The SponsorshipX Podcast

The FIFA World Cup 2026 didn't just break viewership records; it rewrote the playbook for what fandom looks like and how brands need to measure it. In this episode of The SponsorshipX Podcast, Jon Stainer, Global Managing Director of Nielsen Sports, joins us to unpack the data behind the tournament, from record-breaking streaming numbers to the fan segments that drove them.Jon leads Nielsen's global sports measurement business, the sponsorship ROI and fan analytics data that underpins investment decisions for brands and rights holders across 15 countries and roughly 1,200 clients. With twenty years in the industry, including work across three Olympic Games and now three FIFA World Cups, he has a rare vantage point on how fandom actually shows up once the tournament arrives, not just how it was projected to.We dig into why this tournament was built as a digital-first event, with streaming partnerships on YouTube and TikTok driving over 1.7 billion views and reshaping who gets counted as a fan. Jon breaks down the segments that carried the tournament, including the Hispanic and Gen Z audiences that pushed local television viewership past half the audience in some U.S. markets, and the creators whose activations generated tens of millions of engagements on their own. From there, the conversation turns to what brands should take from all of it: a forensic understanding of audience passion points, a 360-degree approach that pairs grassroots and celebrity partnerships, and the growing expectation, now closer to a requirement for most American soccer fans, that brands show up on social causes rather than treat them as an add-on.In this episode:How a digital-first streaming strategy on YouTube and TikTok drove over 1.7 billion views and redefined tournament reachWhy fandom wasn't a single persona, and how Hispanic and Gen Z audiences carried local viewership in key U.S. marketsThe role of content creators, and how a handful of high-profile partnerships generated tens of millions of engagementsWhy sponsorship strategy needs to go 360-degree, pairing grassroots and societal work with athlete and celebrity partnershipsWhat a forensic understanding of audience passion points actually looks like in practiceWhy 76% of American soccer fans now treat social purpose as a prerequisite for brand loyalty, not a marketing extraMoving brands out of rigid sponsorship boxes and into the platforms where fans are already spending their timeWhy creating fun around the event, not just the result on the field, is what makes a tournament must-attendHow sport's intersection with music, fashion and entertainment is becoming central to activation, not secondary to it Links mentioned in this episode:Nielsen Sports: nielsensports.comMore from The SponsorshipX Podcast: sponsorshipx.com/podcast Welcome to The SponsorshipX Podcast—your year-round source for powerful conversations at the intersection of brand marketing, partnerships, and purpose. As part of our ongoing mission to advocate for the sponsorship industry, this podcast brings together the brightest minds, boldest ideas, and most impactful stories from across the global sponsorship landscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Before she was building brands, Fiona Morgan wanted to be Chris Evert. In this episode of The SponsorshipX Podcast, Fiona, Chief Brand Officer at Whisper Group and the former Chief Purpose Officer at SailGP, joins us for a career-spanning conversation that runs from a junior tennis dream, a law degree, her Jerry Maguire moment, all the way to steering one of the most talked-about ideas in modern sport.  Fiona walks us through building The Bigger Picture at Sky and making corporate purpose make sense to ordinary consumers, then takes us inside her five and a half years at SailGP, where she became the sport and entertainment industry’s first-ever Chief Purpose Officer and built the Impact League: a second podium that judges teams on sustainability and social impact alongside the racing results. She explains why elite athletes, already judged on everything else, deserved a leaderboard for this too, and how the model has since caught the attention of other sports and the Olympic movement.  We also get into her current chapter at Whisper, the production company behind some of the biggest events in world sport, why she leaped, and what she means when she talks about a “social contract” with the people she works with. Fiona closes with a candid take on why sport still doesn’t have enough women CEOs, and why she’s on a mission to change that.  In this episode:  • The tennis dream, the law degree, and the Jerry Maguire moment that changed her path • Why Chris Evert’s example inspired her promise always to give back • Making CSR make sense to consumers, and building The Bigger Picture at Sky • Marketing with the science behind it: how real behaviour change campaigns get built • Becoming sport’s first Chief Purpose Officer, and the legacy question that started it all • Building the Impact League and getting hyper-competitive athletes to buy in • Whisper’s global reach and going to places others won’t • Her social contract approach to starting a new role • Why sport needs more women CEOs, and how she’s using her seat to help get there  Links mentioned in this episode:  • SailGP: sailgp.com • Second Nature Sisters: secondnaturesisters.com • Fiona Morgan on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fi-morgan-5a512634 • More from The SponsorshipX Podcast: sponsorshipx.com/podcast Welcome to The SponsorshipX Podcast—your year-round source for powerful conversations at the intersection of brand marketing, partnerships, and purpose. As part of our ongoing mission to advocate for the sponsorship industry, this podcast brings together the brightest minds, boldest ideas, and most impactful stories from across the global sponsorship landscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Caribbean