The takeaway

Sport delivers the strongest TV response for car brands, but sponsorship only pays off when rights, activation, measurement and long-term commitment are planned together.

In this insightWhat happened after people saw the adsHyundai and Kia: a shaky start, then a lasting liftStart with the scienceWhat the panel concluded

Sport advertising and sponsorship out-performed every other TV genre for driving response for automotive brands, according to data revealed at the latest Sophus3 client webinar.

With expert speakers Stefano Figoni from ITV, strategy consultant Richard Hughes and Sophus3's own Sam Robson, the event examined whether the 2026 summer of sport was worth the estimated €1bn spent on European automotive sponsorship.

What happened after people saw the ads

Using Sophus3 and ITVX IP-matched attribution data, we analysed what consumers did after exposure.

  • 13% visit-through rate. Sport campaigns generated the highest visit-through rate to automotive brands of any TV genre, above the UK online-TV benchmark.
  • 26,250 attributed visits. ITVX's World Cup advertising drove 26,250 attributed visits within five days of exposure, Stefano revealed.
  • +7.5% household site visits within 24 hours of exposure.

Exposed visitors were just as valuable, too, with engagement showing no signs of deterioration.

Hyundai and Kia: a shaky start, then a lasting lift

After a shaky start, FIFA World Cup partners Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Europe saw their combined digital market share rise across the major European markets. It remained above its pre-tournament level afterwards.

Three line charts of Hyundai and Kia combined digital market share in EU5: falling before the World Cup, recovering sharply during it, and staying higher after it
Hyundai and Kia combined digital market share across EU5, before, during and after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Source: Sophus3 eDataXchange EU5.

Their visibility in ChatGPT, Gemini and DeepSeek answers, however, showed no obvious movement. A sponsorship can lift brand-site attention without changing what AI assistants say about a brand.

Start with the science

Richard, who has held senior leadership roles at GM and Stellantis, summed up the planning lesson:

“If you start your planning with the science, your overall campaign is going to be so much more effective.”

What the panel concluded

Sponsorship is not a direct sales channel. Its value builds progressively through awareness, brand image and engagement, and it pays off when rights, activation, measurement and long-term commitment are planned together.

  • Define success before the budget is spent, against benchmarks for your category and competitors.
  • Measure what exposed audiences do next, not just how many people saw the brand.
  • Look beyond the tournament window, because the Hyundai and Kia lift showed up after the shaky start and held afterwards.

Planning sponsorship or TV activity for 2027? Talk to us about independent, IP-matched measurement.

Adapted from Sophus3's LinkedIn post summarising its September 2026 client webinar with ITV. Attribution figures from Sophus3 and ITVX IP-matched data; digital market share from Sophus3 eDataXchange EU5.