38|Retail News|March 2020|www.retailnews.ie
Sponsorship
Sports still key to sponsorship market
Sponsorship in Ireland is expected to increase to €242m in 2020, despite a slowdown in growth, according to the latest Onside Irish Sponsorship Industry Survey. Sports remain the most valued sponsorship opportunities, but the areas of sustainability and the environment are growing fast. WITH a decline in the number of sponsors in Ireland planning to increase their spend on sponsorship compared to last year, the Irish sponsorship market growth is set to slow to 8% in 2020 to reach €242m, according to the latest annual Onside Irish Sponsorship Industry Survey. One in two sponsors in Ireland increased their investment in sponsorship during the last year, contributing to an overall 80% increase in spend on sponsorship in Ireland over the past decade, as the Irish sponsorship market grew by 10% to an estimated €224m in 2019. Dramatic upheaval “As we enter a new decade, it is clear the sponsorship marketplace is in a state of flux, due mostly to social, technological and economic changes impacting all forms of business and marketing and, in particular, causing dramatic upheaval in the sports sector, which accounts for more than two-thirds of all sponsorship euros,” revealed John Trainor, Founder and CEO of Onside. “Sponsors and rights holders in Ireland are showing a more cautious set of plans for 2020, with, for example, 53% open to buying a new sponsorship asset in the year ahead, compared with 79% just two years ago,” he continues. “46% of Irish sponsors will hold the line on spend this year, while 38% of sponsors are considering increasing spend and 16% will be decreasing spend this year, showing levels of fluctuation last seen in 2015.” Hot sectors of growth to watch in
Pictured are (l-r): Galway hurler Joe Canning, Onside Strategic Advisor; Ellen Keane, Paralympic Swimmer; and John Trainor, CEO & founder, Onside. 2020 according to the Onside research are IT / Technology, healthcare and energy, with banking and telcos also expected to continue to be key drivers of increasing spend this year. The motivations of sponsors are also expected to be reset this year in terms of higher expectations on sponsorship to deliver increased brand loyalty for two in three sponsors, but also increasingly to help businesses stimulate sales and usage of the sponsors solutions, with a record high one in four setting this as a goal for 2020. A sporting chance As in previous years, seven in 10 sponsors looking for a new sponsorship in 2020 will be looking for a sports play, but for Trainor, one of the stand-out findings from this year’s industry survey is “the rise of brands seeing properties
in the area of sustainability and the environment as providing top growth opportunities for sponsors.” GAA has retained its lead position in terms of offering strongest potential in terms of ‘value for money’. Beyond Sustainability/Environment, GAA and community focused sponsorship, e-sports rose most significantly through the ranks again in terms of being seen to offer strongest areas of opportunity this year. Reflecting on the standard of activity produced by the collective Irish sponsorship industry last year, 38% of industry practitioners surveyed felt that sponsorship campaigns in Ireland in 2019 were ‘more effective’ than previous years, a drop of 19% year on year. According to Trainor, “The drop in rights fees to activation spend ratios again in 2019 is likely to be a major
