Fans want more than visibility: why utility is becoming the new currency of sponsorship

For years, brands have invested in sport, music, gaming and entertainment in the hope that proximity to the things people love will translate into relevance. But new research from Ear to the Ground suggests that simply being present in fan culture is no longer enough.

Its Fan Intelligence Index 2026/27 identifies a significant change in the way fans judge brands. The agency groups fan conversations about brands into three areas: content — what a brand says and creates; style — how it looks, feels and fits culturally; and utility — what it actually does to make a fan's life easier or better. Utility, the research says, has now become the dominant theme. Fan Intelligence Index 2026

And the shift is substantial. According to the report, references to utility rose from around 13 to almost 80 mentions per 10,000 words between 2024 and 2026. Content and style also increased, but nowhere near as dramatically.

The implication for sponsorship is fairly clear: visibility alone is becoming less valuable if a partnership doesn't give something back to fans.

That "something" doesn't necessarily have to be a product. Ear to the Ground argues that useful sponsorship can mean removing barriers to participation, providing access, making an experience easier, strengthening communities or helping fans express their identity.

The report identifies nine different forms of this value, ranging from access, movement and belonging to ritual, sanctuary, protection, memory, capability and identity. It also suggests different fan communities prioritise different things: sports fans particularly value access and ritual, while gaming fans respond to capability and protection, and music fans to identity and sanctuary.

What does that look like in practice?

Major sporting events provide some of the clearest examples. The report highlights Visa and Mastercard for translating sponsorship into practical benefits such as payments, ticket access and removing financial friction around events. Visa's Fan Attraction Score rises from 55.9 in 2025 to 71.4 in 2026, while Mastercard increases from 48.3 to 55.7. Airbnb, meanwhile, rises from 55.9 to 64.3, with the report linking this to addressing practical accommodation problems around major events.

There are useful lessons at individual partnership level too. Ear to the Ground's case studies include Coca-Cola and the Premier League, where activation was built around matchday rituals; PlayStation and the UEFA Champions League, which turned spectators into participants through a gaming-led experience; and Xapo Bank and Aston Villa, which drew on supporters' memories and history rather than simply relying on stadium branding.

Perhaps most interesting is PSG and Snipes. The report argues that Paris Saint-Germain's development into a global luxury football brand had left some longstanding local supporters feeling disconnected. The partnership created community spaces and activations designed around those fans and their relationship with the club — effectively using sponsorship to restore a sense of belonging. Fan Intelligence Index 2026

The report concludes with a distinction that gets to the heart of the issue: 'buying visibility is not the same as impacting culture.'

For sponsorship, perhaps the question therefore shouldn't simply be how many people will see us? Increasingly, it may need to be: What are we actually doing for the fans?

To download the report in full, click here