Ireland RepTrak® Sponsorship Report 2019
The Reputations Agency today unveiled the results from its annual Irish Sponsorship RepTrak® 2019 study, which shows that sponsorship properties that are either cause-related or linked to a charitable drive are most likely to improve an organisation’s reputation, according to over half (51%) of the respondents.
Based on the perceptions of 7,094 members of the public who completed the survey, the research also reveals which kinds of sports sponsorships are likely to be perceived by the Irish public as having the most positive impact on a sponsor’s corporate reputation. Given sport dominates the Irish sponsorship landscape, with the sponsorship industry reported to be worth more than €220 million, the study revealed that the leading sport sponsorship investment that the Irish public believe has the most positive impact on a company’s overall reputation are:
1. GAA (55%)
2. Rugby (42%)
3. Olympic Sports (including Paras & Special Olympics) (41%)
4. Soccer (30%)
5. Running events (12%)
5. Horse-racing (12%)
7. Golf (9%)
7. Swimming (9%)
The strong performance of Olympic sports indicates our affinity with the huge variety of Olympic sports, from athletics to rowing to hockey. It also presents a major opportunity for brands looking to build on their reputation in 2020 as Team Ireland prepares for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Upon further analysis of the results, the older age groups interestingly place an even stronger emphasis on Olympic Sports when it comes to sports sponsorships. 46% of the 35-44 and 50% of the 45-64 age groups believe that Olympic Games would replace rugby and become the second sport most likely (behind GAA) to have a positive impact on a company’s overall reputation.
When we look at gender breakdown, 51% of females also believe that Olympic sports have a more positive impact on an organisation’s reputation than rugby (44%). Likewise, 45% of respondents within the low-income threshold also placed Olympic sports above rugby.
According to Gareth Field, Head of Sponsorship at The Reputations Agency, “The Ireland Sponsorship Reptrak® study set out to analyse which form of sponsorship activity has the most positive impact on the overall reputation for an organisation. The results indicate that, the Olympic Games in Tokyo are set to be a big part of the 2020 Irish sporting landscape and accordingly organisations should look at opportunities beyond the traditional Irish top tiers sports to gain a competitive edge when it comes to enhancing their reputation.”
The leading forms of sponsorship investment that the public in Ireland believe have the most positive impact on a company’s overall reputation are:
1. Cause-Related and charitable initiatives (51%)
2. A local Irish sports team or club (includes provincial, county and clubs) (36%)
3. National sports team / governing body (30%)
4. Arts & culture (27.3%)
5. Awards (26.8%)
6. Venue sponsorships (20.3%)
Differences in opinion occur among the various age-groups when looking specifically at the reputational impact of sponsorships with a local sports team or club and sponsorships with a national governing body or sports team. Considering the importance of local communities for the older age groups who are more likely to have children, it is interesting to note that they believe these local partnerships are more likely to enhance an organisation’s reputation.
41% of both the 35-44 and 45-64 age groups perceive these local partnerships to have a positive impact on an organisation’s reputation as opposed to 36% of 18-24 and 35% of the 25-34 cohorts. The younger age groups highlighted a sponsorship with a national governing body or national sports team as the form of partnership more likely to enhance an organisation’s reputation (18-24 – 37% and 25-34 – 36%).
Two in five women in Ireland (40%) also believe that a sponsorship with a local Irish sports team or club would have a more positive impact on an organisation’s reputation as opposed to a national sports team (36%).
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