Big brands and big wins at the Sponsorship Awards 2017

Heineken, Aviva, Bord Gáis, Three Ireland, Aer Lingus and Energia are just a handful of big-name brands who attended the annual event. Since launching in 2012, The Irish Sponsorship Awards has established itself as the benchmark for sponsorship excellence in Ireland. Many of the leading brands, rightsholders, and agencies involved in Ireland's most memorable sponsorship campaigns enter these awards each year.

The award for Best Sponsorship Brand went to AIG. "At AIG Insurance sponsorship permeates every area of the business from the front desk to the general manager's office. We believe in sponsorship and these awards are great recognition of the hard work that goes in from a small, dedicated team," says John Gillick, head of direct marketing and sponsorship.

The Brand Fans, Ireland's leading sponsorship and cause marketing specialists spoke about how the Irish Sponsorship Awards is "now the biggest gathering of the industry in Ireland and a great celebration of the outstanding work from brands and rights holders across the different categories and industries. The Irish sponsorship industry has grown to an estimated €171m in 2017 with average year-on-year growth of eight and a half per cent since the end of the recession. Irish sponsors are amongst the most innovative and engaging in Europe and this event is a strong endorsement for further investment in the sector," says Daragh Persse, founder, The Brand Fans.

Innovation was a prominent theme across this year's awards programme. Ben Hawley, account director at MediaCom spoke about their big win on the night for SingFM and how important these awards are for the industry; "Sponsorships are tough for film distributors because standard formats tend not to work and are dominated by big players in categories such as finance and telecoms. We were delighted to have been able to execute an award-winning sponsorship for Universal and win in a very sought-after category: Innovation. These awards are a great vehicle for showcasing the best in market and celebrating the good work that goes on in Ireland".

Speaking about the awards, Dara McMahon, Aer Lingus director of marketing & digital experience, says; "We are absolutely thrilled to receive the Best Sports Team or Athlete Sponsorship award for the second year running and a fantastic night was topped off with our big win of the Sponsorship of the Year award. We have been a sponsor of the IRFU since 2015 and it's a partnership that everyone at Aer Lingus is extremely passionate about. These awards are a true reflection of the great team work across all of Aer Lingus, which has helped make this partnership such a big success."

This event is a great opportunity for companies to come together, showcase their work and network with likeminded professionals. JCDecaux have continuously supported the awards over the years; "Our partnership with the Sponsorship Awards offers us a great opportunity to meet clients who are leaders in the field of this exciting and thriving industry and has given us an excellent platform to promote ourselves as rightsholder of Just Eat dublinbikes," said Tony O'Flanagan, marketing director at JCDecaux.