ONSIDE Irish Sponsorship Industry Survey predicts further growth of eight percent in 2022

The Irish sponsorship industry grew by six percent to reach €180m in 2021, and while the sector’s size has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, the 16th annual ONSIDE Irish Sponsorship Industry Survey estimates there will be further growth of eight percent in 2022 to €195m, a step closer to the €200m threshold first reached in 2018.

Fifty-four percent of sponsors will be increasing their sponsorship investment levels in 2022, up from 41% in 2021, and 70% expect sponsorship spending across the industry to increase, compared to only 1 in 5 last year. 

According to John Trainor, Founder and CEO of ONSIDE: “The pandemic affected all marketing activity, but after the initial shock in 2020, sponsorship has once again proved its worth to brands seeking to build new and better connections. The immediate decline was less steep than advertising and other parts of the marketing mix and its recovery has been steady and sustainable – much as we saw during the financial crisis earlier this century”. 

Trainor adds: “The most interesting part of this recovery story to date is a noticeable shift in the business case for investment in sponsorship. Sponsor objectives are shifting to revolve around brand image (42%) and showcasing community and social responsibility (39%), overtaking brand awareness goals (34%) for the first time in 2022. This year, we have seen a significant increase in brands using sponsorship to connect to the diversity and inclusion aspects of their businesses and environmental sustainability platforms have surfaced in our research as the strongest growth opportunity in sponsorship in the minds of 42% of budget holders.”

Commanding one in every five Euro of Ireland’s marketing and communications investment in 2021, the consultants expect that two in three deals built in 2022 will be three to four year terms, as belief in the longer-term return on this investment stood the boardroom tests of Covid scrutiny.

2021 was a breakthrough year for women’s sport in Ireland and nine out of ten sponsors see women’s sport as a significant opportunity this year, up from eight out of ten last year. Sixty three percent of industry professionals surveyed selected a female as their most marketable personality for 2022, up 28% on 2021, with Kellie Harrington, Katie Taylor, Ellen Keane, and Rachael Blackmore leading the way. After several years in the shadows, there were green shoots of optimism for soccer, with both women’s captain Katie McCabe and men’s goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu also making the industry’s 2022 top prospects list for the first time.

Reflecting on the standard of activity produced by the collective Irish sponsorship industry last year, over a quarter of industry experts think sponsorship campaigns in Ireland were more effective in 2021 than 2020, up six percent year on year. According to the industry professionals surveyed, GAA and Rugby partnerships were most worthy of recognition, as Lidl and SuperValu’s ties with gaelic games stood alongside Vodafone and Guinness’s rugby partnerships as perceived best in class of ‘21. Sky’s new partnership with the Ireland women’s soccer team was also a notable new entry to this year’s list.