The most startling finding in a survey by Amarach Consulting of the sponsorship scene in the Republic is not that sponsorship is expected to reach £45 million (€57 million) in 2000, but that marketing managers don't seem to be too bothered about how well the money is spent.
A very significant 39 per cent of the Republic's major companies do not assess the effectiveness of their sponsorship activities.
The survey also found that Guinness's sponsorship of the All-Ireland Hurling Championship is the "best sports sponsorship" in Ireland in terms of product/event "fit" and high exposure.
It might have seemed numbingly repetitive at the time but Siemens's media strategy on RTE over New Year's Eve certainly seems to have given the company intense exposure for its £80,000 (€101,000) spend.
The company's advertising agency, Des O'Meara, placed Siemens's new 60-second commercial first in every commercial break on RTE 1 during the 24-hour broadcast. RTE says 74 per cent of the available audience watched at midnight and O'Meara estimates that 42 per cent of all Irish adults saw the advertisement at least twice.
Judging for the first Irish Internet Advertising Awards is under way and the judges - who include O&M's Mr Martin Wright; Ms Shenda Loughnane from CDP; and Ms Barbara Patton from Irish Permanent - are weighing up the efforts of the 200 entrants online, in modern fashion doing away with the traditional practice of lengthy deliberations in smoky rooms.
The awards will go to the creative developers of the sites rather than the clients. The appropriately named Mouse Awards will be presented on January 20th.
