UP486 The Buy Side: B2B + ROI = WTF?

B2B is big business for sports rights holders. 

But why are business-to-business brands paying billions in sport sponsorship rights? From the IOC to Formula One, categories such as consulting, accountancy, logistics, financial services and tech are growing rapidly.  

• In the IOC's programme, Deloitte and Allianz replaced Dow and GE as TOP Olympic sponsors.  
• IBM's technology partnerships with Toronto sports teams, VMware's McLaren Formula One partnership, and Dell China's Chinese Olympics rowing team sponsorship.  
  In F1, major B2B partners include DHL (logistics), Globant (digital services), American Express (financial services), and TAG Heuer (luxury/precision timing)
• Teams feature extensive B2B partnerships including Cognizant, Microsoft, Siemens, Aramco, and numerous technology and consulting firms

What are they buying, and how is sport targeting them? 

Leigh Curyer, CEO and founder of NexGen Energy, explains why his company's partnership with Aston Martin Formula 1 team prioritizes technology transfer and investor access over brand visibility. 

"Branding would be the last criteria for why we have that partnership."

Joining Leigh is Nick Djounov, Head of Valuation at Gemba London. 

Together, they expose how B2B brands are finding arbitrage opportunities while B2C companies pay premium prices for billboard space.

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