Ryder Cup sponsorship pays dividends as tie-ins attract new consumers, writes Caroline Madden

Bord Bia, an official sponsor of the Ryder Cup, has already recouped more than three times the cost of the elaborate sponsorship programme that it has organised for the sporting event.

"Before a golf ball has even been hit off the first tee, there has been a return on investment of €5 million," said Angela Kennedy, chairman of the Government body responsible for marketing and promoting Irish food and beverages. "We can already say that 'yes, the preparation has paid off', all the strategic planning over the last year and a half has paid off."

This is the largest sponsorship programme Bord Bia has ever been involved in, according to Ms Kennedy and one that came about a result of Aer Lingus pulling out.

Bord Bia has been "meticulously planning" its strategy since July 2005 and has invested a total of €1.5 million in its sponsorship programme. Kennedy explained that, due to the organisation's limited resources - it has fewer than 100 employees - it has had "to be creative and innovative" in leveraging this investment to the maximum.

The first leg of the sponsorship programme was launched in April of this year with the aim of increasing Irish meat product sales. Ten million specially labelled meat packs were distributed across 4,000 retailers in Ireland and Britain, offering purchasers a free golf lesson with a professional golfer.

Irish buyers also had the chance to win Ryder Cup tickets. The initiative proved to be hugely popular, and generated in the region of €3 million, Kennedy said.

An additional €2 million has been generated by Bord Bia's partnership with the Ryder Cup caterers, Sodexho and Compass, which will be serving 8,000 meals a day for the duration of the event. Forty Irish food and drink companies will supply the caterers with a wide range of artisan and specialist produce unique to Ireland - from farmhouse cheeses and luxury handmade chocolates to wild Irish smoked salmon and black pudding.

"Sodexho and Compass have a combined buying power of €25 billion," said Ms Kennedy, pointing out that the partnership provides a valuable opportunity for Irish suppliers to showcase their produce and build relationships with caterers, which is already having effect, she said.

"For the first time, the British Open and Wimbledon served Irish dishes this year," she said.

A total of €5 million has been generated by the sponsorship programme so far, but does Bord Bia anticipate further return on its investment?

Ms Kennedy expects the initiative will generate a further €5 million in sales in the short-term - within three months of next week's landmark golf contest.

"It will have a very strong impact on future sales," she said

Three hundred key international industry buyers, mainly from the US and Europe, with a collective buying power of €64 billion, have been invited to the Ryder Cup by Bord Bia, along with the guests of 50 Irish food and drinks companies.

Those invited are a mixture of existing and potential trade buyers, and Ms Kennedy says that this will afford Irish producers significant networking opportunities, allowing them to build and extend on relationships.

"The Ryder Cup really is a buyers' magnet," Ms Kennedy said, citing two of the largest drinks buyers in the world - the liquor control boards of Ontario and Pennsylvania - that will be in attendance, as examples.

"It is the pièce de résistance from a marketing perspective. The spin-off effects will be unparalleled."

Bord Bia will also target specific members of the media who will be in attendance at the event - such as international food and drinks journalists and critics - and will provide them with specialist food packs to promote Irish brands.

Ms Kennedy said Bord Bia was also "taking a much longer term strategic view" of the opportunities presented by the Ryder Cup to promote Ireland's €7.5 billion food and beverage export market, and a follow-up programme has been developed which it hopes will further increase international sales of Irish produce.

Part of this programme will see influential retailers and top buyers who have accepted invitations to the Ryder Cup invited back to attend Bord Bia's "International Marketplace" in 2007.