In 2011 Bord Gáis Energy was moving from a successful acquisition phase towards a retention and loyalty strategy. With little scope for price differentiation in a tightly regulated energy market, the opportunity to stand out, offer more and grow customer affinity was sought in a sponsorship strategy. The goal was to build a portfolio of sponsorship properties that would help address the threat of customer losses in a highly competitive market. The area of books and reading was identified as an untapped passion in 6 out of 10 adults, and the BGE target market was closely aligned with this audience. Assisted by Pembroke Communications, the sponsorship portfolio was built around four properties designed to connect with every stakeholder in that space, from grassroots to excellence.

Nestlé Cereals’ Cheerios activated a portfolio of two sponsorships with the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), the Cheerios Childline Breakfast Together Week, and the Cheerios Childline Concert, as well as an additional stand-alone sponsorship of the annual Cheerios Panto. These help create a strong and positive association for the Cheerios brand. With the assistance of colleagues at McCann Erickson, support activity has focused on making the Cheerios brand name synonymous with the event, and media included television and PR. 2011 was a particularly successful year, with a major uplift in participation rates versus the previous year.

RaboDirect had been seeking an appropriate sponsorship property that reflected its brand values of passion, honesty, commitment and responsibility, and it was decided to take up the sponsorship of what was formerly the Magners League in rugby, despite having to overcome the challenge of having no rugby credentials. The company built a communications platform around the RaboDirect PRO12 sponsorship centred on the campaign idea ‘Rugby just got more direct’, and this meant bringing the fans closer to the action, closer to the players and closer to the passion. Unprompted awareness among rugby fans soared after only two months.

Vodafone became the primary sponsor of Dublin GAA in 2010, the first change in 19 years. The commercial rationale for the sponsorship was to create a partnership that would drive genuine affinity for the brand amongst the Dublin demographic. The last year has been an extremely important one for the sponsorship, with the challenge moving from building awareness and association to one where Vodafone wanted to demonstrate a true understanding of Dublin GAA. 2011 saw the implementation of an inside-out strategy to put the team and the fans at the centre of the sponsorship. The programme exceeded all its set targets, and the programme has delivered for the brand on an emotional level, reflected in research scores.