Need to know
Major expiries in Appliances (Hisense x NRL, Fujitsu x Bombers, Chiq x Dragons)
Monash, De Cecco, and JAC Motors amongst the new entrant brands
Carsales and ELMO software amongst the brands with most expiries
Most active categories include Trading Platforms and Personal Care
Fastest growing include Energy Retail, Health/Life Insurance, Travel and Spirits
Feb 2026 Sponsorship Insights
SPONSORSHIPS TO WATCH
Top Expired Sponsorships (last quarter)
Top Expired Sponsorships
Several major Appliances partnerships expired, including Hisense x NRL, Fujitsu x Essendon and Chiq x Dragons (now sponsoring North Melbourne). Appliances had been one of the fastest-growing categories in the last year (Shark/Ninja x multiple, Haier x AO, Midea x NBL), representing a significant shake-up of the category. Recent expiries could mean reduced appetite for sponsorship, or budget availability.
Other major expiries include Latitude x Richmond, Spirit of Tasmania x North, McDonalds x A-Leagues, HSBC x Swans, Beyond Bank x Demons, to name a few.
To view all recent expiries, log into your Sponsor Database. For recently expired deals, sort by Last Expiry:
Sponsor Database, Sorted by Most Recent
Top New Sponsorships (last month)
Top New Sponsorships
The Australian Open continued to announce new sponsors throughout Dec/Jan, with Didi and De Cecco amongst the most recent new arrivals. The Australian F1 GP and Victoria Racing Club also uploaded new partners to their respective websites. All of these rights holders provide strong experiential benefits to partners - a sign of the health of the experience economy.
Other particularly noteworthy partnerships include:
Castore has signed as new apparel partner of Rugby Australia on a five-year deal, replacing Asics’ 12-year partnership.
Gallagher has continued its investment in Rugby as major partner of the Brumbies. The deal follows new partnerships NZ Rugby and NZ Netball in 2025.
There were also major moves in the Auto category, with JAC Motors becoming major partner of the St George Illawarra Dragons, Ford x Queensland Reds and Urban Caravans x Richmond.
Top Renewed Sponsorships (last month)
Top Renewed Sponsorships
Noteworthy renewals include:
ANZ x Australian Open - read more here
Also in Banking: Credit Union SA x Port Adelaide, through to 2028
Hungry Jacks x Adelaide Crows through to 2030, locking up AFL kit inventory
Ladbrokes x Brisbane Racing Club through to 2029
BRANDS TO WATCH
Top New Entrants (last month)
Top New Entrants
The above brands were new entrants into major sport sponsorships in the last month.
Monash University was previously one of few major Australian universities without a sport sponsorship, entering the ecosystem with the 2026 Melbourne F1 GP.
De Cecco built on their ambassador partnership with Janik Sinner to become the official pasta partner of the Australian Open.
Multiple new brands entered sponsorship related to the solar industry, with Renewables Warehouse x Perth Glory; VoltX Energy x Manly Sea Eagles and Formbay (solar software) x Wests Tigers.
Most Active Brands (# deals last quarter)
Most active brands - # new/renewed deals/expiries L3M
Brand and Category-level insights take data from the last 3 months to untangle trends. Insights will focus on new trends compared to previous months. See previous month here.
The Transport Accident Commission, promoting road safety in Victoria, has been particularly active in the last quarter, announcing renewals and new partnerships with Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City, plus activity with the Stars and Southside Flyers. The brand spends over $4.9 million in sponsorship, when figures were last released.
Carsales and ELMO Software both allowed three significant partnerships to expire in 2026.
Other recently active brands since last month include Victorian State Government, La Roche Posay and Ringers Western.
CATEGORIES TO WATCH
Most Active Categories (# deals last quarter)
Most Active Categories (% of deals New / Renewed / Expired L3M)
The Trading Platform category has been amongst the most active recently, with 7 sponsorships, but 3 key deals in the last quarter (43%). This was driven by recent renewals / expiries for Black Bull and CG FinTech.
Other key changes since December have been in:
Waste Management (URM x ATC, Ocean Protect)
Personal Care (La Roche Posay, Remington, Mecca)
Finance Broker decline (expiries for Transport Finance, My Money House, Corporate Alliance)
Top Growing Categories (% spend last quarter)
Fastest Growing Categories L3M (& showing total spend, L12M spend)
Other key categories identified by fastest growth include:
Energy Retail (Origin Energy, Sumo Energy)
Health/Life Insurance (Bupa, Health Partners, Resolution Life)
Travel (Didi, 13CABS)
Spirits (Olmeca Altos, Nemiroff, Diageo, South Ave)
Know all the activity in any sponsorship category to supercharge your sponsorship prospecting and planning through the Scout Pro Sponsor Database - a unique benefit to Scout Pro subscribers.
Other Scout Pro Features
As well as these Monthly Trend Reports, look out for Brands To Watch each week and dive deeper through the Sponsor Database.
