sports sponsorships | Los Angeles | sports marketing | CHRIS WARREN

And this is one of the strongest criticisms of sports sponsorships: It’s very difficult to measure ROI. “Most hard-nosed businesspeople want to measure ROI, and that is something sports marketing can’t deliver,” says Promo magazine’s Joyce. “Sometimes it’s really intangible.”

Though ROI is tricky at best to determine, don’t expect companies to abandon sports sponsorships anytime soon. “I think companies will continue to take that risk for the chance that their brands and products will get that peripheral glow, that borrowed equity, that comes from sports,” Joyce says. “They’re willing to take the chance that it’s a bad investment because the perceived upside is so good.”

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CHRIS WARREN is a writer based in Los Angeles who has contributed to Los Angeles magazine and Forbes.

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