SponsorshipX ROI Forum 2026
SponsorshipX ROI Forum 2026: Pittsburgh, PA
I've been thinking a lot about ROI lately.
Not ROI as a metric on a slide, but ROI as a feeling—the quiet confidence you have when you know an investment made sense. Or the knot in your stomach when you're preparing to explain one that didn't.
As we close the chapter on 2025 and look ahead, I keep coming back to one simple question:
"What does ROI actually mean in 2026?"
That question is shaping everything we're doing at SponsorshipX, and it's the reason we're bringing the SponsorshipX ROI Forum back in April.
Budgets feel tighter. AI is everywhere. New leagues, festivals, and community platforms are competing with global mega-events for attention and dollars. And every sponsorship decision is being examined more closely by CFOs, boards, and executive teams.
I don't think ROI is smaller than it was before. I think it's broader.
And I think it demands better thinking.
For three days, we'll come together in Pittsburgh to rethink how sponsorships actually create value across sports, music, culture, and community.
If you've been part of SponsorshipX for a while, you know we've always believed that the best conversations happen when smart people are put in the same room with a shared problem.
We've had those rooms in Nashville, Paris, Austin, and most recently Vancouver. Pittsburgh is where we bring those threads together and get very practical.
Over three days, we'll focus on:
| • | Choosing better partners (not just bigger ones) |
| • | Designing experiences that actually move the needle |
| • | Measuring and explaining value in a way leadership understands |
It's a chance to be candid about what's delivering value, where things fall short, and how we get better.
Why does ROI look different in 2026?
Your sponsorship playbook needs an update.
Emerging properties are growing faster than ever. Everyday community experiences are becoming powerful business drivers. And big-stage moments—leagues, naming rights, global events—no longer get a free pass on ROI.
The ROI Forum is built around three lenses shaping the conversation in 2026:
1. Emerging & next-gen properties redefining audience, engagement, and upside
2. Everyday experiences & community platforms that can deliver real impact when designed and measured well
3. Big-stage moments & naming rights that must now prove long-term value, not just visibility
Across all three, we'll look at how AI, data, and better measurement are changing how sponsorship decisions get made and defended.
Why Pittsburgh, and why now?
There's something fitting about hosting an ROI Forum in Pittsburgh.
While teams are making high-stakes bets on the future, we'll be doing the same—but for sponsorships.
You'll build your own sponsorship board, focused on where to invest, what to prioritize, and how to measure impact by:
| • | Scouting opportunities across sports, music, festivals, and community platforms |
| • | Ranking them by fit, risk, and upside |
| • | Pressure-testing assumptions with peers facing the same scrutiny you are |
And because ROI isn't built in ballrooms alone, the experience matters:
| • | A Flag Football Tournament, presented by The T1 Agency |
| • | Curated dine-arounds, team dinners, and cocktails in the Steel City |
What I hope you'll take back
My goal isn't for you to leave Pittsburgh with a notebook full of quotes. I want you to leave with:
| • | A clearer point of view on your 2026-27 sponsorship portfolio |
| • | Better questions to ask internally |
| • | Stronger language to explain why your plan deserves investment |
| • | And the confidence that you're not alone in navigating this shift |
We'll support that with post-event summaries, tools, and content you can share with your teams.
We've opened Super Early Bird passes, including 2-for-1 pricing for teams, because these conversations are better when you bring a colleague.
ps. Super Early Bird pricing is the best value we'll offer, and hotel availability will tighten quickly. If you're already thinking about spring travel or 2026 budgets, this is the easiest moment to lock it in and sort the rest out later.
See you in the Steel City,
Mark Harrison
Founder, SponsorshipX