Irish brands and right holders have had an incredible level of success in the shortlist published yesterday for the European Sponsorship Awards.

30 different Irish campaigns have gathered 40 different shortlistings putting Ireland well clear of the field in terms of recognition at the prestigious awards.

We are particularly proud of the fact that no fewer than six of our main partners in Sport for Business – AIB, AIG, Bank of Ireland, PwC, Sky and Allianz have all been shortlisted as well as work from Aer Lingus, Legacy Communications, the GAA, Dublin GAA, Future Proof Media, Bord Gais Energy, Energia, SSE Airtricity, the FAI, Leinster Rugby, the IRFU, Virgin Media, Whoop, Core, Wilson Hartnell and Teneo, all of whom we are pleased to count as longstanding members.

The full listing of the Irish campaigns to be shortlisted is as follows.

Aer Lingus and Legacy CommunicationsCollege Football Classic (PR)
AIB and GAA – Tough Can’t Quit (Talent, Best Use of Content)
AIB Home of the Year (Media)
AIG and Dublin GAA (Sport €1M+)
AIG Effort is Equal (Talent)
AIG and Future Proof The Neuroscience of Sponsorship (Measurement, Cutting Edge Technology)
AIG Support 4 Drummo (Talent, PR, Purpose and ESG)
Allianz and Women’s Aid (Purpose and ESG)
An Post Irish Book Awards ‘Everyone a Reader’ (Arts and Culture)
Bank of Ireland and Business to Arts Begin Together (Arts and Culture)
Bord Gais Energy State of Play (Talent, Purpose and ESG)
Circle K Here for Ireland (Sport <250K)
Energia AIL A 30 Year rugby Legacy (Talent, Best use of Digital Channels)
Energia Get Ireland Growing (Purpose and ESG)
Just Eat Ireland and Leinster Rugby DNA in Talent (Talent)
Mcdonald’s and 2FM Breakfast (Media)
PwC and GAA 50th All-Stars (Event of the Year)
PwC Ireland and Image (Media)
PwC The Climate of Business (Purpose and ESG)
Sky Ireland and FAI Outbelieve (Best Use of Content, Best Newcomer, Sport <€500K)
SSE Airtricity and FAI A Common Goal (PR, Best Use of Content, Purpose and ESG)
SuperValu and the GAA #CommunityIncludesEveryone (PR)
SuperValu Tidy Towns Save the Bees (Purpose and ESG)
Teneo Sports Advisory (Agency of the Year)
Three Sponsorship of Electric Picnic (Music)
Thee and 3Olympia Theatre (Arts and Culture)
Triton Lake and Irish Rugby Sevens (Best Newcomer)
VHI More than Running (Event of the Year)
Virgin Media and McDonald’s (Media)
Whoop and Giro D’Italia (Media, Cutting Edge Technology)
 
The 2023 ESA Awards ceremony will take place in London on Thursday 9 March and will provide a panoramic view of the sponsorship industry and demonstrate the power of partnerships in delivering on business objectives – in many cases for the benefit of wider society.
 
The Awards will take place at The Brewery venue and tables and tickets can now be purchased with an early bird discount available until 6 January 2023.
 
The shortlist – revealed today – highlights a wide range of best practice in arts, culture, entertainment and sports sponsorship. Almost 100 organisations from Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the UK feature on the shortlist, with the ESA Best of Europe nominees still to come.
 
Rob Hartnett of Sport for Business will be one of the judges in this prestigious category.
 
Nigel Owens MBE will host the 2023 ESA Awards.
 
The ESA Awards is renowned for credibility in judging, with 80 senior sponsorship and marketing professionals from 17 countries forming the judging panel.
 
“It’s clear from looking at the 2023 ESA Awards shortlist that this was the year the sponsorship industry moved on from the pandemic with outstanding creativity and innovation,” said ESA Chair Andy Westlake.
 
“We saw major live events return across all forms of sport and culture, bringing brands and fans together at the heart of some incredible experiences.”
 
“The ESA Awards is a fantastic annual celebration of the power of sponsorship as an integrated part of the marketing mix. We have a dynamic international community, and we are all very much looking forward to coming together in March to celebrate the very best in sponsorship.”
 
“High-quality entries and high-quality judging are two of the hallmarks of the ESA Awards, which help to underpin its credibility within the industry,” added Matthew Leopold, Chair of the ESA Awards Committee.
 
“I’m delighted that this year is no exception, and the shortlist features a vast variety of impressive entries from across Europe, which our panel is looking forward to discussing next week.”