Vodafone gives way to SOS charity
Vodafone is to replace its familiar logo on the Dublin Football and Hurling jerseys with one supporting mental health charity ‘Suicide or Survive’ for the opening games of the Allianz Football and Hurling Leagues.
The initiative has precedent with O2 having switched their Irish Rugby shirt sponsorship to promote O2 money for the game against England at the Aviva Stadium last summer.  A number of football clubs having carried charity logos on shorts in recent seasons including Aston Villa and Barcelona.  Galway wore Cancer Care West shirts in the past as well.
The switch will boost awareness of the charity in front of a large live and TV audience at Croke Park against Kerry on Saturday night, February 4th and then in the hurling opener against Galway on February 26th.
It has already proved a winner in terms of sponsor publicity.
Saul a key appointment for Connacht Rugby
Connacht Rugby, fresh from a first victory in the Heineken Cup at the weekend have made a bold statement of their intent by appointing Alex Saul to the newly created role of Head of Marketing.
Saul previously worked as head of sponsorship and branding with the Welsh Rugby Union.  He was involved there in six nations and Rugby World Cup commercial campaigns that would have positioned him as a senior figure in the commercial side of the game.
The role is expected to cover all off the field commercial activities, including merchandising, sponsorship, ticketing and branding, as well as the management of external partnerships including with the IRFU.
Munster attract Magnet as partner
Munster Rugby has appointed Magnet Networks as its official telephone and broadband supplier.  The agreement will cover eight venues across the province and will fire up Munster’s ability to improve the fans match day experience at Thomond Park in particular.
Sport in the US and UK has seen rapid growth in the immersive experience offered at games through social media such as twitter, facebook and mobile apps.
Under the terms of the partnership Magnet Networks will be the exclusive provider of fixed line phone and broadband services to Munster Rugby’s match venues, training grounds and offices in Cork and Limerick.
Tom Larkin, Marketing Manager for Magnet Networks says of the deal: “We are delighted to be associated with an organisation of such high calibre and quality whose values very much echo that of Magnet Networks. We believe the partnership will help strengthen Magnet’s ties with local communities and demonstrate our commitment to homes and businesses all over Munster.”
Welsh boss in online introduction
Giovanni Trapattoni may not be a regular tweeter but his new Welsh counterpart certainly will be.  Chris Coleman will be hosting a Question and Answer session with fans this week following his appointment as the Wales team manager.
National team sponsor Vauxhall Motors is opening up its official welsh FA twitter and facebook digital channels to accept questions from fans.  These will then be put to Coleman in a session that will be filmed and posted online on Friday.
It is a smart use of a branded channel to associate the sponsor with breaking news that will be of real interest to fans.
The official twitter account is @Vauxhall­_Wales.
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