Sponsorship glossary

Updated October 14, 2026 · Lucas Compan and the Sponsormode.co team

The terms we use in diagnostics, plans and reports, explained in one sentence. Definitions marked as Sponsormode™’s are our own proposals, not industry standards.

Sponsorship: A commercial agreement associating a sponsor with a property through rights and benefits. Reference: ICC.
Sponsor: An organization providing resources or support in exchange for agreed rights.
Rights holder: An entity controlling and able to license the relevant rights of a property.
Sponsorship property: The organization, event, activity or other subject of a sponsored association.
Sponsorship asset: An element usable in the partnership, such as content, hospitality or channel presence. Availability depends on rights.
Sponsorship package: A set of rights and deliverables offered under defined commercial terms.
Sponsorship activation: An activity using partnership rights to engage an audience and pursue an objective.
Logo exposure: Visible presence of a graphic identifier; not, by itself, recognition or a sale.
Fan journey: The sequence of experiences and interactions connecting a passion for sport with everyday life throughout all 365 days of the year.
Touchpoint: An occasion when a person interacts with an organization, brand, content or service.
Engagement: Observable participation defined by context; a rate must specify the action and denominator.
Key performance indicator: A metric selected to assess progress toward a priority objective.
Baseline: An initial or comparative reference used to interpret change.
Brand lift: A measured difference in a brand metric; groups, method and period must be stated.
Conversion: Completion of a predefined action, such as registration, purchase or a qualified meeting.
Attribution: A rule or model allocating credit for outcomes across touchpoints.
Incrementality: The estimated additional effect relative to what would have happened without the intervention.
Sponsorship ROI: Net incremental economic return relative to investment, with costs and method disclosed.
Return on objectives: Assessment of achievement against agreed objectives; not necessarily a financial return.
First-party data: Data obtained directly through an organization’s audience relationships; not unrestricted permission to use it.
Cross-sponsor activation: A coordinated activity connecting sponsors’ contributions within an experience.
Sponsorship ecosystem: In Sponsormode™’s definition, an organized network linking rights holders, brands, fans, channels and experiences.
Creative Sponsorship Architecture: Sponsormode™’s approach to designing connections and responsibilities within a measurable sponsorship system.
ROADMAP-90: A personalized 90-day action plan in three 30-day phases, with 10 prioritized actions, indicators and reviews, to use sponsorship in marketing and brand management, optimize assets, connect synergies and uncover new assets from existing ones.
Cross-Sponsor Conversion Rate — CSCR: Proposed operational metric: unique B converters among eligible A-journey participants exposed to B’s opportunity, divided by those exposed participants.