Advertising Feature
An advertising feature is created, supplied and paid for by a commercial client and promoted by the Irish Times Content Studio. The Irish Times newsroom or other editorial departments are not involved in the production of advertising features.

Top brands come together for Irish Sponsorship Awards

With the Irish sponsorship market valued at €200m this year, top brands and key figures gathered to recognise main contributors

The Irish Sponsorship Awards 2018 is run by Business River. The full list of winners is available below.
Wed Feb 06 2019 - 13:00

The Irish Sponsorship Awards returned for its seventh year on Wednesday, December 5th, at the Round Room at The Mansion House in Dublin. The Awards sought to honour firms and individuals who have excelled in industry.

At the end of what was a record-breaking year for the Irish sponsorship market, the biggest names in the industry gathered as 19 awards were handed out on the night.

Amongst the biggest winners of the evening was Just Eat, which took home awards in three different categories. Their marketing director Edel Kinane spoke of the honour, saying; ''We have always placed sponsorships at the heart of our marketing strategy, so to have our campaigns recognised by the industry, winning Best Sponsorship Brand for Just Eat Dublinbikes, Best TV Broadcast for Just Eat delivers Love Island and overall Best Sponsorship, is hugely rewarding for us as a team''

Another top winner of the Irish Sponsorship Awards was The Brand Fans. Daragh Persse, founder of The Brand Fans said of the honour; "We were proud to be shortlisted again for the Irish Sponsorship Awards and delighted that the Energia and Seachtain na Gaelige sponsorship won the top prize for arts culture culture. Recognition of the power of these partnerships is very important for all of us involved in the delivery of world-class sponsorship programmes."

READ MORE

The winners of the 2018 Irish Sponsorship Awards was decided by an expert panel of judges led by Heineken’s brand manager for sport, Jim Geraghty, who said; “The quality of submissions this year was exceptionally high. The winning sponsorship activations reflect the exciting and buoyant industry and the standard of work would be up there with the best in Europe.”

Sponsors of the 2018 Irish Sponsorship Awards included top names like JCDecaux Ireland. Their marketing director, Tony O'Flanagan said; “The sponsorship awards are an excellent annual showcase of best-in-class work in a marketplace that has been thriving over the last number of years. JCDecaux believe it is important to celebrate and encourage exceptional quality in our chosen fields and we were very impressed by the outstanding calibre of entries this year. The standard of talent in the industry was very evident in the variety of campaigns shortlisted and those campaigns that were awarded on the night.”

The Irish Sponsorship Awards 2018 is run by Business River. The full list of winners is available below, and to read about other Business River events visit their news hub.

Sponsorship of the Year

Winner: Just Eat delivers Love Island on Virgin Media Two

Gerard O'Neill, Chairman, Amárach Research, presents the Sponsorship of the Year award to the Just Eat & Virgin Media Team.
Gerard O'Neill, Chairman, Amárach Research, presents the Sponsorship of the Year award to the Just Eat & Virgin Media Team.

Best Sponsorship Brand

Sponsor: The Brand Fans

Winner: Just Eat for the Just Eat dublinbikes Sponsorship

Daragh Persse, Founder, The Brand Fans, presents the Best Sponsorship Brand award to the Just Eat for the Just Eat dublinbikes Sponsorship.
Daragh Persse, Founder, The Brand Fans, presents the Best Sponsorship Brand award to the Just Eat for the Just Eat dublinbikes Sponsorship.

Best Sponsorship Team - Agency

Winner: TITAN Experience

Margaret Colton, Head of Marketing, Dunnes Stores, presents the Best Sponsorship Team - Agency award to the TITAN Experience Team.
Margaret Colton, Head of Marketing, Dunnes Stores, presents the Best Sponsorship Team - Agency award to the TITAN Experience Team.

Best Sponsorship Team - Rightsholder

Winner: Live Nation Ireland

Daragh Persse, Founder, The Brand Fans, presents the Best Sponsorship Team - Rightsholder award to the Live Nation Ireland Team.
Daragh Persse, Founder, The Brand Fans, presents the Best Sponsorship Team - Rightsholder award to the Live Nation Ireland Team.

Best Sponsorship Team – Brand

Winner: Three

Daragh Persse, Founder, The Brand Fans, presents the Best Sponsorship Team - Brand award to the Three Ireland Team.
Daragh Persse, Founder, The Brand Fans, presents the Best Sponsorship Team - Brand award to the Three Ireland Team.

Best Sports Team or Athlete Sponsorship

Winner: Aer Lingus Official Airline of the Irish Rugby Team

Colin O'Toole, Marketing Manager, Mondelez, presents the Best Sports Team or Athlete Sponsorship award to the Aer Lingus Team.
Colin O'Toole, Marketing Manager, Mondelez, presents the Best Sports Team or Athlete Sponsorship award to the Aer Lingus Team.

Best Sporting Event Sponsorship

Winner: SSE Airtricity Dublin Marathon #TwentyThousandStories

Colin O'Toole, Marketing Manager, Mondelez, presents the Best Sporting Event Sponsorship award to the SSE Airtricity & JGA Team.
Colin O'Toole, Marketing Manager, Mondelez, presents the Best Sporting Event Sponsorship award to the SSE Airtricity & JGA Team.

