London · Case study for brands, sponsors and event filmmakers
“A sponsorship is a few days of access. The content is what the brand keeps.”
At Chestertons Polo in the Park in June 2026 we filmed and edited for IBV Gold, the sponsor of Team Cape Town. Sponsorship content production is a different job from an event recap: the organiser wants the whole day, the sponsor wants its name, its people and its guests. Here's how to plan it so the brand gets real value from the weekend, with the polo as a worked example.
IBV Gold Team Cape Town, pitchside at Chestertons Polo in the Park 2026
01 · The brief
What a sponsor actually needs from an event
Chestertons Polo in the Park runs over three days at Hurlingham Park in Fulham, with city teams playing a shorter, faster form of polo on a smaller pitch, and hospitality from garden tables to VIP enclosures. IBV Gold's team played as Team Cape Town, and we covered the 5th and 7th of June for them.
Sources: Country & Town House, guide to Chestertons Polo in the Park · Polo in the Park, teams.
An organiser's recap film shows the crowd, the matches and the atmosphere. A sponsor's film has to answer a narrower question: what did our name look like, who did we host, and what can we post next week? Before the day, agree three things with the brand:
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Where does the brand appear? | Shirts, pitchside boards, hospitality, gifts. Each one is a shot on the list |
| Who must be filmed? | Players, executives, key guests. Get names and faces before you arrive |
| What will be posted, and where? | Feed films, vertical cuts, ads. This decides how you frame every shot |
| Who signs off, and how fast? | Event content loses value by the day. One approver keeps it moving |
02 · Brand moments
Shoot the logo in context, never on its own
Team Cape Town players with guests in the marquee: the shirt, the people and the setting in one frame
A logo on its own is a still life. A logo on a player's chest, next to the guests the brand invited, is a story. At a sponsored event the strongest brand moments are the ones where the name sits naturally inside something happening.
The kit in action
Players in branded shirts during play. Long lens from the boards, and wait for the moment the chest faces you.
Players with guests
Group photos between matches. These are the frames the brand's team will share themselves.
Branded details
Gift bags, place settings, boards. Close-ups that cut between the wider shots and show care.
The venue around it
Wide shots that place the brand at a known event. That context is part of what the sponsor paid for.
03 · The match
Covering the sport so the sponsor's team leads
Match action framed vertically for social: Team Cape Town in yellow and green
Polo is fast and the horses cover the pitch in seconds, so you can't follow every play. For a sponsor you don't need to. Learn the team colours, sit on the side where your team is attacking, and let the other team's best moments go.
1. A long lens from the boards for action. Faster shutter for sharp mallets and hooves, unless you want deliberate blur.
2. Shoot slow motion on the strike and the turn. It's where polo looks its best and it gives the edit room to breathe.
3. Frame with the vertical crop in mind. If the ads and Reels are 9:16, keep the rider and the shirt in the centre third.
4. Get the low details: ball, mallet, hooves on grass. They make good cutaways and work in any format.
Mallet, ball and hooves: a cutaway that tells you which sport this is in half a second
For a full event shot list and how organisers use recaps, see the event photography and recap film guide. For framing one shoot for both 16:9 and 9:16, see shooting vertical-first.
04 · Hospitality
The guests are the return on the sponsorship
IBV Gold gift bags on the hospitality tables
Many sponsors take a hospitality space to host clients, partners and prospects. That part of the day is often worth more to the business than the polo itself, and it's the part most event crews undershoot. Film the set-up before guests arrive, while the tables are clean and the branding is untouched. Then cover the welcome, the toasts and the conversations.
Guests at Polo in the Park: atmosphere shots that show the kind of day the brand hosted
Ask before close-ups
Guests are clients, not models. A quick word before a close-up saves a removal request later.
Know who matters
Have someone from the brand point out the people they want filmed. You won't know them by sight.
Wristbands open doors
Check which enclosures your pass covers. Hospitality, pitchside and the players' area are often separate.
Food and detail
Plates, glassware and gifts make the cutaways that hold a hospitality film together.
Releases and privacy matter more here than on the pitch. See model release forms for UK shoots.
05 · Turnaround
Fast delivery is part of the value
A sponsor's audience cares about the event while it's on and for a few days after. A beautiful film a month later is an archive piece. Plan the delivery in stages, and agree them before the event.
| When | What to deliver |
|---|---|
| On the day | A handful of selects for stories: a match moment, the team, the hospitality |
| Within days | Short vertical cuts for Reels and TikTok, one idea each |
| After | A longer horizontal film for the website, LinkedIn and future sales decks |
For Polo in the Park we filmed and edited the content ourselves, which keeps the decisions in one place: the shots are framed for the cut you already have in mind. The gallery holds horizontal films and vertical cuts from the two days. If the same footage will run as paid ads, agree that at the start: paid usage changes the licence, as the usage rights guide explains. We also made a ten-ad campaign for IBV Gold, shot on an iPhone 17 Pro kit; see shooting paid ads on an iPhone 17 Pro.
06 · Checklist
Before a sponsored event shoot
1. A list of every place the brand appears, and a shot for each.
2. Names and photos of the people the brand wants filmed, and one contact on the day.
3. Passes for every area you need: pitchside, hospitality, players' area.
4. The schedule: which matches the sponsored team plays, and when the hospitality peaks.
5. The formats and platforms, and the delivery stages agreed in writing.
6. Spare batteries and cards for a long outdoor day, and cover for rain.
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FAQ
Common questions
What is sponsorship content production?
Filming and photographing an event for the sponsor rather than the organiser: the brand's name in context, its team, its guests and its hospitality, delivered in the formats the brand will post.
How do sponsors get value from event content?
By planning the brand moments in advance, filming the guests they hosted, and getting edits out while the event is still being talked about. Footage that arrives weeks later loses most of its reach.
How do you film polo?
Use a long lens from the boards, a fast shutter for sharp action, and slow motion on the strike. Follow one team rather than every play, and add close-ups of the ball, mallet and hooves for the edit.
Can event footage be used for paid ads?
Yes, if it's agreed. Paid usage should be in the licence from the start, and anyone recognisable in an ad should have signed a release.
Written by Joshua Swain, who films events, campaigns and brand content in London and Dubai. See the Polo in the Park 2026 project.