The Irish Sponsorship Awards will take place in Dublin tomorrow night and while sport is woven through almost all of the categories in one form or another there are two specific awards given over to the pure world of sports sponsorship.
The first of these is for the best Sporting Event sponsorship and there are five in the running.
The second will reward the Best Sports Team or Athlete Sponsorship and there are seven shortlisted in this category…
Aer Lingus Official Airline of the Irish Rugby Team
The painting of the planes in Irish Rugby livery is the most obvious part of the relationship but the activation through social media has been where the big wins have come, including a memorable to and fro with Air New Zealand around Chicago and the Guinness Series last year.
Aldi for Paul O’Connell
Aldi’s association with Rugby has been executed through the presence of Paul O’Connell. He has been out and about to schools and featured in the brand advertising around the partnership to good effect.
Allianz Ireland for Sinead Kane submitted by Teneo Sports
Away from the mainstream of sporting events, Allianz landed on a real winner with Sinead Kane, the blind marathon runner from Cork who completed seven marathons on seven continents in seven days at the start of this year. Upon arrival back in Ireland, she has proven to be one of the most inspiring stories of the year. The advertisement Allianz created with her was shown for the first time at the Sport for Business Partners Event in April.
King Crisps for Bernard Brogan submitted by Legacy Consultants
Taking the player from the team King Crisps put Bernard Brogan centre stage for the second season and expanded to produce a series of video content pieces based on Dublin vs The Rest.
Lidl Ireland for Ladies Gaelic Football submitted by Spark Market Research
The multi award-winning campaign from 2016 returned with different emphases this year, rolling the campaign out to incorporate clubs and schools as well as the senior inter-county players. A seminal market research project into how we can keep girls playing sport in school leant a social impact side this year and will be a feature at the Sport for Business Game Changer Conference on Women in Sport at UCD on November 30th.
Supermac’s Ireland for Galway GAA
It was one of the sporting stories of the year and when Galway won the Liam McCarthy Cup, ending a 29-year drought, as well as the Minor Championship in 2017, it was a reward not only for the players and fans but also for the sponsor who has been supporting them throughout almost that whole period of time.
Three for Republic of Ireland Football Team
The pain of last week’s defeat will still be raw and missing out on full participation in next year’s World Cup Finals will be a blow but the atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium last Tuesday night, and the strong showing of Ireland’s great football moments as part of RTÉs Greatest Sporting Moments show gives a good indication of just how close Irish football has always been and will always be in terms of the national psyche. Three are long-term backers and stepped up this year with reaching out to fans through social media and content based around the idea of #TheCallUp.
Follow @SportforBusines on Twitter tomorrow night to stay up to speed on all the winners…
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