Observed Signal · Jun 30, 2026 · Partnership · Source: Digiday · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Chicago Bulls Build Data Measurement for Sponsors
The Chicago Bulls have spent the last two years building a data-led sponsorship measurement solution to demonstrate how brand partners influence fans’ spending. Working with sports-rights firm Klutch (which engaged PwC), the team deployed a proprietary ROI tool that links anonymized credit-card transactions and cellphone-ping data to map where ticket holders go after games and what they spend. The system reports transactions, average spend per fan, total fanbase consumer spend and tiered views by fan “avidity” over a 12-month window. The framework helped the Bulls attract 18 additional commercial partners since 2024, including international brands such as MatchWornShirt, Babybel and Linglong Tire. The article situates the Bulls’ effort amid rising U.S. sports sponsorship spend and wider marketer demand for measurable sponsorship ROI.
Shows a major sports franchise building first-party, transaction-linked sponsorship measurement with third-party partners (Klutch, PwC), a trend that helps marketers quantify sponsorship ROI and could influence commercial decisions across sports rights holders.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- The Chicago Bulls worked with sports-rights company Klutch to develop a sponsorship measurement capability.
- Klutch engaged PwC to deploy a proprietary ROI tool that uses credit-card transactions and cellphone-ping data to map post-game consumer behaviour.
- The Bulls’ system reports number of transactions, average spend per fan, total consumer spend of the fanbase and tiered views by fan "avidity" over a 12-month period.
- Since 2024 the Bulls have added 18 commercial partners, including international brands MatchWornShirt, Babybel and Linglong Tire.
- U.S. sports sponsorship spending rose 122% between 2015 and 2025 to $30.5 billion (Ampere Analysis); 76% of U.S. consumer marketers who invested in a sports sponsorship in 2024 said they struggle to calculate ROI (Forrester).
Connected Companies & Entities
5 Entities mapped““Sponsorship is always about awareness, affinity and action,” said David Gaspar, partner and head of innovation at Gather....”
“Between 2015 and 2025, it rose 122% to $30.5 billion, according to estimates from Ampere Analysis....”
“More than three-fourths (76%) of U.S. consumer marketers who invested in a sports sponsorship in 2024 said they struggle to calculate the re...”
“According to a research note published in May by Gartner, sponsorships account for 18.2% of marketers’ non-digital spending, but 84% of CMOs...”
“A recent study published by Omnicom Media Group and adtech firm Genius Sports, based on a sample of 3,600 NBA fans ......”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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