Best Entertainment Event Sponsorship

Winner: Laya Healthcare’s City Spectacular

Colin O'Toole, Marketing Manager, Mondelez, presents the Best Entertainment Event Sponsorship award to the Laya Healthcare Team.
Colin O'Toole, Marketing Manager, Mondelez, presents the Best Entertainment Event Sponsorship award to the Laya Healthcare Team.

Innovation in Sponsorship

Winner: Playstival with The Happy Pear

Tony O’Flanagan, Marketing Director, JCDecaux, presents Innovation in Sponsorship award to Gerard O’Neill, Amárach Research, on behalf of Playstival.
Tony O’Flanagan, Marketing Director, JCDecaux, presents Innovation in Sponsorship award to Gerard O’Neill, Amárach Research, on behalf of Playstival.

Best Multi-Platform Sponsorship

Sponsor: JCDecaux

Winner: Lidl Ladies Gaelic Football Association County Jersey Campaign

Tony O’Flanagan, Marketing Director, JCDecaux, presents the Best Multi-Platform Sponsorship award to Jay Wilson, Lidl Ireland, Jackie Cahill & Aislinn Harkin, LGFA.
Tony O’Flanagan, Marketing Director, JCDecaux, presents the Best Multi-Platform Sponsorship award to Jay Wilson, Lidl Ireland, Jackie Cahill & Aislinn Harkin, LGFA.

Best TV Broadcast Sponsorship

Winner: Just Eat delivers Love Island on Virgin Media Two

Best Arts & Cultural Sponsorship

Winner: Seachtain na Gaeilge le Energia, submitted by The Brand Fans

Tony O’Flanagan, Marketing Director, JCDecaux, presents the Best Arts & Cultural Sponsorship award to the Seachtain na Gaeilge & Energia Team.
Tony O’Flanagan, Marketing Director, JCDecaux, presents the Best Arts & Cultural Sponsorship award to the Seachtain na Gaeilge & Energia Team.

Best Societal Sponsorship

Winner: Lyons Tea & Pieta House #TimeToTalk, submitted by Unilever

Sarah Rooney, Associate Director, Amárach Research, presents the Best Societal Sponsorship award to Ann Marie Finucane & Paul Kelly, Unilever Ireland.
Sarah Rooney, Associate Director, Amárach Research, presents the Best Societal Sponsorship award to Ann Marie Finucane & Paul Kelly, Unilever Ireland.

Best Grass Roots Sponsorship

Winner: Aldi Play Rugby

Sarah Rooney, Associate Director, Amárach Research, presents the Best Grass Roots Sponsorship award to Colm Finnegan, IRFU, Audrey O’Brien & Rob Hyland, Aldi Ireland.
Sarah Rooney, Associate Director, Amárach Research, presents the Best Grass Roots Sponsorship award to Colm Finnegan, IRFU, Audrey O’Brien & Rob Hyland, Aldi Ireland.

Rising Star in Sponsorship

Winner: Pippa Doyle, Littlewoods Ireland

Conor Cullen, Sponsorship and Events Manager, Football Association of Ireland, presents the Rising Star in Sponsorship award to Pippa Doyle, Littlewoods Ireland.
Conor Cullen, Sponsorship and Events Manager, Football Association of Ireland, presents the Rising Star in Sponsorship award to Pippa Doyle, Littlewoods Ireland.

Best Use of Experiential Marketing

Winner: Bringing Hoops to the Streets, submitted by Largo Foods

Conor Cullen, Sponsorship and Events Manager, Football Association of Ireland presents the Best Use of Experiential Marketing award to Ian O' Rourke, Largo Foods.
Conor Cullen, Sponsorship and Events Manager, Football Association of Ireland presents the Best Use of Experiential Marketing award to Ian O' Rourke, Largo Foods.

Best Use of Social Media

Winner: Lidl for Ladies Gaelic Football Association

Conor Cullen, Sponsorship and Events Manager, Football Association of Ireland, presents the Best Use of Social Media award to Tom Mughal, Lidl Ireland.
Conor Cullen, Sponsorship and Events Manager, Football Association of Ireland, presents the Best Use of Social Media award to Tom Mughal, Lidl Ireland.

Best Low Budget Sponsorship

XL for TG4's Ros na Rún submitted by Post TV with XL

Margaret Colton, Head of Marketing, Dunnes Stores, presents the Best Low Budget Sponsorship award to the BWG Foods & Post TV Team.
Margaret Colton, Head of Marketing, Dunnes Stores, presents the Best Low Budget Sponsorship award to the BWG Foods & Post TV Team.

Best Use of PR

Winner: Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon, submitted by Teneo PSG

Jim Geraghty, Sponsorship Manager, Heineken, presents the Best Use of PR award to Vhi, Teneo PSG & Women’s Mini Marathon Team.
Jim Geraghty, Sponsorship Manager, Heineken, presents the Best Use of PR award to Vhi, Teneo PSG & Women’s Mini Marathon Team.

Best Use of Digital

Winner: Life Style Sports for #LiveMunster & #LiveLeinster, submitted by Teneo PSG

Jim Geraghty, Sponsorship Manager, Heineken, presents the Best Use of Digital award to Lifestyle Sports Team & Teneo PSG.
Jim Geraghty, Sponsorship Manager, Heineken, presents the Best Use of Digital award to Lifestyle Sports Team & Teneo PSG.