Almost 200 professionals from the world of sport and business came together at the 2014 Irish Sponsorship Summit in Croke Park.
There was a wealth of wisdom and information flying around the main auditorium and the breakout sessions as well as in the conversations that hummed throughout the day.
Sport for Business was proud to be a part of this coming together of smart minds to do things a little better than they were the day before. Here we try to capture some of the themes and thoughts that resonated most strongly on the day.
Those who deserve credit for inspiring us include Rick Jones of Fishbait Marketing, Sharon Walsh of Heineken, Robert Tansey of Sky, Patrick Murphy of Atomic Sport and Jane McDaid of Thinkhouse, as well as all of those who we bumped into during the day…
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1. We need to think of sponsorship as a partnership based on an equal triangle with the three points being the property, the sponsor and the fan who we all want and need to reach. If we get the balance between those three wrong the partnership will fail.
2. This is the fourth evolution of the sponsorship model the first three being a basic rental of ad space, the second better bridges between the sponsor and the property, the third being more a real part of an event. Now we need to think of what this means for the fan, not the brand.
3. Adding value works, telling them how great you are much less so.
4. The success of a sponsorship is based on adding value and getting credit for it in the fans eyes.
5. Fans want to win all the time. Sponsors want properties to deliver everything but to pay no more than is necessary. Properties want more money for as little extra work as possible. The balance in a successful triangle comes from delivering a proportionate amount of what people want.
6. You have to understand what is important to both sides before deciding on whether to get involved. Alignment is critical and will require shifting of position on both sides. Listen to what you hear.
7. For established brands sponsorship is always about preference now rather than awareness. A move from value of association to making a more personal relationship with individual consumers.
8. Ireland is Heineken’s 8th largest global market by volume, ahead of Brazil in 11th, and Britain in 18th. In terms of per capita value it is second only to the Netherlands.
Read thoughts 9-16 of what we learned
Read thoughts 17-24 of what we learned
