Irish Sponsorship Market – A Modest 2% Decrease Forecast

Following a six percent decline in the spend on sponsorship rights in Ireland in 2010, a new study released this week by Dublin consultancy Onside Sponsorship is forecasting a more modest two percent decrease in the Irish sponsorship market in 2011 to €123m. The Irish sponsorship market’s decline in 2010 was the first in a decade of double-digit growth as the general slowdown in the Irish economy took hold. The Onside study attributes the decline to pre-2008 levels mainly to a reduction in fees achieved by rights holders last year.
The move towards a more stable market in 2011 is supported by the findings of the new Onside Irish Sponsorship Industry Survey which found that two-thirds of Irish sponsors expect to increase or keep their sponsorship spending the same in 2011.
John Trainor, Managing Director of Onside notes: “A standout finding from our annual study this year has been the large scale shift in sponsor’s primary objective. While in 2010 we saw a sharp swing towards prioritising the sales stimulating potential of sponsorship, brands who perhaps feel corporate Ireland has suffered a reputation dent in recent years are again seeing sponsorship as an ideal way to enhance their brand image in 2011.”
In its first full year of implementation, Aviva’s naming rights sponsorship of the redeveloped Aviva Stadium was held up by the Onside survey of sponsorship practitioners as being best in class in 2010, followed closely by Guinness and O2 sponsorships.
The study also revealed that over one-third of sponsors surveyed are now spending almost 25% of their total marketing budget on sponsorship.
Rugby and GAA Sponsorships are seen by the industry as providing greatest growth opportunity in the future for sponsors, while GAA is now perceived as offering strongest value for money for sponsors (44%, Up 17%) with a marked year on year growth. Rugby and radio sponsorships are in equal 2nd place on this key metric. Brian O’Driscoll emerged as Ireland’s most marketable personality in terms of overall appeal to a brand for personal endorsement deals, followed by Irish Olympic hopeful Katie Taylor and Amy Huberman.
Looking further ahead, Trainor notes that “it is possible that 2012 could be the year Ireland rejoins the positive growth being experienced by our European sponsorship counterparts. Major sponsor categories are returning like auto brands, banks and other sectors as they step up their journey to recovery. Major sports sponsorships including the Volvo Ocean Race in Galway 2012, FAI potential involvement in UEFA Euro 2012, and the spill over of London 2012 Olympics will be just some of the prospective drivers of a possible return to slow growth in the industry beyond the stabilising year ahead.”