We are now only one day out from the London 2012 Paralympic games and it is certain to be the most successful ever given that only a small percentage of the 2.5 million tickets on sale remain unsold.
Ireland’s team of 49 athletes is in place at the Paralympic village and reports from London suggest all has gone well in the final days of preparation.
In order to get there the athletes have required their own massive effort from Paralympics Ireland.  In order to do that the organisation secured six main and 12 supporting commercial arrangements, up from only one for Beijing in 2008. Over the past week we have looked at how Renault, Allianz, and Cadbury have built their relationship as a tier one sponsor and at how Paralympics Ireland built such strong support over the past two years.
Today we speak to Robert Hyland, Sponsorship Manager of Vodafone Ireland to get the inside track on how and why they chose to add the Paralympics to their extensive sports sponsorship portfolio.
Sport for Business: How did Vodafone first form a relationship with Paralympics Ireland?
Robert Hyland, Sponsorship Manager Vodafone Ireland: Back in 2010 Patrick Haslett was a winner in the Vodafone Foundation World of Difference competition.  This allows a select number of individuals to work with a chosen charity in a specific role with Vodafone funding their ability to ‘make a difference.  Patrick nominated Paralympics Ireland and forged a role as Partnership Manager which was crucial to bringing together such a strong network of partners. After our support of Patrick’s “World of Difference” year had ended, we decided to sponsor the organisation more directly, which was a great to fit to our existing sports sponsorships, such as Dublin GAA.
What are the main reasons for this sponsorship and how have you positioned it alongside your other major sporting commitments in Ireland?
Vodafone Ireland has a strong background in sports sponsorship, so the opportunity to engage with a high-performance organisation like Paralympics Ireland was a natural fit.
We have a very broad range of partnerships, ranging from other more high profile sponsorships such as Dublin GAA but also more niche sports that perhaps don’t get the same level of attention yet need support all the more as a result.  Aside from Paralympics Ireland, we work closely with Triathlon Ireland and were the headline supporter of last weekend’s Vodafone Dublin City triathlon where 100 of our staff competed.
With Paralympics Ireland, we are the official telecommunications partner.  Aside from financial assistance, we’ve provided all 95 of the official team of athletes and support staff with a Vodafone mobile phone to meet all their communication needs at the Games in London.
What has been the most effective way so far that you have made the relationship work?
We have positioned the partnership in our social media space.  Through world champion track athlete, Michael McKillop and top swimmer James Scully, we have access to exciting blogs and content for our online channels.  We find this the most direct and active way in which to promote Paralympics Ireland and keep them connected with the fans.
Paralympics Ireland have also been excellent at keeping us involved with various partner gatherings, where as sponsor we were given the opportunity to see and interact with the Irish Paralympic squad.
It’s been a real privilege to interact with such superb athletes.
How you will make the most of your association during the course of the games?
From our point of view, it’s all about how we can support the Paralympics team to be the best they can in London.
We have the systems in place to make it easier to stay in touch through providing them with their Vodafone mobile phone, and we will be running our social media activity to give an insight into what it is like to be up close at such a wonderful event.
Do you have a plan in place should Michael McKillop or James Scully win Gold in London?
We don’t want to tempt fate so at this stage all we want is the guys to put in their best performances. Should they return with gold then we will all celebrate!
Have you considered yet whether you will extend your relationship beyond London 2012?
As we do with all of our partnerships, a review of the programme will be conducted as we come to the end of our initial sponsorship.  For now we are focused on what ought to be a wonderful festival of sporting excellence.
The Irish team at the London 2012 Paralympic Games will comprise of 49 athletes across 10 sports. Ireland’s current Paralympic stars include Jason Smyth, Michael McKillop, Mark Rohan, Colin Lynch, Catherine Walsh and Catherine O’Neill.  All will be aiming to add London gold to their world or Paralympic titles.
The overall team size will be boosted to around 95 by a highly dedicated and professional team of staff across a variety of roles including Chef de Mission, Performance Director, Team Managers, coaches, sport science/medical and personal care support. The goal is to achieve at least five medals, three of them Gold, and a top-30 placing in the final table.
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