ESA News

Norwegian insurance company Gjensidige enjoyed a record-breaking success at the 2025 ESA Awards ceremony in partnership with Pearlfinders, scooping an unprecedented five titles including ESA Sponsorship of the Year. The company’s support of the Palmesus beach festival with an activation entitled ‘The Breathing Space’ may have been low budget compared with many of the partnerships that earned recognition in front of 580 sponsorship professionals in London, but it could hardly have been ... read more

An annual sustainability survey has indicated that organisations involved in sponsorship are less committed to pro-environment initiatives than they were a year ago. ESA (the European Sponsorship Association) has been conducting research around the industry’s environmental sustainability activities since 2021. The fourth year of the study contained numerous signs that reducing the climate impact of sponsorship may have become less of a priority. For example, there was a 6.2% drop in the ... read more

Europe’s most prestigious sponsorship awards is shaping up to be a celebration of creativity, cooperative synergy and inclusivity after the shortlist was released for the 2025 ESA Awards in partnership with Pearlfinders. For the second consecutive year, a record number of entries has underscored the value and prestige of winning an ESA Award, with a 17% increase from 2024 to 2025 resulting in a shortlist that is packed with quality and variety. The ceremony will take place on 13 March ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association is extremely proud to announce the results of the 2024 ESA Diploma. The successful completion of the course by another 62 successful students has taken the alumni total above 770 since the industry’s premier qualification was launched in 2012. Three Distinctions were achieved this year, with special recognition for Harriet Lewis, who took the prestigious Top Graduate accolade, and Sinem Pozanti, who scooped the Top Set Brief award and became the first ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) and International Sports Convention (ISC) have signed to collaborate on a significant partnership agreement. Under the agreement, ESA members attending ISC 2025 at Tottenham Stadium in London will have access to an exclusive lounge where they can catch up with fellow members and the ESA team, eat and drink and avail of desk space. ESA General Manager Karen Fan said: "Our members had a wonderful experience at the International Sports Convention ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association (“ESA”) announced the creation of ESA Ireland at its Annual Irish Event held at the ODEON Point Square in Dublin’s North Docks today. ESA Ireland is a networking community for all professionals working in sponsorship in Ireland and, together with the European Sponsorship Association, will seek to promote excellence in sponsorship whilst providing access to sponsorship-specific education and training for members. Sponsorship spend in Ireland is ... read more

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 ... read more

As Founder and CEO of ONSIDE, John Trainor was a highly respected figure in the sponsorship industry in his native Ireland and across the continent. John’s passing on 5 February, 2024 at the age of 52 has shocked his many friends and colleagues and left a significant gap that will be difficult to fill. Having served as a Board Director of the European Sponsorship Association from 2006-2017, John went on to become a fixture on the ESA Awards Judging Panel and remained a highly engaged ... read more

For the third consecutive year, ESG has been named as the year’s top sponsorship trend by members of the European Sponsorship Association (ESA). The results of 2024 Sponsorship Trends Research: New Horizons, released to the ESA community during a live hybrid event this morning, were drawn from an annual survey that challenges ESA members to identify the most compelling trends influencing the continued growth of the industry. The second most popular trend was Cause/CSR, underlining the ... read more

Europe’s most prestigious sponsorship awards is destined to be a celebration of purpose-driven impact when industry leaders gather for the 2024 ESA Awards ceremony in London on Thursday 7 March. A surge of entries in two new, purpose-based categories, Sponsorship with a Social Purpose and Environmentally Sustainable Sponsorship, has contributed to a record-breaking entry and set the tone for what promises to be an unforgettable evening. A shortlist of entries has been announced, putting ... read more

The Board of the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) has bestowed the ESA Fellowship on Andy Westlake in recognition of his 30+ years working in sponsorship and six years’ service as ESA Chair. Andy becomes the fifth recipient of the honour after the ESA Fellowship was inaugurated during the 2023 ESA Awards in London eight months ago. Having stepped down as ESA Chair in September, Andy was presented with his Fellowship certificate by Vice-Chair Nigel Geach during the ESA Diploma 2022/23 ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) has launched the 2024 ESA Awards with a refreshed programme designed to recognise the full panorama of sponsorship excellence. Europe’s most sought-after sponsorship prizes will again be up for grabs at The Brewery in London on Thursday, 7 March 2024 – entries are open until Friday 20 October with early-bird discounts available until Friday 29 September. The 2024 ESA Awards ceremony will also feature the second inauguration of the ESA Fellowship, ... read more

