4 Strategies for Healthcare Brands to Simplify Sponsorship Measurement

July 29, 2024

What You’ll Learn from This Article: 

  • The importance of measuring sponsorship ROI and its challenges. 
  • Strategies for effective sponsorship measurement. 
  • Real-world examples of successful sponsorship measurement from major healthcare brands like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, Optum, UnitedHealthcare and more
  • Option to download insights into who and what is driving social value for the top US healthcare brands and practical tips to improve partnership social strategies. 

According to KORE’s 2024 State of the Industry report, 85.2% of brands believe measuring sponsorship ROI is important or very important, yet only 22% receive regular data and insights from their partners.  

Overcoming Challenges in Measuring Sponsorship ROI 

Despite its importance, measuring sponsorship ROI presents several challenges: 

  • Complexity of Metrics: Sponsorships involve multiple touchpoints and indirect benefits, making it difficult to isolate and measure their impact. Some of the largest brands we work with employ a mix of brand exposure metrics, sales data, and social media engagement to gauge effectiveness . 
  • Data Integration: Integrating data from various sources (e.g., digital platforms, event attendance, media coverage) is essential but challenging. Often brand clients come to us while using digital platforms to track engagement metrics but face difficulties in measuring its value or integrating online and offline data . 
  • Qualitative Metrics: Measuring qualitative aspects, such as brand affinity and experiential impact, adds another layer of complexity. Red Bull focuses on media coverage, participant feedback, and brand surveys to assess their sponsorships’ effectiveness . 

Getting Started with Effective Sponsorship Measurement 

To overcome these challenges and effectively measure sponsorship performance, brands and rights holders can follow a structured approach: 

  1. Set Clear Objectives: Define what success looks like for your sponsorships. Objectives may include increasing brand awareness, driving sales, or enhancing brand image. KORE’s benchmarking reports highlight that aligning sponsorships with strategic goals is critical.
  2. Collect Comprehensive Data: Gather data from various sources, including social media analytics, event attendance, sales figures, and audience feedback. Use tools like KORE’s comprehensive sponsorship platform to streamline data collection and integration .
  3. Analyze and Report: Use advanced analytics to interpret the data and generate insights. KORE’s end-to-end solution offers a centralized platform for analyzing sponsorship performance and creating detailed reports .
  4. Continuously Improve: Review and refine your measurement strategies based on the insights gained on the regular. Engage with your partners to ensure alignment and optimize future sponsorships. 

Real-World Sponsorship Measurement Examples 

Measuring sponsorship performance has always been challenging due to the multifaceted nature of sponsorship engagements. Here are some examples of brands and their approaches to measuring sponsorship performance over the last year, illustrating the difficulties and innovations in the field: 

Real-World Examples: Healthcare Brands Measuring Sponsorship Performance 

  • Blue Cross Blue Shield 

Blue Cross Blue Shield, which ranks in the top 5 healthcare brands for earned social value in our 2024 Healthcare Sponsorship Report, measures sponsorship performance through comprehensive health and wellness programs. They utilize data from community events, member engagement metrics, and health outcomes to assess the impact of their sponsorships on community health. Below is a snapshot of how we measured one Blue Cross Blue Shield’s top earning posts for social value, which contributed to their high ranking in our report.

 

Blue Cross Blue Shield's Top Earning Post Across Social Media

 

  • Kaiser Permanente 

Kaiser Permanente focuses on integrating health data and sponsorship engagement metrics. They track the effectiveness of sponsored health initiatives by analyzing patient outcomes, event participation, and media coverage, emphasizing improving community health metrics. Our recent Healthcare Sponsorship report provides a case study on how this leading brand can improve its brand value across social with simple tweaks, that garner big results.

  • Optum 

Optum employs a data-driven approach to measure sponsorship performance. They combine digital engagement metrics, patient feedback, and healthcare utilization data to evaluate the ROI of their sponsorships. This holistic view helps them optimize future sponsorship strategies.

  • UnitedHealthcare 

UnitedHealthcare uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative metrics to gauge sponsorship effectiveness. They assess the impact of their sponsorships on brand awareness and member satisfaction through surveys, event attendance, and health improvement indicators. 

  • Mayo Clinic 

Mayo Clinic measures the impact of their sponsorships through detailed analysis of patient outcomes and community engagement. They track media exposure, patient testimonials, and health program participation to determine the success of their sponsorship initiatives. Our recent Healthcare Sponsorship Report details how The PGA Tour’s social strategy has impacted their partnership with the Mayo Clinic over the last year.

  • Cedars-Sinai 

Cedars-Sinai leverages advanced analytics to assess sponsorship performance. They integrate data from patient care, community events, and media outreach to evaluate the effectiveness of their sponsorships in enhancing brand image and community health. 

 

Holistic View of Sponsorship Measurement  
These healthcare brands have been navigating the complexities of sponsorship measurement to achieve meaningful results. Their methods highlight the importance of comprehensive data collection and integration to drive sponsorship success. But how these brands gain these insights to holistically measure the value of their sponsorship performance is a whole different conversation. From KORE’s technical perspective, this translates into using a single platform that provides total visibility of investments and rights, smarter integrations, data aggregation, and real-time custom reporting and insights. 

Evaluate Sponsorship with Social 
One of KORE’s key tools is Evaluate Social (formerly the Hookit) tool, which is helpful to see the entire journey, not just product pushes, or product placement. Brand awareness is critical to sponsorship. The ability to tie brand awareness back to specific measurements of partnerships with athletes, teams, leagues, influencers, media properties and more can be done with the most advanced and conservative valuation methodology.  

