As marketing budgets tighten across financial services, sponsorship is no longer protected by prestige. For insurance firms in 2026, partnerships once justified by logo exposure are now expected to demonstrate measurable commercial return. Attribution may still be imperfect, but tolerance for vague brand value is shrinking.
Rachel Woodward (pictured), director of sponsorships at Howden, is operating squarely within that shift. Her remit spans racing, rugby, sailing and tennis, but her brief is increasingly commercial.
“You can’t just say it’s about brand awareness anymore,” she said. “We have to show that we’re contributing to the bottom line.”
When Woodward joined Howden in 2022, the firm’s sponsorship portfolio was expanding across racing, rugby, sailing and tennis. But as expectations around return on investment sharpened, the emphasis shifted from visibility to utility.
Brand presence still carries weight, particularly in environments such as Royal Ascot where credibility with high-net-worth clients matters. “They can see our brand, they see that we mean business, and we’re authentic in that space,” Woodward said.
But she is clear that exposure alone no longer justifies the spend. “For us, it’s always been about the money-can’t-buy experience,” she said.
In practice, that means designing moments that encourage deeper interaction rather than passive hospitality. At Ascot, guests are taken into restricted areas such as the parade ring, with expert commentary to add context. On Lions tours, former players join small-group sessions to create informal conversation rather than staged appearances.
Insurance distribution remains relationship-driven, particularly in complex commercial and private client lines. Sponsorship provides controlled environments where brokers can consolidate clients and prospects in one place, away from transactional settings.
“We’re not going to have trade stands in the foyer,” Woodward said. “The way we network is over really good food and drink.”
The aim is less about spectacle and more about commercial stickiness – creating an association strong enough that, when renewal or placement discussions arise months later, the broker is already front of mind.
For brokers facing margin pressure and rising competition, experience must translate into outcomes.
“Guest list management is important to the group, and we need to ensure the right mix of existing clients, prospects and Howden ambassadors that fit our strategic objectives for each sponsorship platform,” Woodward said. “Somone that loves racing maybe not be so interested in sailing and vice versa.”
Measurement, however, remains complex. Insurance renewals rarely align neatly with event calendars. Relationship-building is cumulative. “You can’t say, ‘Because someone went to the Lions Tour, that directly retained the client,’” she said. “It’s a slow burner.”
Still, scrutiny has intensified. Five years into its Ascot partnership, Howden has renewed for another term, under greater internal examination. “More and more questions are being asked about how successful these partnerships are,” Woodward said.
The firm is now implementing a centralised CRM system to track retention, acquisition and cross-sell linked to sponsorship activity – a significant shift for a fast-growing broker built through acquisition.
For the wider market, that recalibration reflects a broader trend. Sponsorship is being repositioned from marketing line item to strategic growth infrastructure, expected to support client engagement, defend retention and open doors in priority sectors.
Alongside measurement, authenticity has become central to how insurers defend sponsorship spend internally. Woodward argues that front-of-shirt visibility must be supported by sustained involvement, not just contractually secured branding.
In rugby, that has translated into investment beyond the headline tour - backing grassroots competitions and development pathways that sit beneath the elite game. In sailing, partnerships are structured to align with environmental initiatives that reflect the firm’s broader risk and climate conversations.
Gender parity has also become a threshold consideration in future partnerships. “We would not have done the Men’s Lions Tour without the Women’s Lions Tour,” she said, signalling that alignment across men’s and women’s competitions is increasingly non-negotiable.
There is also a practical dimension. Many of the sporting bodies within the portfolio are insurance clients. “A lot of these events wouldn’t take place without insurance,” Woodward said. For brokers, that overlap blurs the line between marketing and core service provision, reinforcing sponsorship not as philanthropy, but as an extension of their role in enabling the events themselves.
As the company expands in the US and other growth markets, sponsorship strategy is under review. The firm is conducting a sponsorship audit to understand which demographics its current portfolio reaches, and which it does not. Consumer research in the UK and US is shaping future decisions.
“What the American market wants compared to this market is completely different,” Woodward said.
In some regions, full sponsorship rights may make sense. In others, targeted corporate hospitality could deliver engagement without long-term contractual commitment.
That flexibility is becoming central to maintaining coherence across a global brokerage footprint. Sponsorship, Woodward argued, is most effective when tied directly to strategic priorities – whether market entry, brand establishment or client concentration around growth offices.
“Sponsorship is not disconnected from the core insurance business,” she said. “It’s a tool to support market entry, brand building and growth in regions that are strategically critical for us.”
For insurers navigating a more competitive landscape, that framing may resonate. Prestige alone is no longer sufficient justification. The partnerships that endure will be those that withstand internal scrutiny and demonstrate, over time, that experience translates into enterprise value.
