Imperfect partners when it comes to corporate sponsorship
Lowry leaves Kingspan in rough
When Shane Lowry posed with the Claret Jug after his Open championship win in 2019, it was marketing gold for Kingspan, the building materials company. Its logo was visible on the golfer’s right arm. That branding was noticeably absent as Lowry took part in the Irish Open this week as the golfer dropped Kingspan from his sponsorship roster in the wake of the Grenfell report.
The Offaly man’s relationship with Kingspan commenced in May 2017. The Grenfell fire, which killed 72 people, happened a month later. Grenfell United, an advocacy group for the victims of the fire, has put pressure on Lowry and other partners of Kingspan.
In 2021, a deal with Mercedes was cancelled within a week of its announcement. Lowry still has several sponsors, including the Irish-founded PR firm Teneo, Bank of Ireland and the ecommerce company Wayflyer, where he is an investor. Kingspan has a number of remaining deals, with Cavan GAA and the golfer Leona Maguire. Its deal with Ulster Rugby, which includes the naming rights to Ravenhill Stadium, is due to end next year.
Hip-hop group Kneecap boycotted a festival sponsored by the US army
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Rappers lead festival boycott
In March the Belfast hip-hop group Kneecap led an artist boycott of South by Southwest, a Texas-based music, technology and film festival, after the US army was announced as a “super sponsor” of the festival. Defence contractors, such as Collins Aerospace, also hosted events during the festival.
A number of Irish artists who were due to play at the festival in Austin, including Gavin James, Cardinals and Enola Gay, also joined the international boycott amid the continuing Israel-Palestine conflict.
After the event, South by Southwest announced that it was “revising” its sponsorship model and that the US army and companies that “engage in weapons manufacturing” would not be sponsors at the festival next year.
Guinness stopped its sponsorship of London Irish after the rugby club signed Paddy Jackson
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Guinness drops London Irish
The drinks company Diageo wasted little time in 2019 in ending Guinness’s sponsorship of London Irish after the rugby club signed Paddy Jackson, the former Ireland international. A year before, Jackson was cleared of rape.
Within a month of Jackson signing for London Irish, the 40-year relationship between Guinness and the club was over, with Diageo saying: “We have met with the club to express our concerns. Their recent decision is not consistent with our values and so we have ended our sponsorship.” London Irish was placed in administration in 2023 with £30 million debt and unpaid taxes of £1 million.
It is now being sold out of administration. Guinness has gone on to become the “official beer” of the English Premier League, in a four-year sponsorship deal.
Golfer Leona Maguire lost the sponsorship of Davy Group after a bond deal scandal
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Davy lines up a new slate of sports ambassadors
Pausing sponsorship deals can be one way for companies to weather storms of their own making. Davy Group was the centre of a bond deal scandal in March 2021, when it was hit with a €4.1 million fine by the Central Bank of Ireland. It immediately suspended all of its activities in patronage of the arts, media and sports. Those activities included sponsorships of the National Concert Hall, The Irish Times’s Inside Business podcast, and the golfer Leona Maguire, who is currently being pressured to cut her ties with another sponsor, Kingspan.
When the dust settled, and the stockbroker was sold to Bank of Ireland, it reignited its partnerships with Maguire and the National Concert Hall. Despite signing a three-year deal with the Irish Times podcast in 2020, the sponsorship was cut short, with the professional services firm EY replacing Davy. By October 2021, Davy was back in the game, supporting the hockey player Hannah McLoughlin. In August 2023 it announced Kerry GAA star David Clifford as a brand ambassador.
Renault Ireland ended its sponsorship of The Late Late Show after it was revealed controversial payments were made to presenter Ryan Tubridy
NAOISE CULHANE PHOTOGRAPHY
Renault hits brakes on TV deal
The carmaker Renault found itself close to the centre of an Irish scandal last year when it was revealed that the former Late Late Show presenter Ryan Tubridy had been paid a €75,000 top-up on his declared salary. The money was originally expected to be paid by Renault in return for a credit note for advertising and personal appearances by Tubridy. It was no surprise when the French brand ended its eight-year sponsorship of the RTE show.
Renault’s Irish distributorship has been sold to the Kuwait-based owners of Nissan Ireland. Sales are sluggish for Renault this year despite the market being up marginally. The mortgage lender PTSB has since signed a two-year headline sponsor deal for The Late Late Show. Meanwhile, the betting company Paddy Power agreed a one-year deal to sponsor Tubridy’s show on Virgin Radio.
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