Launching the second year of a major sponsorship can sometimes test the imagination but Bord Gais Energy, the GAA and Teneo PSG certainly passed with flying colours on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dublin yesterday.
They have turned the 6th Lock café into the Bord Gais Energy Cupán Tae Café and it will be thus for the next two weeks as the Leinster and Munster Hurling Championships kick into gear.
The brand is also to sponsor The Marty Squad on RTÉ Radio this season and Marty Morrissey was on hand last night in the café hosting a customer event with Bord Gais Energy ambassadors Joe Canning from Galway and Alan Cadogan from Cork. Wexford’s Conor McDonald had a match and who’d risk the call of davy Fitzgerald trumped that of Marty, at least on this occasion.
The Café looks spectacular from the outside and is also kitted out inside with special photography from Sportsfile of the ambassadors adorning the walls and no doubt plenty of Cheese and Onion crisps and ham sandwiches on the menu.
This year’s partnership will see more customers availing of more tickets to matches and more rewards through the Bord Gais Energy Rewards scheme. Join us tomorrow when we will have an interview with Sponsorship Manager Sorcha Fennell Sheehan on why the relationship worked last year and how it is to be extended in 2018.
Rewards Club members can also apply to attend Cupán Tae events, which will be taking place at matches around the country and will include half-time hospitality and a complimentary match programme at key games and a special match-day experience.
There will also be special #HurlingToTheCore training days which will be hosted by the 2018 ambassadors right across the country.
“Bord Gáis Energy has a long association with the GAA and in this, our second year as sponsor of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, and tenth as title sponsors of the U-21 All-Ireland Hurling Championship, we’re as committed as ever to bettering the Championship experience for hurling fans across the country,” said Interim Managing Director of Bord Gais Energy Mark Prentice.
“Through the Bord Gáis Energy Rewards Club, we’re delighted to have the opportunity to offer our customers unmissable experiences and bring them closer to the action throughout the season; whether that’s through access to tickets and competitions, the famous Cupán Tae or the chance to participate on match-day at the big games – at both senior and U-21 level.”
“Creating a promotion like this, on such a busy artery into the city and opposite a very busy match weekend pub like the Barge is a benefit not only to Bord Gais Energy but to the GAA as a whole,” added GAA president John Horan.
“That’s what makes a great relationship when both sides put energy and effort into it and we are fortunate to work with great partners to this end.”
“Bord Gáis Energy has long been synonymous with the game of Hurling through their fantastic support of the U-21 All-Ireland Hurling Championship and more recently their sponsorship of the senior competition. This support extends to players at both grades, making them a fantastic advocate for a sport which never ceases to excite fans right across the country.
2018 also marks Bord Gáis Energy’s tenth year as title sponsor of the GAA All-Ireland U-21 Hurling while Bord Gáis Energy also sponsors the GAA Legends Series at Croke Park.
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