GAA announce new sponsors
The GAA has today unveiled its new multi-sponsor model for the Summer GAA All-Ireland Senior Football and Hurling Championships.
Said to be on course to net the association an estimated €1.5m per deal annually, the arrangement was confirmed by GAA HQ this afternoon.
GAA president Nickey Brennan revealed that the football championship will be sponsored by Toyota, Ulster Bank and Vodafone, while the hurling championship will be sponsored by Etihad Airways, Guinness and RTÉ.
The restructured sponsorship format which takes effect from this season.
Croke Park maintains research carried out by the GAA in 2007 as part of its brand review and the development of its Strategic Plan strongly endorsed the multi-sponsor concept.
Under the new format, the All-Ireland competitions will be known as the GAA Football All-Ireland Championship and the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Championship respectively.
Because title ownership of the All-Ireland Championships reverts to the GAA, the introduction of new signage, broadcast, advertising and promotional agreements around the Championships is also being introduced.
Commenting on the announcement, the GAA president said: "Let me start by saying how pleased I am to welcome aboard our sponsors, Toyota, Ulster Bank and Vodafone in football and Etihad Airways, Guinness and RTÉ in hurling, to what are undoubtedly the major domestic sponsorship properties in Ireland.
"While the All-Ireland inter-county hurling and football championships stand to benefit from the heightened profile and exposure that the new commercial partnerships will bring, the true beneficiaries will be grassroots GAA where the sponsorship revenues will be channelled for the continued development of our games".
The President added that "I am absolutely delighted to welcome our new Championship partners and look forward to working with them in enhancing the unique spectacle and experience of the Hurling and Football Championships for the many hundreds of thousands of supporters.
"I am also pleased to announce that the GAA will be investing in a major marketing support campaign to promote the Championships which will include a comprehensive advertising, PR and promotional drive throughout the duration of the competitions.
"The GAA's commercial and marketing team has been bolstered and PR and advertising agencies have been appointed to oversee the rollout of what we hope will be an effective campaign to promote the GAA Championship."
Tony Meenaghan of the Smurfit School of Business and Sponsorship advised the GAA on the deal.
"The multi-sponsor model represents a significant landmark in terms of sponsorship in the Irish market," he said.
"It embodies important lessons from international sponsorship practice, yet is tailored to suit the GAA, its structures and its ambitions while simultaneously delivering value and protection to its partners.
"In short, the new sponsorship model is comprehensive and integrated in terms of the elements of the sponsorship package, it is businesslike in terms of the delivery systems which have been put in place and is both challenging and yet hugely rewarding for both sponsors and the GAA and its games.
The GAA Hurling and Football Championships get underway on May 11, 2008.
Ulster Bank were first out of the starting blocks to reveal their involvement with a PR event at their group headquarters on Dublin City's Georges Quay today.
Sarah Dempsey, group head of sponsorship with the institution has been explaining why they got involved.
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