There was more than a splash of colour around Littlewoods Ireland’s launch of the first year of their involvement as partners of the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship yesterday.
Nine-time All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship winner Jackie Tyrell, Cork hurler Anthony Nash and Clare hurler Brendan Bugler were coated in body paint before a giant backdrop specially commissioned for the occasion and which was erected in a grungy studio within the shadow of Croke Park but a million miles away in terms of the traditional images of the pitch.
That is perhaps a measure of the fresh sense of promotion that Littlewoods will be looking to bring to this traditional staple of the summer sporting scene and fresh is generally a winner.
“The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship provides us with another excellent opportunity to further build on our strategy to connect with communities across Ireland,” said Managing Director Geoff Scully speaking at yesterday’s launch.
The company will be focusing through the summer on highlighting the unique skills of hurling using the #StyleOfPlay campaign that was successfully trialled during the National Camogie Leagues.
“This was a huge success on social media during the National Camogie Leagues,” added Scully, “and we want to further showcase the skill and style of players through bringing that to life now in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.”
“The campaign will focus on the most stylish pieces of skill from matches, not necessarily scores, throughout the Championship,” said E Commerce and Marketing Manager Rossa Butler.
“We will package these and release them on a best of the month basis through the summer.”
Read More: Sport for Business Interview with Geoff Scully
“The concept of stylish play runs through to the idea of these young players wanting to look good on and off the pitch and that’s where we connect with our customers.”
“We will have public voting to decide the most stylish moment of skill over the course of the summer and that will give us further opportunity to connect in a way that will be popular among hurling fans and those for whom the game is a new experience.”
The clips will not be in the same fashion as those available in near real time on GAA Now or through eir’s social media channels but they do represent another way in which the GAA retaining clip rights as part of the new media rights contract has enabled them to offer new and appealing elements of video content to sponsors.
2017 marks the first year of Ireland’s leading online department store sponsoring the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, following the announcement of their three-year partnership with the GAA in December 2016.
As part of their overall agreement, Littlewoods Ireland has partnered as title sponsor of the National Camogie League and the GAA Go Games provincial days.
The Go Games, which aims to encourage grassroots participation in GAA games, saw over 6,000 children take part in mini versions of hurling and football matches over eight days in Croke Park.
“Littlewoods Ireland have already displayed their commitment to the GAA through their sponsorship of the National Camogie Leagues and the Go Games provincial days at Croke Park,” said GAA President Aogán O’Fearghail.
“I look forward to what they will bring to the games over the coming months and help bring the Hurling Championship to a bigger audience.”
