The European Sponsorship Association (“ESA”) has announced the creation of ESA Ireland at its Annual Irish Event held at the ODEON Point Square in Dublin’s North Docks today.
ESA Ireland is a networking community for all professionals working in sponsorship in Ireland and, together with the European Sponsorship Association, will seek to promote excellence in sponsorship whilst providing access to sponsorship-specific education and training for members.
Sponsorship spend in Ireland is growing. Irish sponsorship consultancy, ONSIDE, estimate the value of Ireland’s sponsorship industry at €227 million, an increase of 7% on 2023 and a figure that will surpass the pre-pandemic peak of €224 million reached in 2019. This is reflective of investment in sponsorship around the world which continues to grow, particularly sport sponsorship. Statista anticipate spending on sport sponsorship will grow by a compound annual growth rate of 8.68% from $97.35 billion in 2022 to reach $189.5 billion by 2030.
Research presented as part of the ESA Ireland launch at today’s conference identified emerging sports and music as two areas of opportunities for sponsors. The research also identified the importance of sponsorship activation to ensuring sponsorship investment resonates with the ultimate target audience, consumers. The research identified a perception gap on the impact of sponsorship between industry professionals and consumers with that gap narrowing where activation formed a significant part of the overall investment and widening where activation levels have traditionally been lower.
Speaking at the launch of ESA Ireland, Daragh Persse, ESA Board Director said: “We are delighted to be launching ESA Ireland today. It is a landmark moment for Irish sponsorship, which has experienced significant growth and success over the last 15 years.
“To have our own dedicated network of sponsorship professionals from across the brand, rights holder and agency landscape will be of huge benefit to all of us working in the industry, enabling us to learn from each other and continue to set the standard for excellence in sponsorship.
“Sponsorship when done well is proven not only to deliver for business but can also have a significant impact on some of the things of crucial importance to Irish society – sport, music, the arts and charitable causes.”
Sophie Morris, ESA Chair, said: “I’m thrilled to see the launch of a new ESA Chapter in Ireland today. Irish sponsorship professionals are already a strong part of the ESA community and the establishment of ESA Ireland will further drive the already very high standard of sponsorship in Ireland and enable ESA to deliver more local benefits in training, networking and events.
“Part of ESA’s mission is to grow a diverse community and ESA Ireland will bring more sponsors, rights holders, agencies and suppliers into the ESA family to help us achieve that.”
ESA Ireland will provide more information about the development of the community in the coming weeks. Current ESA members based in Ireland or interested professionals who would like to find out more can connect with ESA Ireland through their social channels on LinkedIn at ESA Ireland and on X at @esairelan, or on email at marketing@sponsorship.org.
Sport for Business is a Founding Partner of ESA Ireland alongside Core Sponsorship, Legacy Communications, The Marketing Institute of Ireland, Onside Sponsorship, Teneo, The Brand Fans and Wilson Hartnell
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