Sponsor deal worth €1.3 million per annum

GAELIC GAMES:YESTERDAY'S FORMAL launch of the Eircom sponsorship of the All-Ireland football championship, estimated to be worth up to €1.3 million per annum over the next three years, was an important piece in the ongoing jigsaw of the GAA championships' multi-sponsorship model, which this summer will mark its fourth year.

“We are delighted to be associated with a really strong Irish brand, which sets up the model in the years to come,” said Dermot Power, the GAA’s director of commercial and marketing.

Asked how the commercial deals are holding up in the teeth of the worst recession for decades, he denies the asking price for sponsorships has reduced since 2008.

“There’s been virtually no fall-off in the cost of the sponsorships, although what I would say is that there hasn’t been the growth we originally forecast either. But we’re very happy to have six major brands associated with the GAA.

“I think the delivery we offer has improved. Compare the advertising in our grounds with other sports. Around the stands you have six brands plus the GAA presence. At pitch level there are just three.

“Our partners also get to sponsor the television coverage and during All-Ireland finals and semi-finals broadcasts, they get advertising protection from rival brands.”

The multi-sponsorship, or “Champions League” model, was initiated for the 2008 season and brought to an end 14 years of title sponsors – Bank of Ireland for football and Guinness, a year less, in hurling. The latter stayed on board as one of three partners for the hurling championship, joining newcomers Etihad Airlines and RTÉ, whereas the football was taken on by three new sponsors, Toyota, Vodafone and Ulster Bank.

There have been nine sponsors to date. RTÉ’s involvement with the hurling championship was relatively short term and they were replaced after two years by convenience store chain Centra.

Car manufacturer Toyota also withdrew after two years citing severe market conditions in the recession and were replaced by Centra’s supermarket counterpart in the Musgrave retailing operation, SuperValu.

According to Power, this partnership with the retailers, which is believed to include a discount for their joint involvement, has provided an extra benefit for the GAA and its premium competitions.

“Centra and SuperValu deliver an incredible national presence. We haven’t had that sort of high-street profile up until their arrival.

“There are about 500 outlets around the country and we’re already looking at ways in which this network can be used to distribute tickets.”

The final changeover took place yesterday after the withdrawal of mobile phone company Vodafone, which also detached from its long-running association with the All Stars annual awards scheme, but last year embarked on a sponsorship deal with the Dublin senior football and hurling teams.

Coincidentally, Eircom’s chief commercial officer Carolan Lennon, who spoke on the company’s behalf at yesterday’s launch, was consumer director at Vodafone Ireland and closely identified with the move to sponsor Dublin, shortly after which she left the mobile phone operator.

She left behind a sponsorship that has performed really well after a rocky start, with Dublin’s footballers reaching last year’s All-Ireland semi-finals and having qualified for the league final at the end of this month and the county’s hurlers still in with a chance of making the hurling final at the beginning of May.

The Eircom sponsorship will run for three years with an option to renew. It is understood the GAA have cleared the sponsorship situation now until next year when the Guinness contract is up for renewal. The brewery’s fellow hurling sponsors, Etihad, are also understood to be ready to commit for at least a further year, whereas Ulster Bank are expected to renew their football sponsorship for another three years.

According to Power, the GAA will shortly receive a specially commissioned report, conducted by Prof Tony Meenaghan of UCD’s Quinn School of Business, an expert in the field of both sponsorship evaluation and sports marketing.

“In a recession we’re looking at how we are managing and how we can improve things.

“It’s six years since Tony Meenaghan did his initial report for us and three years into the multi-sponsor model it’s a good time to see how it’s performing.”