MEDIA AND MARKETING:AXA INSURANCE, long-time sponsor of the Dublin International Piano Competition, has decided not to renew its association with one of the capital's world class cultural events. That's a disappointment for organisers John O'Connor and Ann Fuller, though in fairness they've had a good run from Axa's money.
The piano competition, won by 20-year-old Alexej Gorlatch last Friday in a packed National Concert Hall, is staged every three years and Axa donates €27,000 in cash prizes to the winner and runners-up. But that’s the least of their commitment. In fact according to Axa chief executive John O’Neill, sponsoring the latest event cost his company €1 million over three years.
The even began in 1988 with sponsorship from Tony Ryans GPA. Guardian Insurance, now Axa, took up the baton for the 1994 competition, and O’Neill inherited the sponsorship from his music-loving predecessor.
The competition attracts around 40 young pianists from around the world, but the organisation isn’t cheap. Twelve months either side of the last competition in 2006, Dublin International Piano Competition Company Ltd racked up outgoings of €750,000.
With insurance company profits now under severe pressure, O’Neill says the sponsorship is a luxury his company can no longer afford. Axa is a mass market insurance brand, while the appeal of the piano competition is very limited. So what did O’Neill get out of the involvement? “We have entertained our customers and brokers. We also used the piano competition as an opportunity to entertain people we wouldn’t normally have access to, because it might be misconstrued if they were seen to be availing of corporate hospitality.
“Because the piano competition is a cultural and community event, it meant that we could invite such people and talk to them in a social environment where we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to do so.” O’Neill also credits the piano competition for assisting Axa’s 94 per cent brand awareness level with the public.
The competition is a superb event and has the scope to attract larger crowds if there was more marketing spend. The organisers haven’t yet found a blue chip company to step into Axa’s shoes, but the 2012 competition will be funded by an anonymous benefactor.
By and large, financial institutions are still good supporters of the arts. Axa’s rival, Allianz, sponsors the annual Business 2 Arts awards, which were announced this week. Ulster Bank, sponsor of the Dublin Theatre Festival, won an award for underwriting the cost of the Gate Theatre taking Waiting For Godot on a national tour. Investec was highly commended for supporting the Dublin City Gallery, and also singled out were KBC Bank’s sponsorship of the Great Irish Houses chamber music festival, and MBNA for supporting the Shannon Music Festival.
Back at the National Concert Hall, the annual report for 2008 to be published shortly will reveal that the venue raised €900,000 in sponsorship, corporate membership and other fundraising activities last year.
Almost half of this was earned from concert sponsorship and NCH’s Learn and Explore activities – a programme of concerts, workshops, activities for children and parents. The concert hall’s corporate partners include Ulster Bank, Anglo Irish Bank, ESB, Accenture, An Post, Green Property and The Irish Times. According to Rosita Wolfe, head of marketing: “Retaining our sponsors has been about working harder for the sponsor, ensuring that we are clear on what objectives both parties are trying to achieve and, where we can, over-delivering on these objectives. We have also benchmarked our pricing to ensure we are very cost-effective.”
Assuming the phased building project to expand the venue goes ahead as planned, Wolfe says the NCH will be offering naming rights opportunities for a 2,050-seat auditorium, 500-seat venue and the refurbished existing 1,200-seat hall.
“We won’t be offering sponsors complete ownership of the venue like the O2, because we believe there is enormous heritage and value in the NCH brand.
siobhan@businessplus.ie
