SPONSORTRUTH

People once believed the world was flat.

Not because it was. Because no one had sailed far enough to see otherwise.The truth didn't change the day someone finally looked. It was just finally visible.Sponsorship has the same blind spot.Audiences have always done the same things. They go to the event. They have fun. Something catches their interest. They go home. And later, they follow up on what interested them — they visit, they call, they buy.That's always been true. No one built a way to see it.You will get a call like this.The sponsor doesn't say they can't pay. They say they didn't see the value.

"I didn't see the value" doesn't mean the audience didn't come. It means no one showed the sponsor they came.

The next words you say could save this budget.Maybe the hole is $100,000. Maybe it's $5,000. The reason is always the same: no proof.That's the difference between a donation and a utility.Donations get cut. Utilities get paid.You need proof before the call. Not after.

CFOs don’t cut things that make money. They cut things that feel like expenses. If your sponsorship is measured in banners and mentions, it’s an expense. If it’s measured in registered shoppers and attributed sales, it’s a sales channel.
— Chris Baylis, Author The Sponsorship Bible

SponsorTruth is an independent forensic auditing firm. This quote is for educational reference. The Sponsorship Collective does not endorse or sponsor the services of SponsorTruth.

Traditional Recap

Impressions delivered
Brand Awareness claimed
Social mentions posted
Logos everywhere
Attendance estimates

SponsorTruth Ledger

Event-goers counted at store
Share of crowd measured
Cost per $1,000 shown
New faces and regulars counted
Real movement delivered

One column is a favor. The other is a sales channel.

SponsorTruth Forensic Solution

This is where the ledger comes from. Every sponsor gets their own — the event-goers who walked into their stores, counted and laid out plain enough for a CFO to sign off on without a follow-up question.

Just the numbers

Audits completed in professional sports stadiums, festivals, and other events in Indiana, Montana, and Florida.

The Core Four

  • Event Shoppers: How much of the sponsor's store traffic came from people at your event.

  • Share of the crowd: how much of your audience showed up at the sponsor's store.

  • Cost: what the sponsor paid per $1,000 of sponsorship to reach them

  • Who they were: new faces, regulars, or both

Each report is a cold spreadsheet. No heatmaps. No color-coded dashboards. Just numbers a CFO can take to the board.

Deliverables

Three week delivery after event ends. You get:

  • The Core Four for every auditable sponsor

  • Each sponsor's report, yours to share or keep

  • Daily counts available on request.

This is data. Better than a bunch of photos. Better than talking about a vibe. Better than a thank you message. This is what turns a sponsorship from a donation into a utility.

You need this to start

  • Your event dates and sponsor list.

  • Your sponsors' physical locations.

The buying process is simple. Get your credit card. And click the button. No long demos. Nothing new to learn. No extra staffing involved.SponsorTruth audits work best for brick and mortar locations and geographically bound event footprints.

Why you should pay attention

I've done this before.I counted the bodies. I fielded and interpreted over 1,700 audience movement surveys. I determined sponsorship opportunities and developed and executed the programs.I built and sold the sponsorship program for the Minnesota Ice Festival at the Vikings' practice field. I took a Montana fairground from $6.2M to $10M in total event sales.I've done this in professional sports stadiums, festivals, fairs and other mass gatherings.If you're still doing what you've always done, you're going to need proof soon. I'm just telling you now instead of later.

One Last Thing

This is your evidence to secure the budget. It shows your sponsors that your audience walks through their door.To your sponsors.To your CFO.Most importantly--to THEIR CFO.

The Core Four is SponsorTruth’s measurement protocol. Every sponsor with an auditable presence (a physical location where the majority of its business is transacted) receives its own report.The Core Four price is $5,000 per event. Save one sponsor renewal and you're even. This is a number your sponsors want but have stopped asking for.

Still have questions? Ask here.