The All Ireland Football Final on Sunday is the hottest ticket in Irish sport. In the build up to the big day we take a look at how each of the three main sponsors of this years Championship have activated their involvement across the summer.
First up is Supervalu who have focused very much on the communities around each of their stores and seen commercial benefit through the sale of match tickets on site.
The retailer has 196 stores across the country and will strengthen its presence in Dublin especially next year when rebranding existing Superquinn stores and breaking through 200 outlets. This has been ther fourth year of its relationship with the GAA and there are at least another two years to go before the next renewal.
“Supervalu’s partnership with the GAA was borne out of an audit we completed in 2008 of how our local stores give back into the communities in which they are rooted,” said Niamh Skally of Supervalu speaking to Sport for Business earlier in the summer.
“Of the €5 million in community support, no less than 70% was channelled through local GAA Clubs.”
“The Supervalu sponsorship of the Football and Centra of the Hurling Championships are the elevation to national level of what is happening on the ground in towns and counties around the country. It is very much driven and supported by those who make up our independent retailer network.”
This year’s activation was around clubs applying for a provincial bursary of €5,000 and to go head to head for the same amount again to be spent on improving the club facilities and reach into the community.
Join 40 Leaders from Irish Sport and Business on Tuesday, October 8th at Sport for Business 20/20, showcasing the best opportunities in Irish Sports Sponsorship. Click here to learn more.
Clubs from Kerry, Galway, Wexford and Donegal won the provincial awards with a variety of submissions relating to youth promotion, playing surface improvements and new kitchen facilities, the kind of projects that are always being planned by clubs across all sports.
Cordal in Kerry won the overall prize after pitching to a panel of experts at Croke Park that included All Ireland winner Paul Galvin and Marty Morrissey of RTE.
The initiative drew entries from hundreds of clubs and gave a clear opportunity for local retail franchisees to make direct contact with what for many is the largest single social group within their catchment area.
The rollout of capacity to sell tickets for Championship matches through facilities provided by Ticket.ie was expanded this year with 170 Supervalu and over 100 Centra stores now offering the ability for fans to walk in and buy tickets.
Some may feel that with only a small number of major Championship games not having a ‘walk up’ facility that sales would not impact on the average GAA fan but that has been proved to be untrue by the fact that over 200,000 tickets have been sold through the retail partners this year.
The additional over the counter spend that accompanies these ticket purchases will add directly to the retailers bottom line and most importantly provide a key differentiator as to why a consumer would choose Supervalu over another brand.
“It is a major plus to the relationship we have with the GAA,” added Skally.
“The partnership works very well for us. We monitor awareness of our messaging through RedC on a monthly and quarterly basis and the results show that Supervalu is leading the way as a brand that makes a difference.”
Steady as she goes then for Supervalu as they use the lessons learnt from previous years and other campaigns to build a unique place in local markets that are the cornerstone of the business, especially at 22 locations around Dublin and eight in Mayo.
Thursday: Eircom and Experience More
Friday: Ulster Bank and getting local
Click below for details of the Sport for Business Events Programme
Sports Sponsorship Showcase
Sports Analytics Round Table
Sports Tourism Seminar
Irish Sponsorship Awards
Sports Philanthropy Round Table
Youth Sports Conference