Premier League calls itself the Biggest Party in Sport. But behind the scenes, it’s building something far more strategic and far more interesting to sponsors. Mark Harrison sits down with Tara Wilkinson from the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League to unpack how the CPL has quietly built one of the most sophisticated commercial infrastructures in regional sport. From Louder ID, a unified digital membership giving partners on-demand access to audience segments like Digital Superfans, High-Value Purchasers, and Music & Entertainment crossover fans, to Rush, a 365-day linear TV channel filling the year-round inventory gap, CPL isn’t just selling logo placements anymore. It’s selling into an ecosystem. The conversation covers Republic Bank’s integrated partnership, what it means to build a media company around a sport property, and why the WCPL’s “She’s In” relaunch, with its festival format in Barbados and a fourth franchise expanding into Jamaica, could be a major sponsorship opportunity in sport right now. If you’ve ever wondered what world-class partnership infrastructure looks like outside the major leagues, this is the episode. You’ll hear exactly how it works and why it matters.Welcome to The SponsorshipX Podcast—your year-round source for powerful conversations at the intersection of brand marketing, partnerships, and purpose. As part of our ongoing mission to advocate for the sponsorship industry, this podcast brings together the brightest minds, boldest ideas, and most impactful stories from across the global sponsorship landscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canadian sponsorship just hit $4.22 billion — the highest total ever recorded, with rights fees up 58% in a single year and brands reinvesting in women’s sport, evaluation, and fan experience at historic levels.SponsorshipX founder Mark Harrison sits down with Dr. Norm O’Reilly, Dean of the College of Business at the University of New England and a foremost authority on sponsorship data, to unpack the most actionable findings from the 19th Annual Canadian Sponsorship Landscape Study.The conversation turns to where activation dollars are actually going: social media leads at 19.9%, followed by hospitality, ancillary events, and advertising, and which categories represent the biggest opportunity for brands ready to differentiate. With 60.6% of brands planning to increase investment in women’s sport and evaluation spending at a 19-year high, the industry is making smarter, more intentional bets.The central question: with record investment flowing in, how do brands build activations that truly earn their audience?Join Norm and Mark at the SponsorshipX Activation Lab, Vancouver, June 16–18, 2026 - https://www.sponsorshipx.com/activationlab.Welcome to The SponsorshipX Podcast—your year-round source for powerful conversations at the intersection of brand marketing, partnerships, and purpose. As part of our ongoing mission to advocate for the sponsorship industry, this podcast brings together the brightest minds, boldest ideas, and most impactful stories from across the global sponsorship landscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does it mean to “be like water”?That was the advice Annamaria Fuzy received from a manager early in her professional journey. Without losing sight of the end goal, Annamaria learned to go with the flow and navigate the unexpected circumstances that come up in sponsorship marketing.What does it really take to build partnerships that last, across sport, music, and culture?In this episode of SponsorshipX Changemakers, Mark Harrison sits down with Annamaria Fuzy, Global Sponsorships at Heineken, a global marketing leader with 15+ years in FMCG and a career shaped by some of the world’s most influential passion points. From significant sports properties to cultural platforms, Annamaria has spent her career at the intersection of brand, partnership, and relevance.Get ready to hear about how she believes that sponsorship marketing is the perfect opportunity to use both the left and right side of your brain. She caught the bug for this industry in secondary school, working in hospitality at major events. The brands present and their motivations for participating in the action were intriguing and inspired her to learn more. It was from those early days of earning some money as a teenager that sparked her interest in this business.This podcast takes you through three chapters of Annamaria’s career, including a stint in purchasing. Her comments on this period of her career may surprise you as they defy your expectations of what a procurement expert would focus on.As global as Heineken’s sponsorship footprint is, this podcast takes another twist when Annamaria discusses the brand’s most recent investment in Padel. This fast-growing sport, its culture, and its participants represent a new approach for the brand giant in sponsorship, yet one that is still rooted in a simple strategic truth. A strategic truth that is non-negotiable for any Heineken partnership.Our host Mark Harrison “loved this conversation because not only did Annamaria dive deep and clearly into strategy, but she also shared essential leadership lessons and the people from whom she has learned them throughout her career” Pour yourself a beverage, sit back, and enjoy this conversation where the water and the beer are flowing.🎧 Listen to SponsorshipX Podcast - Changemakers, Season 2 Featuring Annamaria Fuzy, Global Sponsorships at Heineken.Welcome to The SponsorshipX Podcast—your year-round source for powerful conversations at the intersection of brand marketing, partnerships, and purpose. As part of our ongoing mission to advocate for the sponsorship industry, this podcast brings together the brightest minds, boldest ideas, and most impactful stories from across the global sponsorship landscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.