Sunday’s All Ireland Final is the third time in four years that Tipperary and Kilkenny have met at Croke Park on the first Sunday in September. Each time though the line ups and the tactics are different.
The same is true of the sponsors on the big day who have to continually adapt their association with one of the biggest partnerships in Irish sport in order to stay fresh for consumers.
Liberty Insurance had a great start to their five year deal last year. Blessed with a Championship season among the best ever they had their activation and involvement recognised by Sponsorship awards in Ireland and Europe.
Year two, like a second book or a second album can be challenging but they have stepped up to the mark with a number of new initiatives.
Medals
In May it was announced that Liberty would insure the All Ireland winners’ medals across Hurling, Gaelic Football and Camogie against loss or theft.
“Liberty Insurance is in the business of providing reassurance, security and support to our customers by protecting what is important,” said Annette Ni Dhathlaoi, Liberty Head of Marketing.
“For Hurling and Camogie players who have dedicated their lives to Gaelic games, an All Ireland medal is the ultimate reward for their hard work and dedication. We are proud to support them by insuring medals won during the lifetime of our sponsorship.”
It was a neat way of connecting the business of the sponsor to an important element of the sport. It fits with parent company Liberty Mutual’s approach where as sponsors of Team USA they are insuring any Olympic Medals won by US athletes at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Turning from the players to the fans Liberty highlighted their commitment to the GAA community of players and supporters by announcing in July that a 15% discount on car insurance was available for GAA and Camogie members.
Modern sponsorship is always about more than just brand awareness and this initiative delivers the potential to bring in streams of new business and fans switching insurer based on financial rather than just empathy reasons.
Social Media
Throughout the championships, as part of its overall sponsorship strategy, a series of social media activities were held that facilitated fan engagement and online conversations. Twitter Q&A’s were held with inter-county players Joe Canning, Liam Rushe and Anna Geary.
The Anna Geary session tok place this week as part of the build up to the All Ireland Camogie Championships and included questions from fans on whether she though she could lift Marty Morrissey, who she would want Cork to buy if Camogie had a full transfer season and whether her stint as a Rose had led to any of her fellow contestants taking up the sport.
A series of innovative cross channel media partnerships became talking points of the summer. These included Today FM’s “15 for 15”, nominating the Best 15 hurlers from the last 15 years; Newstalk’s nationwide Off the Ball roadshows in Dublin, Cork, Galway Mayo and Kilkenny; and The Irish Independent’s “A Closer Look” match statistics piece following key Hurling and Camogie fixtures.
Year two then was a mix of media, relevance and building on the success of year one. Liberty will have a strong presence again in and around Croke Park on Sunday. The value of the deal can be measured in the fact that more of the 82,300 crowd in black and amber or blue and gold will haver Liberty insurance policies this year than last.
Liberty Insurance, the GAA and the Camogie Association are active members of the Sport for Business Community of sporting and business leaders.
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