IEG is the world’s largest gathering of sponsorship professionals and takes place over the next three days in the City of Chicago.
Sport for Business will have a special report for each of the next three days from Sarah O’Connor, Head of Sport at Wilson Hartnell who has travelled west to attend.
The event plays host to 1,200 marketing professionals from around the world and will cover areas of interest in the field of marketing and partnership from cause alignment to data insight and storytelling to digital content.
There is a strong US bias to the speaker line up but Wimbledon Head of Digital Alexandra Willis will present as will Rudolf Vidal of Bayern Munich.
Ireland will be represented on the main stage for the first time with Brian Keating and Mark Brennan of AIB presenting on Tuesday about how the long term sponsorship of the All Ireland Club Hurling and Football Championships was re-energised to restore the reputation of the bank.
“If baseball is America’s national pastime, Gaelic Games is Ireland’s, with passion for the sport a part of the Irish identity,” reads the IEG website about their presentation.
“As a result of the economic crisis, AIB — one of Ireland’s largest financial services providers and a 23-year Gaelic Games sponsor — saw public trust and sentiment plummet, reaching a record low of six percent.”
“Mark and Brian will detail how the revitalization of AIB’s Gaelic Games sponsorship and the addition of a major new element — underpinned with specialist knowledge of the sponsored property—restored brand trust, delivered on business objectives and is assisting in the journey towards total rehabilitation.
Join us from tomorrow then for Sarah’s on the spot commentary on the activations and the future trends that will impact on how we manage partnerships between business and sport.
