At Sport for Business, we often talk of providing ‘heads up’ opportunities and such was the case with a successful Partners 19 event at the Sport Ireland Campus on Friday.
It was an opportunity for brands and agencies to share some of what goes into their sponsorship portfolios, and for sporting bodies to present a range of programmes and events that could be their perfect fit.
Our judging panel of Sharon Lancaster from Sports Direct, Sarah O’Connor from Wilson Hartnell and Rob Hartnett from Sport for Business selected three projects, any one of which would have been a worthy winner but in the end, it was Paula Cunniffe presenting Run In The Dark that won through.
An event with a great cause at its heart, she demonstrated not only its growth since its inception but also the stories it has yielded and a visual guide to where a brand might engage in both a physical and a digital environment.
Specific numbers and a confident ability to reach them were key to the presentation.
Event Partner Atomic Sport’s Patrick Murphy guided us through how rights holders view sponsorship on the modern era and the importance of creating a right first impression.
Sinéad Galvin doubled down on that with a six-point plan to building the perfect pitch that had pens scribbling and phones furiously snapping.
The Sponsors panel discussion featured Lisa Bergin from Aviva and Jen Ryan from Lifestyle Sport giving an honest appraisal of the difference in quality between the kinds of proposal that lands in their inboxes.
Their insight on how they appraise different opportunities and how they measure the success of those with whom they choose to partner, from the biggest to the most modest in terms of investment, was noted carefully by the audience at the Sport Ireland Campus Conference Centre.
We will be providing direct feedback to all those who presented and look forward to seeing a number of relationships come from the day.
