
But if you’re new to the space, the question becomes: how will you continue the story afterwards? Audiences can spot a superficial investment with no real brand alignment. If there’s no ongoing narrative or follow-up, the impact will be short-lived.
That’s why planning matters, not just for the event itself, but for how it fits into your year-long marketing calendar.
We all understand the appeal of throwing in with a rare, high-profile event like the Lions Tour, and there’s no doubt they offer a rare opportunity for brands. But it’s only effective and worth it if it’s activated properly.
It’s not enough to buy the sponsorship. You need to build a campaign around it, plan how you’ll extend it and measure the full impact. For those who get it right, the returns can far exceed a logo on a jersey and can drive both brand value and bottom-line results.
Because in the end, the best sponsorships shouldn’t just create noise – they should create lasting momentum.
