Growth in luxury sponsoring sports

2025 has already seen a myriad of high-profile sports events including the Masters, the Americas Cup and Wimbledon – many of which heavily featured luxury brands, such as Rolex, Louis Vuitton and Lanson. For sponsors, it is clear that over the past few years, there has been a significant shift in business development strategies, with luxury brands pivoting from traditional, exclusive marketing to high-impact, global sports sponsorships tailored neatly to their values and reputation.

By leveraging the universal appeal of sports, luxury brands are aiming to connect with a new digitally native (and global) audience, driving a move away from a model of pure exclusivity towards strategic accessibility. This in turn also opens up increased opportunities for rights holders to position their properties as "luxury" in order to attract premium investment.

But why are luxury brands spending more money advertising in sport?

Targeting new audiences

Sponsoring sport allows luxury brands to tap into a broader and younger audience. Major sporting events, from Formula 1 to the Olympic Games, command a global viewership that dwarfs traditional advertising and by associating with high-profile sports events, brands can create an aspirational image that appeals to a new generation of consumers.

The rise of streaming platforms and social media also gives sports a new digital life, offering audience engagement that extends beyond the pitch and provides a longer, more visible brand presence than a stand-alone advertisement. Think replays, memes, clips of iconic moments and other viral content from sporting events which can live well beyond the sporting event itself, enabling long-lasting brand engagement and even becoming a part of popular culture. Luxury brands advertising in sport is no longer purely about prestige, it's a strategic move to engage hard-to-reach audiences through experiences that resonate with them.

Aligning with shared values

In addition to visibility, luxury brands clearly represent a natural fit with the cultural codes and following of certain handpicked traditionally elite sports. Beyond this though, these sports often represent a clear (and fairly straightforward) opportunity for marketing teams to align their brand with the essence of the sport itself. For example, it is easy to see how the technical precision, performance, and excellence inherent in sports like Formula 1, tennis, and sailing can be compared with the innovation and design of a luxury watch, such a TAG Heuer or Rolex. Though this type of luxury sponsorship has traditionally focused on “elite” sports and continues to do so, we are seeing this trend change in recent times.

LVMH's beauty brand, Charlotte Tilbury, became the official beauty partner of the F1 Academy, a women-only racing series, in 2024, demonstrating significant investment in a growing sport. LVMH also interestingly acquired a majority stake in Paris FC, the French second-tier football club, for a reported €100-200m. We’re yet to see Louis Vuitton match kits, but it will be interesting to see how the French conglomerate leverages this investment to promote its portfolio in a sport that has traditionally been avoided by luxury brands, using powerful assets that are also a source of national pride.

Strategic marketing to get ahead of the competition 

Rather than a scattered marketing approach, luxury brands seem to be focusing on fewer but bigger prestige events, including famously the Olympics, targeting global media impressions and direct engagement.

For conglomerates like LVMH, these sponsorships are a powerful tool for brand consolidation and have created, especially in relation to the Olympics, lasting recognition and iconic impact. LVMH’s recent reported 10-year deal with Formula 1 (said to be worth over $100m a year) is another prime example, allowing multiple brands (Louis Vuitton, TAG Heuer, and Moët & Chandon) to be promoted under one unified strategy, maximising exposure and strengthening the group's overall position in the sport.

The growing presence of luxury brands in sport is a developing trend – both in terms of the strengthening of associations with elite sports, but also more interestingly the tentative and carefully planned moves into more developing or non-traditional sports, as well as those sports (such as football) which have typically been avoided.