Four new Directors were elected to the Board of The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) at yesterday afternoon’s AGM in London. Antony Douglass (Specsavers), James Goode (IMG), Heli Kemppainen (Neste) and Martin Prendergast (Martin Prendergast Communications) were elected by their fellow ESA Members, while existing Board Director Stuart Wareman (Accor) was re-elected. The election of Heli Kemppainen as a second representative from Finland on the ESA Board increases the female ... read more

A record attendance of more than 450 professionals gathered in London to celebrate the best of European sponsorship at the 15th annual ESA Awards ceremony. A wide range of organisations earned recognition for outstanding work in sponsorship across the past 18 months, passing a rigorous judging process to win trophies and commendations across 26 categories. Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the European Sponsorship Association (ESA), the ceremony also honoured the first four recipients of ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) is delighted to announce the inaugural recipients of the ESA Fellowship. On the day of the 2023 ESA Awards ceremony, celebrations started early for Delphine Baise, Catherine Hawkins, Peter Raymond and Paul Samuels after their recognition as the inaugural ESA Fellows. The four will be honoured at tonight’s ceremony in London for their outstanding contribution to the sponsorship industry. Each will be granted lifetime individual membership ... read more

To celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2023, the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) is launching a new honour – the ESA Fellowship. Nominations opened today as ESA began the process of recognising long-serving leaders who have made an outstanding contribution to the sponsorship industry. The first recipients of the ESA Fellowship will be honoured at the 2023 ESA Awards ceremony in London on 9 March. Thereafter the Fellowship will become an annual process with one person inducted ... read more

Companies selling sponsorship rights have been challenged to do more to protect themselves from partnerships that could damage their reputation or their finances. More than nine in 10 respondents (91%) in the latest ESA Sponsorship Sentiment Tracker (SST) answered yes to the question: ‘Should Rights Holders undertake more due diligence and risk assessment to protect themselves (and stakeholders) from the possibility of a sponsorship causing financial and reputational concerns?’ The ... read more

The ESA Sponsorship Sentiment Tracker (SST) has revealed that confidence in the health of the industry is at its highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, peaking at 7.5 out of 10 in Wave 15 (see below). But the survey also revealed extensive concerns about the cost-of-living crisis. The SST is based on a survey of sponsorship professionals across Europe and the latest results tell a positive story about how the industry has bounced back from the pandemic, with brand confidence (7.9) higher ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association is extremely proud to announce the results of the 2022 ESA Diploma. Another 51 successful students have joined the ranks of nearly 600 contemporaries who have achieved the industry’s premier qualification since 2012. The class was led by Faisal Samarrae, an outstanding student from the United Arab Emirates who can rightly celebrate his status as Top Student (only the second overseas student to achieve the Diploma’s highest honour).  Faisal was ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) is delighted to announce the launch of the 2023 ESA Diploma, which will begin its 12th year as the industry’s premier and most prized qualification in January. Enrolment is now open and all candidates wishing to qualify for a significant discount on their booking fee can take advantage of an early bird deadline of Friday 25 November. ESA Members can also benefit from further discounts. To date, the Diploma has qualified more than 600 students, ... read more

After the glittering ceremony of 2022, the ESA Awards will return in 2023 with a goal of being bigger and more inclusive than ever. The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) turns 35 next year and the 2023 ESA Awards in London on Thursday 9 March will be a truly universal celebration of the best in sponsorship. ESA’s mission is to inspire, unite and grow a welcoming and diverse sponsorship industry – and the #ESAawards is designed to reflect that purpose. The cost of entries is lower than ... read more

Europe’s best sponsorship campaigns celebrated at gala ESA Awards ceremony The great and the good from Europe’s sponsorship industry gathered in Central London last night at the 15th annual ESA Awards ceremony, to recognise the best sponsorship campaigns of 2020/21.  More than 350 sponsorship and sports marketing leaders gathered at The Brewery, to celebrate prizes awarded across 25 categories at the 2022 ESA Awards ceremony.  The big winner on the night was Dreams whose ... read more

The latest results of ESA’s Sponsorship Sentiment Tracker (SST) showed sustained confidence within the sponsorship community, reaching an average score of 7.4 out of 10, just 0.1 points down on previous Wave 12. Similar to previous waves, brands appear to be the most positive, with no change seen since wave 12 back in September, despite the emergence of Omicron. However, Rights Holders and Agencies both felt that the health of the industry had experienced a slight downturn compared ... read more

