Reviews
Part of How to review and compare sponsorship rates for UK brand deals
How to review agency claims on sponsorship rates
A desk method to check agency claims about sponsorship rates against contracts and regulator records, comparing like-for-like rights, deliverables and fees.
What to take away
What to take away
- For sponsorship rates, record what the quoted fee buysinventory, deliverables, usage rights, exclusivity period, term and cancellation terms. Without these details, quotes may not be comparable.
- An agency review scores what can be evidencedfee basis, contract terms, rightsholder rate cards or media packs, named clients and relevant regulator records.
- Vendor claims belong in one column, independent evidence in another, and editorial judgement in a third, clearly labelled.
- This is a method, not a set of completed agency reviews, and no firm has been scored against it here. It checks whether a rate claim is documented; it does not establish a market benchmark.
- A review that cannot name its sources is a brochure, not a review.
What an agency review can and cannot assess
Evidence you can check from a desk
Start with the paperwork an agency must publish or file. A limited company's accounts and filing history sit on the Companies House register, and a trading name that does not match the registered entity is a question worth asking before any call.
Evidence vs vendor claims
Can be evidenced
- Company records
- Companies House filings
- Contract terms
- Commission, minimum term
- Regulator position
- ASA advertising rules
- Case studies
- Independently checked
Stays a vendor claim
- Company records
- Pitch deck claims
- Contract terms
- Verbal promises
- Regulator position
- Promised reach
- Case studies
- Agency-published only
Out of scope
- Company records
- Delivery quality
- Contract terms
- Campaign results
- Regulator position
- Staff interviews
- Case studies
- Briefs placed
Then read the contract terms a buyer would actually sign. For each quote, record the sponsorship inventory and deliverables, fee basis, usage rights, exclusivity period, minimum term and cancellation window. These terms show what is being bought; a headline commission percentage alone cannot show whether two offers are comparable.
For advertising compliance, check the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the CAP Code and the ASA rulings register. Relevant rules on alcohol advertising and influencer marketing matter when an agency promises reach in a restricted category.
What stays outside the score
Delivery quality is not assessed here. No briefs were placed, no campaigns were run and no agency staff were interviewed for this review method.
Agency-published case studies are treated as vendor claims, not evidence. That is not an accusation of dishonesty; it is a limit on what a desk review can support. If a number appears only in a pitch deck, it belongs in the claims column.
Editorial judgement covers readability and completeness of the agency's own disclosures: does it state its fee basis, its conflict policy and its client list without being asked?
How to score an agency on the evidence
A weighted checklist for buyers
Score each line out of five, then weight. Anything that cannot be evidenced scores zero, not a default pass.
Weighted agency scoring checklist
- Registered entity matches trading name and counterparty
- Fee basis stated in writing, commission and retainer
- Contract terms, exclusivity and notice supplied
- Named client list cross-checked independently
- Data handling in line with UK data protection law
- Complaint or enforcement history checked
- Registered entity matches the trading name and the contract counterparty.
- Fee basis stated in writing, including commission and any retainer.
- Contract terms, exclusivity and notice period supplied before signature.
- Named client list that can be cross-checked independently.
- Data handling described in line with current UK data protection law, which replaced the framework set out in the Data Protection Act 1998.
- Complaint or enforcement history checked where a regulator publishes one.
Here is the checklist applied. This is an illustrative worked example, not a review of any real firm. A fictional Manchester agency sends a pitch deck quoting 15 per cent commission, but provides no itemised sponsorship package or dated rightsholder rate card or media pack. The quote documents a commission claim, not a sponsorship-rate benchmark. Its trading name does not match the registered entity on Companies House, so the first line scores zero.
The fee basis is confirmed in writing, so it scores four out of five. Contract terms arrive only after a call is booked, so the pre-signature terms line scores zero. The named clients cannot be cross-checked, and no comparable rightsholder rate card or media pack is supplied. These findings describe the fictional file; they do not show whether 15 per cent or the underlying sponsorship rate is typical.
Run the same checklist across at least three agencies before comparing scores, because a single quote tells you very little about the market. Compare only offers with like-for-like inventory, audience, deliverables, usage rights and term, and record the date and issuer of any rate card or media pack. Without comparable documents, you have agency quotes, not a market benchmark. The wider method for doing that sits in our guide to sponsorship rates reviews and comparison methods.
Separating claims from evidence
Draw three columns on one page. Column one is what the agency says about itself. Column two is what an independent source confirms, with the date. Column three is your own judgement on fit for your category and budget.
A claim that survives column two can carry weight in the score. A claim that never leaves column one stays visible but unscored, so nobody later mistakes it for a finding.
This is also where sector knowledge helps. The Chartered Institute of Marketing's articles and reports are useful for checking whether an agency's stated approach matches current marketing practice rather than last decade's.
Common questions
Do these reviews include hands-on testing?
No. This is a desk review of documents, filings and published sources.
How should I weight the checklist?
Weight contract terms and fee transparency highest, because they are evidenced and they affect your net rate. To compare the quoted price itself, match the inventory, audience, deliverables, usage rights and term; this checklist does not provide a market-rate benchmark.
What if an agency refuses to share terms before a call?
Treat that as a zero on the relevant line and keep the score visible. A refusal is information, and it is more useful recorded than argued about.
Where do I compare providers once scored?
Apply the same weighted lines to every shortlisted firm: registered entity, fee basis, rate-card or media-pack evidence, contract terms, complaint history and named client list. Put the scores side by side, comparing only like-for-like rights and deliverables; the scores assess the evidence, not whether a fee is typical. For a separate provider overview, see our sponsorship rates best providers in England page.
