Lidl Ireland has extended its backing of Katie Taylor’s final fight at Croke Park into a major multi-platform partnership with RTÉ, creating a presence around Saturday night’s event that stretches beyond the stadium and the ring.
The retailer has partnered with RTÉ to cover Taylor’s historic clash with Flora Pili on Saturday, September 5th, in a deal brokered by EssenceMediacom.
The partnership includes sponsorship of the live fight broadcast on RTÉ2, RTÉ Player and RTÉ 2FM, alongside a substantial programme of build-up activity across television, radio and digital.
It represents another significant layer in Lidl’s activation around an event that has become one of the biggest sporting occasions of the year.
Rather than restricting its involvement to event branding or traditional sponsorship assets, Lidl has built an ecosystem around Taylor’s farewell appearance, connecting the 82,000 live audience at Croke Park with the much larger number who will experience the occasion through RTÉ.
That includes coverage around the pre-fight press conference and weigh-in, digital takeovers on RTÉ.ie and a series of outside broadcasts that bring the national broadcaster directly into Lidl stores.
Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio 1 and 2FM Drive with Laura and Katja will broadcast from Lidl Bray on Friday, while Inside Sport on RTÉ Radio 1 will come from Lidl Ballybough on Saturday.
“Katie Taylor’s return to Croke Park for her final fight is a moment of huge significance, not just for Irish sport but for audiences at home,” said RTÉ Commercial Director Gavin Deans.
He added that Lidl Ireland’s support would help RTÉ deliver the event live and free-to-air.
There is also a strong fit with Lidl’s wider positioning in Irish women’s sport.
The company has spent the past decade as a major partner of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, giving it an established platform around participation, visibility and support for female athletes.
“As a long-time champion of women in sport through our decade-long partnership with the LGFA, Lidl is proud to be ‘In Katie’s Corner’ for this historic clash at Croke Park,” said Fiona Farrell, Marketing Director, Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland.
“With tickets selling out for the event in minutes, we’re delighted to partner with RTÉ to bring this incredible moment to viewers across the country.”
EssenceMediacom’s Daniel Hickey said the media partnership was designed to amplify Lidl’s existing investment in the event across broadcast and digital channels.
That amplification is perhaps the most interesting element from a sports business perspective.
The value of a major sporting sponsorship increasingly lies not simply in securing rights but in building enough activity around those rights to become part of the occasion itself.
Lidl is doing that across multiple touchpoints this week: the fight, the national broadcast, radio programming, digital content and its own store network.
It means somebody does not have to hold a ticket for Croke Park to encounter the partnership.
They might hear an RTÉ programme from Bray, see the build-up online, encounter the activity around Ballybough or watch Taylor’s final walk to the ring on RTÉ2 or RTÉ Player.
Taylor faces Flora Pili at Croke Park on Saturday night in the final fight of her career, with RTÉ’s live coverage beginning at 8 pm.
For Lidl, it will provide a very large national stage on which to bring its “In Katie’s Corner” positioning to life — and a strong example of how an event partnership can be expanded through media, digital and the everyday fabric of the brand’s own retail estate.
Lidl Ireland, Croke Park Stadium, Boxing Ireland and RTÉ are full members of Sport for Business. Lidl are partners of our Women in Sport coverage.
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Image Credit: RTÉ
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