Having the right tools in place to perform these measurements is critical to overcoming these challenges and gaining accurate insights. Check out our article, Sponsorship Management Mastered, which outlines several case studies on using various tools for sponsorship measurement, demonstrating how advanced analytics can drive success. Learn more about the tools and solutions that brands are using to measure sponsorship here.

 

Grow your healthcare brand’s impact with strategic partnerships and social media insights. 

Download Report

Mandy Savage, Content Marketing Manager
KORE Software

KORE is the global leader in engagement marketing solutions, serving more than 200 professional teams and 850+ sports and entertainment properties worldwide, providing practical tools and services to harness customer data, facilitate sponsorship sales and activation, and create actionable insights.

Read More
6 Essential Steps to Master Sponsorship Measurement for Brands, Teams and Leagues

6 Essential Steps to Master Sponsorship Measurement for Brands, Teams and Leagues

May 30, 2024

Trying to determine the ever-elusive, true impact of sponsorship investments is the most sought-after quest amongst brands today, according to our recent industry survey. Both brands and rights holders face the complex challenge of measuring sponsorship performance to maximize ROI and drive strategic decisions. KORE’s extensive resources and State-of-the-Industry insights provide the essential tools and data to navigate this intricate process.  
 
In this article we aim to help: 

  • Demystify sponsorship measurement,  
  • Highlight its importance  
  • Offer a step-by-step approach to get started, supported by real-world examples and KORE’s expertise. 

What Partnership Data Matters to Measure? 

Determining what data matters to measure in sponsorships is a complex and ongoing process that involves a comprehensive team effort and cultural alignment within the organization. Here are the steps a brand should follow to effectively identify key metrics and ensure they align with both strategic objectives and stakeholder expectations: 

  1. Identify Key Objectives: Start by defining clear and measurable objectives for your sponsorships. These could include increasing brand awareness, driving sales, enhancing brand image, or engaging specific audience segments. Clearly stated goals provide a foundation for what needs to be measured. 
  2. Engage Stakeholders: Collaborate with all relevant stakeholders, including marketing, sales, finance, and partnership teams, to understand what they need to see or measure. Stakeholders will have different perspectives on what success looks like, so it’s crucial to gather their input. 
  3. Determine Metrics of Interest: Based on the objectives and stakeholder input, identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) that will help measure success. These could include metrics such as brand visibility, audience engagement, lead generation, sales impact, and media value. 
  4. Cultural Alignment and Team Effort: Ensure that the entire organization understands and is aligned with the importance of these metrics. This cultural shift involves training, regular communication, and a shared vision of what sponsorship success looks like. 
  5. Data Collection and Analysis: Implement tools and processes for collecting data consistently and accurately. Use platforms that integrate various data sources to provide a holistic view of sponsorship performance. Regular analysis of this data will help in making informed decisions. 
  6. Regular Review and Adjustment: Measurement is an iterative process. Regularly review the effectiveness of your chosen metrics and make adjustments as needed. This ensures that the metrics remain relevant and aligned with evolving business goals and market conditions. 
  7. By following these steps, brands can develop a robust framework for measuring sponsorship performance that is tailored to their specific objectives and stakeholder needs. For more detailed strategies and tools for effective sponsorship measurement, refer to our comprehensive guide here.  

Solutions to Sponsorship Measurement 

Recognizing the need for a new approach is crucial. Whether you are a brand, rights holder, venue, or agency, the objective often comes down to finding efficiencies, alignment, and collaboration within the business to create more performance and value from partnerships. From a technical perspective, this translates into using a single platform that provides total visibility of investments and rights, smarter integrations, data aggregation, and real-time custom reporting and insights. 

Option 1: Single Sponsorship Platform  

A single platform can revolutionize how you manage sponsorships by offering a comprehensive view of all investments and rights. This approach allows for smarter data integrations and the aggregation of information from various sources, resulting in more accurate and timely reporting. Real-time insights enable businesses to make data-driven decisions that enhance performance and maximize the value of partnerships. 

Option 2: Social Media Analytics to Measure Value 

The power of social media cannot be understated. For instance, earlier this spring Lionel Messi’s monthly social following hitting 500 billion exceeds the TV audience of the 2024 Superbowl by nearly four times. By leveraging social viewership and verified engagement metrics, brands can achieve reach and engagement levels that traditional TV cannot match. Integrating elite athletes into your sponsorship strategy can significantly boost visibility, credibility, and ROI. Tools like KORE Social (formerly Hookit) can help identify top athletes who drive value for brands across various sports, offering deeper insights into social media impact and engagement. 

Sponsorship Measurement Conclusion 

In conclusion, both a single platform for comprehensive sponsorship management and leveraging social media analytics are critical in today’s sponsorship landscape. Each provides unique advantages that, when combined, can drive unparalleled visibility, performance, and ROI for your sponsorship investments. 

Ready to take your sponsorship management to the next level?  

Download Our State of the Industry Report: Gain deeper insights into the latest trends and data in sports sponsorship.

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Request a Demo: Learn how KORE can help you measure your partnership’s value and maximize ROI.

 

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Mandy Savage, Content Marketing Manager
KORE Software

KORE is the global leader in engagement marketing solutions, serving more than 200 professional teams and 850+ sports and entertainment properties worldwide, providing practical tools and services to harness customer data, facilitate sponsorship sales and activation, and create actionable insights.

Read More