Comeback Categories?

Not to be a debbie downer, but it's going to be a long time before we see the spending levels we once saw from categories like auto, finance, and airlines. Nevertheless, the August TURNKEY Sports Poll, which surveys senior-level sports executives, asked the question on everyone's mind:

"Which of the following categories will bounce back, in terms of sponsorship spending, the fastest?"

A recent piece by Judann Pollack of Ad Age suggests spending may, in fact, never get back to where it once was.

"Some consumer values and buying habits may have changed irrevocably, so it will become increasingly important to foster brand relationships -- ideally loyalty and advocacy -- and this is more difficult to achieve through traditional TV push marketing," MaryLee Sachs, director of the worldwide marketing communications practice at WPP's Hill & Knowlton told Ad Age.

In terms of perception alone, it seems that consumers are a lot more accepting towards auto and airline spending as a way of jump-starting consumer sales vs. financial (now in some ways burdened by the media's portrayal of corporate hospitality).

If you had to place bets, which categories would you go with as having the fastest recovery in sponsorship spending?

photo credit via flickr: Sid/Stephen