All Irish Rugby Provinces Appoints Core as Sponsorship Consultants

Core Sponsorship has been appointed by all four Irish Rugby provinces to provide a range of data-led intelligence services including on-going audience measurement and reporting, sponsor exposure and fan insights.

Working closely with their international network, Publicis Sport & Entertainment, Core will provide insights, not just on the Irish based fan but on the provinces’ considerable fanbases around the world. Core will work in collaboration with the commercial teams of all four provinces; Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. Senior Sponsorship Manager, Phil Greene will manage the relationship, supported by Intelligence Director, Noel Martyn and MD, Jill Downey.

Speaking about the appointment, Jill Downey, MD of Core Sponsorship said: “We are thrilled to work with all four provinces as they look to deepen their understanding of various sponsor, media and fan metrics. In the sports industry too much of this insight and measurement work is done by international agencies, so it is great to break this cycle and show that Irish companies have the necessary talent and tools to do this work for Irish based sports organisations, on the ground locally. We hope to see more Irish sporting bodies looking locally for answers to their commercial challenges. The quality of Irish expertise is easily on a par or ahead of our international competitors.

Speaking on behalf of all four provinces, Dave Kavanagh, head of commercial with Munster Rugby added: “We are delighted to appoint Core Sponsorship to assess the strength and depth of our sponsorship platforms and their global reach and gain a deeper understanding of the impact for each province and the sponsors we work with. Core’s combination of considerable local market knowledge, along with access to global audiences, via the Publicis network gave them the edge, in what was a competitive tender process. We look forward to working with Phil, Noel, Jill and the team, as we build an exciting post-Covid future for all four rugby brands.”