After a virtual ceremony in 2021, the ESA Awards will return to London in March 2022. The ceremony will take place at The Brewery venue on Thursday 10 March (7pm). Tables and individual tickets are now on sale with an early bird offer (saving £300 per table) available until Friday 7 January. Early birds can also avail of a special offer rewarding them with one free entry to the 2023 ESA Awards. Entry will be permitted according to strict COVID-19 guidelines. The ESA Awards Committee ... read more

Organisations from 10 countries are in the running for recognition in Europe’s most prestigious sponsorship awards – scheduled for a return to London in 2022. The 2022 ESA Awards will showcase a wide panorama of the sponsorship industry and demonstrate how brands, rights holders, agencies and other organisations continued to rise to the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver market-leading results. The shortlisted entries for the 2022 ESA Awards were revealed today by the ... read more

DataPOWA has renewed its partnership with the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) and is unveiled today as Event Partner of the 2022 ESA Awards. Europe’s most prestigious sponsorship awards ceremony returns to London early next year and DataPOWA, the leading sports marketing and data analytics business, will be a prominent partner for the fourth year in succession. DataPOWA will also sponsor the Sport Sponsorship > €5M category at the 2022 ESA Awards ceremony. After the virtual ... read more

The latest results of the ESA Sponsorship Sentiment Tracker (SST) showed record highs, with confidence in the health of the industry peaking at 7.5 out of 10 in Wave 12 (see above). Sustainability shone through as a key topic for participants, especially those representing brands. Around two-thirds (64%) of brands highlighted the importance of potential partner organisations having a sustainability policy in place, while only 32% of rights holders and 24% of agencies reflected this ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association is delighted to announce the results of the 2021 ESA Diploma, its largest-ever and most international intake, with candidates from 14 different countries (including 12 from South Africa and 11 from Ireland). A total of 87 students from the Class of ‘21 have successfully qualified with their Diplomas, marking the culmination of a challenging and rewarding eight months of study. Six students graduated with the rare commendation of a Distinction grade, ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association, the membership body that aims to inspire, unite and grow a welcoming and diverse sponsorship industry, is delighted to announce the next ESA Diploma course commencing in January 2022. This marks the start of the Diploma’s second decade, having qualified nearly 600 practitioners in its first ten years of progressive growth. Earning a reputation as the industry’s most coveted qualification, the ESA Diploma is widely recognised as a rite of passage for ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association is thrilled to reveal the judging panels for the 2022 ESA Awards, the most prestigious sponsorship prizes in Europe. The panels are a who’s-who of the European sponsorship industry, featuring thought leaders and sponsorship experts from major rights holders, sponsors, agencies and industry suppliers. There are 18 categories to be judged in the main ESA Awards and this panel is supplemented by our ESA Best of Europe sponsored by Sponsorium ... read more

After a record-breaking entry in 2021, the 2022 ESA Awards offers another chance to celebrate the best of the sponsorship industry in the face of adversity. The prestigious #ESAawards will again be organised by the European Sponsorship Association, whose mission is to inspire, unite and grow a welcoming and diverse sponsorship industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused major disruption to the sports, arts and entertainment sectors in the period covered by the 2022 Awards (March 2020 to ... read more

The European Sponsorship Association is an elected trade body representing the interests of its members – our goal is to inspire, unite and grow a welcoming and diverse sponsorship industry. ESA focuses on growing talent and sustaining a future through education, thought leadership and debate. We also seek to recognise and showcase best practice and excellence through the ESA Awards and raise industry standards with our ESA Diploma, ESA Sponsorship Sales Certificate and ESA Leaders Programme ... read more

Three new Directors have been elected to the Board of The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) at today’s online AGM. Rebecca Martin of O2 Telefonica, Khadeen O’Donnell of English National Ballet and Daragh Persse of The Brand Fans were elected by their fellow ESA Members, adding significant diversity as well as professional credibility to the 15-strong Board. Existing Board Directors Sophie Morris of Millharbour ... read more

The European sponsorship community favours relaxing the media commitment required from professional sportspeople, new research from the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) has found. The findings were revealed in Wave 11 of ESA’s Sponsorship Sentiment Tracker (SST), which also revealed an upsurge in confidence about the health of the sponsorship industry. In the wake of the withdrawal of world No.2 tennis player Naomi Osaka from the 2021 French Open, citing stress resulting from ... read more