M Minority Sports
So called minority sports are becoming increasingly sophisticated and adept at leveraging sponsorship. With a limited pool of government money available for the 65 national governing bodies of sport recognised by Sport Ireland, a concerted effort is being made to become less reliant on grants. Many sports bodies are making great strides putting in place commercial and sponsorship strategies to help put them on a sure financial footing in the future and deliver value for money for brands who take a risk and partner with sports outside of the big three. Vodafone’s six year partnership with Triathlon Ireland has enabled the sport to grow from some 3,000 members in 2009 to over 11,000 racing members in 2016 and can take its fair share of the plaudits for making this possible. Similar opportunities are out there for brands daring enough to take the path less travelled.
O O’Donovan Brothers
The brothers from Skibbereen have endeared themselves to the nation thanks to their Olympic heroics and post-race interviews which are sure to feature on the 2016 edition of Reeling in the Years. Winners of Ireland’s first ever Olympic rowing medal, Paul and Gary O’Donovan have been propelled into the limelight and brands are taking note. The PSG Sport & Sponsorship Index 2016, a 1000 person nationally representative survey, found that they were viewed as Ireland’s third most admired sports stars and their “steak & spuds” and “pull like a dog” tactics were the most memorable sporting moment of the year.
They have already penned a partnership with Bord Bia launching their Eggs: Fuel for a busy life campaign back in October and will no doubt be looking to form long term strategic partnerships to take them through to Tokyo 2020.
P Player Access
Player access remains one of the most valuable assets available to a sponsor with a well-timed media event having the potential to generate huge exposure across print, online and broadcast media or a player visit creating a feel good factor around the office for weeks. AIG realised many business benefits from their sponsorship of Dublin GAA, among them was a considerable reduction in staff churn. The insurance provider has facilitated office trophy tours and went as far as to provide Dublin GAA players with the opportunity to gain valuable work experience within AIG.
Rights holders have the unenviable job of balancing an ever increasing desire for access to players and behind the scenes content with the needs of management and players to focus on performance and the business of results.
Q Questions
Questions continue to linger over sport in 2017 with drugs scandals and governance issues not going away. Brands will be keeping a close eye on developments and are likely to pay greater attention to the contractual small print and inclusion of morality clauses if penning a deal with athletes or rights holders.
Food and drink giant Nestle ended its sponsorship of the IAAF in early 2016 as it feared the doping scandal engulfing the world athletics governing body could damage its reputation while US swimmer Ryan Lochte lost four major sponsors, including Speedo and Polo Ralph Lauren, after the 12-time Olympic medallist admitted to lying about being robbed at gunpoint while in Rio.
R Rugby World Cup 2017
The 8th edition of the Women’s Rugby World Cup will take place in Ireland in August 2017. There’s an undeniable buzz about the competition and the wider effects it could have in terms of putting women’s sport in the limelight and showcasing Ireland as a potential host of the RWC 2023.
The tournament will only serve to add further momentum to sponsors investment in women’s sport which took a huge step up in 2016, led by Lidl who provided Ladies Gaelic Football with #SeriousSupport to the tune of €1.5 million.
S Snapchat
The app has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence and Irish users are not being left behind. Latest figures from the Ipsos MRBI suggest that 28% of the population now have a Snapchat account with a handsome 67% using the app on a daily basis.
While the app is largely used by friends to share moments, brand and rights holders are increasingly getting in on the act providing behind the scenes access to the moments that matter.
Amongst the growing list of events who have recognised the value of snapchat is Wimbledon. With 148 years of history the All England Club is certainly not one to jump on the latest trend lightly. Despite this, Wimbledon has spotted an opportunity partnering with Snapchat in a three-year deal which will see live stories posted from the tournament including from the men’s and women’s finals where a combined 18.1 million viewers tuned in on the BBC in 2016.
Head of content and digital, Alexandra Willis cited “showing Wimbledon to a different audience” and “engaging with a younger generation” as the motivation behind the partnership which makes perfect sense considering over 80% of 15-18 year olds are active on the social media network.
Read the other posts in this series:
Sponsorship A-Z Activation to Fifa
Sponsorship A-Z Growth to Long Form Content
Sponsorship A-Z Minority Sports to Snapchat
Sponsorship A-Z Table Tennis to Zuckerberg
