Society of London Theatres

The Society of London Theatres (SOLT) tasked us with evaluating their partnership propositions, including a full valuation of the headline sponsorship opportunity of the Olivier Awards. We identified key audience value drivers, built a sharper proposition framework and ensured their offering aligned with market expectations.

A tightly curated list of 40–50 best-fit brands was built to create competitive tension and maximise sponsorship revenue, proving the Olivier Awards’ partnerships can be both values-led and commercial.

The Brief

Mastercard had been the headline sponsor of the Awards for the past fifteen years but decided to step down from 2026 from the position, remaining as a lower tier partner of the Awards.

It meant the headline sponsor of the Awards was available for the first time in many years. This gave the SOLT the opportunity to get an independent view of the value of this opportunity before it was taken to market which they asked The Value Xchange to provide.

The Solution

Our approach to this brief was extensive in its scope of work. Not only did we assess the value of assets, rights and benefits of the Oliver Awards but other programmes and events owned by SOLT including the Official London Theatre Leicester Square ticket booth and online assets, West End LIVE and Theatre Tokens.

This included:

Assessment of the value of the current assets, rights and benefits offered, identifying any gaps
Assessment of the value of the Leicester Square ticket booths as a new asset available to a potential headline sponsor
Benchmarking the minimum rights fee and “stretch” sponsorship revenue targets versus their competition e.g. BAFTA
Advice on their negotiation strategy with potential new headline partners
Identifying a list of 40-50 target brands who would align with the Olivier Awards brand values, audiences and objectives and desired budget levels with aim of creating competitive tension to maximise sponsorship revenue.