Dublin GAA’s relationship with new sponsor AIG was revealed to the world yesterday, together with it’s most obvious manifestation, the new kit to be worn by the All Ireland Football Champions, the Leinster Hurling Champions as well as Dublin’s Ladies Football and Camogie teams.
It is the largest single county sponsorship in the market by a considerable margin and will enable Dublin GAA to continue its coaching and development programmes aimed at delivering gaelic games across the capital.
From a sporting perspective there are counties who will envy the multi million injection of cash into what is already a thriving and successful group of teams. There are sports who will look on the money and consider what they could do with only a tiny fraction of it.
The reality is though that Dublin GAA has a winning brand with strong engagement across a substantial and very engaged audience, and the ability to tell its story well to a business audience that wants to be part of it.
AIG is one of the world’s largest insurers and sporting sponsors. The blue logo on the Dublin shirt will be familiar to fans of Manchester United and the New Zealand All Blacks, two of the biggest teams in global sport.
The company has a resource on the activation of sponsorship within sport that has the clear potential to make it the most exciting partnership of 2014. Among the team at yesterday’s Conrad Hotel launch was the lady who looks after the global management of the All Blacks sponsorship programme.
Expect to see the two teams come together when New Zealand hit the streets of Dublin in the next two weeks.
There is a clear enthusiasm for what is possible among senior management. AIG is a well run business serving Ireland as one of many markets and employing 400 staff here. When they arrived to work yesterday morning they will have stepped a little taller when they saw the building wrap pictured above as part of the business saying ‘we are here.’
The company is a long term partner of the Golfing Union of Ireland and insurance provider to tennis Ireland. The main areas of business here are in insurance, global asset management, aircraft leasing and as the Europe and Middle East Regional Technical Centre for the Group.
“We are committed to helping Dublin GAA to promote the whole family of gaelic games, to support its development and assist in bringing future success on and off the fields of play,” said AIG Ireland General Manager Declan O’Rourke.
“Our company motto is ‘bring on tomorrow’ and our whole team is excited to be doing that with Dublin GAA, its management, coaches, players, fans and clubs.”
“The launch is a clear statement that we are here. Over the coming weeks, months and the next five years we will work as hard as anyone involved with Dublin to be a partner and an enabler of success.”
Tomorrow on Sport for Business we will look at the landscape around insurance companies heavy investment in and around the GAA.
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