Sport for Business caught up with AIG Sponsorship Manager John Gillick for a look behind the scenes at how the company plans to make the most of its second year involvement as sponsor of Dublin GAA.
SfB: The second year can be tough without the benefit of being ‘new’. How will you make AIG relevant to fans this year?
JG: Year one is all about making an initial impact and this year will be about building on that. We have looked through all the elements of last year’s engagement with our international team based out of New York. They have experience of dealing with Man United and the All Blacks and have been glowing in their praise of what Dublin and the GAA delivers as very professional organisations operating in an amateur sport.
We will focus extra resource in the areas where we got the greatest cut through last year, going directly to fans and club members with offers such as the 17% discount on premiums we have launched 2015 with.
This delivers a tangible benefit back to the fans and is a important focus on where we saw gains last year.
SfB: Did you find spikes of business in Dublin last year and was there any impact the other way in areas outside the capital?
JG: AIG is a very metric driven company. We closely analyse business trends, sentiment and awareness and this sponsorship has been a big winner for us. Despite being involved in Ireland for a long time we still had a relatively low level of awareness before getting involved with Dublin.
We conduct quarterly awareness surveys and the last one of those which took place in October showed a prompted awareness level of 80 per cent. There has been a big multiplier effect on policies across Dublin as you might expect but the lift has occurred across the country.
The GAA is united by more than divides it and the fact that as an organisation we are seen to be supporting the Association in a very visible way means that we are hitting high levels of trust and propensity to purchase.
That’s what a good sponsorship delivers.
We were also pleasantly surprised with an unexpected significant rise in corporate business. People in that area were aware of AIG as a major player but the feedback from our sales teams is that the involvement with the GAA has opened many more doors and led to real business gains.
SfB: How might your international dimension play out in 2015?
JG: As sponsors of the All Blacks this is going to be a big year with the Rugby World Cup taking place so close to home. We enjoyed some real success last year bringing the players over and having the two codes share some time together, some training and lifestyle tips.
The strategic team in New York will be looking at ways of making the shared relationship work for both sides, and their fans as the All Blacks prepare for their games in Cardiff and London. If Dublin make it through to the All Ireland Final it is not beyonds the bounds of possibility that we might have the All Blacks over to experience what Croke Park is like on its busiest and most vibrant day of the year.
And who knows we might plan return trip to Twickenham the following month so that the lads can give each other encouragement to be reach the highest level.
AIG got involved in rugby safety in 2014 with a €35,000 programme encouraging greater awareness of protection on the training field and in matches. That will continue as a strong global theme for us this year and we will see what synergies there might be between the two sports.
SfB: With Liberty Insurance and Allianz existing strong supporters of GAA tournaments in which Dublin play how do you manage potential conflicts?
JG: There is a mutual respect between the brands that we are all competing for a share of voice within the GAA. That has served us well so far and in many ways it’s just like two teams going out on the pitch. You try to win as much as you can but you stay within the rules.
We have first call over the Dublin team but will always release players for engagements with other sponsors. It does need careful planning and we are always aware of when players are undertaking other engagements. It wasn’t a problem at all in year one and we hope to carry that on for the rest of our five year deal.
The biggest challenge will arise if the Dublin hurlers and camogie players do well and progress to All Ireland level. Liam Rushe has a pre-signed arrangement to help promote Liberty and while that is not ideal we are sensitive to the fact that he like all in the GAA is an amateur player and we have never stood in his way of fulfilling what he needs to do.
It comes down to everyone recognising the boundaries and looking to get the most out of where we have invested.
Check out more detail about AIG’s plans for the Dublin GAA sponsorship here.
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Image credit: Sportsfile
