> SPONSORSHIP
Left: 3 signed a four-year deal with the Irish soccer team in 2010. Pictured are Republic of Ireland soccer players (l–r) Greg Cunningham and Stephen Kelly wearing the one-off Limited Edition Pink version of the Ireland jersey in aid of breast cancer by sponsors 3 and Umbro
Below: Guinness continues to be one of the most appealing sponsors. Pictured is the company’s ‘This Is Rugby Country’ ad campaign
that two-thirds of sponsors expect to increase or keep their spon- sorship spending the same in 2011 compared to last year, while 75pc of rightsholders are expecting their sponsorship revenue to at least remain constant. This is a much more balanced outlook for the market compared to 2010,” says Trainor. “Looking back over the past year, some 46pc of sponsors indi-
However, according to the Onside Sponsorship Outlook for
2011, the market now seems to have stabilised and is once again showing positive signs, with a return to growth predicted for 2012. Published annually, the outlook is gleaned from a combination of
the company’s annual survey of 55 key sponsorship practitioners in the Irish market, both sponsors and rightsholders, coupled with par- allel research among 1,000 consumers on the country’smost appeal- ing sponsors and sponsor-related experiences of the past year. Last year, the Irish sponsorship market was valued at €125m,
down 6pc on 2009. Its overall value for 2011 is estimated at €123m, a further 2pc drop, which will bring it back to pre-2008 lev- els, although much of the decline against last year’s figures can be accounted for through a reduction in fees. “One of the good things to come out of the downturn is that
prices are a bit more realistic now compared to the boom years,” explains John Trainor, managing director of Onside Sponsorship. “It was a bit like the property market at times in terms of getting real value for money. While top tier fees for premier events have mostly managed to hold their value, we’re seeing discounts from peak prices of anything from 10–50pc on second tier deals. “The market itself seems to have settled somewhat now and the
signs are that we will see increased activity and a return to growth by next year, although some sectors, particularly GAA, rugby and broadcasting, will perform better than others.” Meanwhile, the global sponsorship market grew by 5.2pc in
2010 and is now valued at around €48.7bn. Similar growth levels are also forecast for 2011. The fact that Ireland is lagging behind in the return to growth stakes is indicative of the depth of the recession here compared to other countries. Despite continuing uncertainty in the broader economy, the
Onside outlook for 2011 will offer significant encouragement to both sponsors and rightsholders here in Ireland. “The move towards stabilisation in the Irish market is supported by the finding
50 Marketing Age Volume 5 Issue 1 2011
cated that they had actually increased sponsorship spend over that period. This compares to 24pc in 2009. Similarly, almost half of rightsholders (48pc) claimed to have increased their revenue from sponsorship in 2010, which is definitely a very encouraging sign. Other good news is that while 72pc of rightsholders in 2009 said they were finding it hard to get new sponsors on board, this was down to just 50pc last year.”
Changed objectives Another interesting finding of the survey is the major sea change in sponsor objectives. While 2010 was characterised by a swing towards using sponsorship primarily to drive sales, the main empha- sis for this year is on changing and/or reinforcing brand image. “There is definitely a return to using sponsorship to communi-
cate core values right now,” Trainor explains. “Perhaps many of the big names feel that corporate Ireland’s reputation has taken a bit of a hammering over the past few years and are once again look- ing to sponsorship as a means of re-communicating their core val- ues and emphasising their close links with the community.” The survey also reveals that over a third of all Irish sponsors questioned are now spending almost 25pc of their marketing budget on sponsorship, which is broadly in line with international norms of sponsorship allocation from marketing funds and is a fur- ther indication that the Irish market is maturing.
Movers and shakers While the overall value of the market was down, there was still quite a bit of activity in the sponsorship sector in Ireland last year. With a number of three and four-year deals coming to a close, sev- eral key sponsors opted to move on to pastures new, although rightsholders were successful in finding replacements for the vast majority of them.
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