James Wynne, John Trainor, John McDonagh
As almost 20% more sponsorship deals were reported in Ireland in Q1 2017 than in the same period last year, ONSIDE, Ireland’s leading management consultancy firm specialising in sponsorship and research services, has announced key senior appointments to its management team.
John Mc Donagh has joined as Chief Operating Officer. John will take responsibility for strategy, marketing, business and organisational development with specific focus on commercialising opportunities internationally. Previously John was Sales and Marketing Director in Liberty Insurance; a senior executive in Shell Ireland and has consulted on a variety of projects across multiple sectors in Ireland.
James Wynne has joined as Client Director to deepen ONSIDE’s breath of solutions across the full sponsorship cycle. James will bring his experience in managing world class integrated marketing programmes including Digicel and its ground-breaking partnerships with Usain Bolt, the Caribbean Premier League and its activation with Chelsea F.C.
Commenting on the appointments, ONSIDE Founder and CEO, John Trainor said: “ONSIDE’s business has grown in recent times with further new account wins in Ireland and key international projects in the UK and North America. Strategically we are beginning to diversify and repurpose our offering and strengthen our breath of expertise. Both appointments will enable ONSIDE to widen its scope of operations providing new services and products to existing and new clients.”
ONSIDE consultants are reporting a positive start in the sponsorship industry in Ireland in 2017, with the latest ONSIDE QSR (Quarterly Sponsorship Review) observing almost 20% more deals reported than in the same period last year. Non-sporting properties, in particular broadcast, awards and events, have featured strongly this quarter.
Vodafone, 3 and Guinness have again topped the league of Ireland’s most appealing sports sponsors among the Irish adult public for the 1st quarter of 2017, with the competition for hearts and minds more challenging in the sports sponsorship space, as two in three adults are now able to identify a sport sponsor as best in class this quarter (down 15% on previous quarter).
The latest ONSIDE QSR research with the Irish public also zoned in specifically on the stand out performers in rugby sponsorship during the particularly active Q1 window that included the RBS 6 Nations. The sponsors that stood out for people included principally Irish Rugby national and provincial backers including Vodafone, Guinness, Heineken, Bank of Ireland, Aer Lingus, RBS/Ulster Bank, Aviva and Aldi.
A different picture was flagged by ONSIDE consultants around the public’s recognition of sponsors associated with causes / charities in Ireland, with just one in four people singling out brands that appeal to them in this category. The top sponsor of the ONSIDE cause / charities league in Q1 2017 was dominated by retailers, with Tesco, Lidl, Aldi and Super-Valu all scoring Top status on this measure.
Commenting on the cause / charity insights at play in their latest quarterly monitor, Trainor notes that “the trend toward brands aligning with social good is growing at pace internationally and is one to be reconsidered for businesses in Ireland. Social activism is a strong driver of brand strength and data shows that as many as 95% of millennials would be willing to switch for a good cause. Our Q1 research would suggest that the room for growth in this space is now.”
