If recent suggestions from the medical world are upheld, about banning alcohol sponsorship of sporting events, what effect will this have on sport marketing?

Good question and one that was asked yesterday!  Generally speaking the view was that, provided it was phased allowing the sports sector to bring in sponsors from other sectors, the revenue loss will be replaced.  Interestingly, in France, alcohol sponsorship of sport was switched off overnight and covered instead by a government subsidy from betting tax for a number of years.

I think the most fascinating topic was certainly the digital one, which caused quite a discussion, particularly as relates to the ongoing discussion about paid content following recent moves by News International. If this was to come about, which is yet to be determined, it could prove to be an enormous opportunity for sports brands to take ownership of  digital content world - why pay for a news site to read about sport, if your team or the governing body is posting the same information and more, at no cost? And what about user-generated sites and content - surely these would soar in popularity, as sports fans create a news community amongst themselves?

Interesting about what happened in France, but what sponsors would step in to fill this void in the UK? I wonder why the medical professionals stopped with sporting events? Why not music festivals?  

It's an interesting question Laura... It's been online gaming that has become the largest new industry to sponsor sport. But that comes with it's own problems and potential issues, just look at Cardiff City's difficulties last week with their new sponsor for example when under advice from the Gambling Commission they had to remove 777ball from their shirt as they didn't have a licence to advertise in Europe.

There's a difference between alcohol sponsorship versus tobacco and gambling I think - for example, Diageo's Johnnie Walker sponsorship of McLaren has a very successful "Drink Responsibly" campaign attached to it - they use Lewis Hamilton as the face of it and from memory, Mika Hakkinen as well. You never saw the tobacco brands advising punters to "smoke responsibly"!!! The alcohol brands are a long way ahead in terms of positioning themselves as socially responsible in sport, simply because they have had pressure in other parts of their industries for so long.