Liberty Insurance, Electric Ireland and An Post walked away with three of the top awards at the 2014 European Sponsorship Association (ESA) Excellence Awards, which recently took place in London.
Liberty Insurance was awarded Silver in the overall "Best of Europe" category for its ground-breaking sponsorship of GAA, Hurling and Camogie. The Best of Europe category was for outstanding national campaigns across Europe during 2014 and all ten nominees were national sponsorship winners in their own countries. Liberty Insurance was representing the All Ireland Marketing Awards (AIMS), where the campaign won Best Sponsorship in 2014.
Electric Ireland's campaign to change perceptions of the GAA Minor Hurling & Football Championships #ThisisMajor won the Best Consumer Sponsorship Award (Low Budget). Electric Ireland was the Gold winner in 2013 winning the Best of Europe Sponsorship Award for its sponsorship of Team Ireland for the London Olympics.
An Post, which has been supporting grass roots cycling in Ireland since 2008, were the winners in the competitive Business to Community (Low Budget) category for the An Post Cycle Series, which aims to get communities across Ireland off the couch and back on the bike. An Post was also shortlisted for an award in 2014.
ESA's annual awards recognise excellence within the sponsorship industry across Europe. ESA received a record number of entries, which were then assessed by an independent panel of expert judges from across the continent.
Other Irish sponsorships/companies shortlisted on the night were Bacardi for their sponsorship of Electric Picnic, Ulster Bank for the Rugbyforce campaign and Sports @ WH (Wilson Hartnell) in the Professional Development category.
