- KIND Snacks, FA and England Lionesses seal treble with ESA Sponsorship of the Year glory
- ESA Best of Europe Gold goes to Irish Life Dublin Marathon
- The Space Between wins Agency of the Year
A record attendance of more than 520 professionals gathered in London to celebrate the best of European sponsorship at the 16th annual ESA Awards ceremony.
A wide range of organisations earned recognition for outstanding work in sponsorship across the past 12-18 months, passing a rigorous judging process to win trophies and commendations across 25 categories.
The two new categories – Sponsorship with a Social Purpose and Environmentally Sustainable Sponsorship – proved immensely popular with some highly competitive shortlists reflecting the enduring industry trends of purpose and cause.
ESA Chair Sophie Morris presented the Toby Hester Award to the ESA Diploma Top Graduate, Christian Fizia, while her predecessor Andy Westlake earned the acclaim of the audience for his recent induction to the ESA Fellowship.
The ceremony reached its climax when health food producer KIND Snacks sealed a remarkable treble with the prestigious ESA Sponsorship of the Year award for their ‘What Fuels You’ partnership with the FA and England Lionesses (pictured below).
The new partnership had already won the Best Newcomer and Sport Sponsorship < €1M categories, plus a Highly Commended in Best Use of PR.
An ESA Sponsorship of the Year Runner-up prize was awarded to Sky Broadband and Guild Esports for their powerful #NoRoomForAbuse campaign.
The prestigious ESA Best of Europe Gold award went to Irish Life Dublin Marathon (#PowerOfSupport), ensuring further headline success for the Irish contingent after last year’s ESA Sponsorship of the Year success for WHOOP.
Sponsored by Sponsorium, the ESA Best of Europe category also recognised the Spain entry Espacio Ibercaja Delicias (Silver) and Heineken – Cheers to all fans (Bronze) from the UK.
Hosted by former England and British & Irish Lions rugby player Martin Bayfield, the ceremony crowned a first-time winner of Agency of the Year as sports and entertainment marketing specialists The Space Between carried off the prize.
It was also a triumphant night for one of the UK’s leading banking groups as there were two wins for Elevating the Entertainment Experience: The Barclaycard Amp It Up Campaign and one for Barclays – It all starts with a chance.
The continental diversity of the ESA Awards was powerfully underlined by the success of entries from France, Netherlands, Norway and Spain as well as winners from Ireland, England and Scotland.
Click here to see the full list of winners in the 2024 ESA Awards.
ESA Chair, Sophie Morris, said: “I want to say a huge congratulations to everyone who has been successful at tonight’s 2024 ESA Awards ceremony. On the evidence of this immense body of work, we can clearly see that our industry is brimming with talent and creativity. It is also clear that sponsors are investing in projects that deliver wide-ranging and positive social and environmental impact.
“I would like to thank our 2024 ESA Awards partners – caytoo, CSM Live, datapowa, Sponsorium, Sponsorworks and SPORTO – for their invaluable support. This event also depends greatly on the input of the ESA Awards Committee and the 100+ sponsorship professionals who comprised the judging panel.
“I believe tonight has underlined the important position occupied by ESA, in its 35th year, as the essential and inclusive community for all professionals working in sponsorship. It was an enormous privilege to present the ESA Awards for the first time and I can’t wait to do it again next year.”
-ENDS-
About ESA
A not-for-profit membership association, the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) is the essential and inclusive community for all professionals working in sponsorship. ESA supports the industry through education, guidance, representation, the recognition of excellence and the sharing of best practice and performance.
ESA’s reach encompasses all types of sponsorship activity from sport, broadcast, education, charity, the arts and culture, to environment and the community. Its members include sponsors, rights holders, agencies and consultants, professional advisors and suppliers. Visit sponsorship.org for more information.
Media enquiries
Jonathan Coates | ESA Marketing, Communications and Events Manager | marketing@sponsorship.org | +44 (0) 7788 352219
