MEDIA AND MARKETING: The new €5 million deal between the Irish rugby team and Permanent TSB has pushed the valuations for key sporting sponsorships up again.
In the past three years, banks and drinks companies have upped the amount they are prepared to spend on key sporting "properties" such as teams or specific competitions.
The desperate need among sporting bodies for cash following the Government's decision to designate major sporting events has also played a part.
Bank of Ireland is particularly active in the sponsorship field with the GAA All-Ireland Football Championship a major part of its marketing strategy. This contract is worth about €1.5 million per annum. Guinness also attaches considerable importance to its sponsorship of the GAA All-Ireland Hurling Championship.
According to industry sources, about 75 per cent of the € 5 million in this case is being used to buy up the sponsorship, with the remainder going on Permanent TSB's own rugby-related advertising and marketing.
This makes it one of the largest deals signed in recent years, but because of increased competition in the rugby arena such spending will become the norm, according to Mr John Trainor of Amarach Consulting, who has co-authored a report on sponsorship in Ireland.
"With Heineken sponsoring the European Cup and AIB sponsoring the All-Ireland League, this is a difficult space to operate in."
The rugby sponsorships are so strong, according to marketing sources, that the somewhat inconsistent form of the national team does not appear to dent the value of sponsorships like this or the All-Ireland League or the European Cup.
Mr Niall O'Grady, marketing manager of Permanent TSB, said under the new deal, Permanent TSB would get greater exposure on the day of matches.
He said the name on the shirts remained a big part of the deal, but also exposure in the ground and the general media value of the deal attracted the company.
"We have been with the team for 10 years now and we wanted to continue it."
Mr Trainor said the challenge for Permanent TSB and the others was to support their direct investment in the team with advertising and marketing spend of their own.
"In many instances, the rights fee should be supported with at least the same again to make sure the sponsorship works effectively," he said.
TV wars in Iraq
BBC's News 24 and CNN have been the big media losers from events in Iraq so far. The AOL Time Warner-owned CNN has lost serious ground to rival Fox News, owned by Rupert Murdoch.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Fox has racked up 5.8 million viewers on average per hour during six days of war coverage, while CNN could only manage 5 million.
In a painful irony for CNN, its reporters were forced to leave Baghdad, while Peter Arnett, who used to work for the station, remained broadcasting around the clock for CNN's rivals, NBC and MSNBC.
In Britain, the BBC has won the terrestrial battle, particularly against ITV. But in relation to rolling news services, the state-owned broadcaster has been hammered by Sky News.
Sky News is attracting three times as many viewers as BBC's News 24.
Last Friday the Sky News coverage drew a record audience share of 9.2 per cent as the assault on Baghdad began.
Its share of audience was more than three times that of BBC News 24, which attracted 2.9 per cent of the viewing on Friday.
Rothco wins
One of Dublin's fastest growing agencies, Rothco, has won the McDonald's breakfast account, valued at about €600,000.
Rothco was appointed following a competitive pitch with Owens DDB and AFA Advertising losing out on this occasion.
McDonald's media agency, Mediaworks, will continue to be responsible for the media buying for all of McDonald's breakfast business. Rothco has had a successful few months landing one of the biggest accounts of the year, Murphys. It is currently shortlisted for the Aer Lingus account.
Meanwhile, a new deal worth €400,000 over three years has been agreed by McDonald's and the GAA. The new Gaelic football coaching programme aimed at children in fifth and sixth class was developed by the GAA in partnership with McDonald's, which will provide schools and clubs with equipment and materials to develop catching and kicking techniques.
Over 3,000 schools and clubs have been provided with free equipment carrying the McDonald's brand name.
New consultancy
Former Lite FM shareholder and director Mr Al Dunne and public relations executive Ms Breda Brown have set up a Dublin-based PR and media consultancy.
The new company, Unique Media Ltd, will offer a range of services including public relations, media training, brand building, creative advertising, media buying and radio consultancy.
A production studio is currently being constructed in Rathmines to facilitate media training sessions for Unique's clients.
Before setting up Unique Media, Ms Brown ran Brown Media, a PR and media consultancy established in 2001. All Brown Media clients will now move to Unique Media, among them: Associated Newspapers Ireland, Lite FM, Ros na Rún, the TG4 soap opera; the Trabolgan village in Co Cork and the advertising house, the Larkin Partnership. Mr Dunne is former programme director of Atlantic 252 where he was responsible for the total output of the radio station.
• Any media, marketing, advertising news, please email to eoliver@irish-times.ie
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