AIB, with over three decades of Gaelic Games sponsorship, faced the challenge of evolving its presence in an increasingly crowded Irish sports landscape. The core business need was to strengthen AIB’s position as the leading supporter of grassroots Gaelic Games, ensuring continued relevance and impact by embracing inclusivity across all codes. This necessitated a groundbreaking strategic choice: uniting Gaelic Football, Hurling, Camogie, and Ladies Football under one comprehensive sponsorship.
The solution was the AIB Club Player Awards 2024/25, the first-ever event to celebrate players from all four codes at a single ceremony. Hosted at Croke Park for 450 guests, this high-end, celebratory experience, featuring a red-carpet entrance, quality visual projections of club action on the stadium, live music, and on-stage award presentations, aimed to establish AIB as the pioneering unified sponsor and set a benchmark in Gaelic Games sponsorship. Execution involved extensive earned media, innovative PR photography, and a robust multi-channel social media strategy, including owned, partner, and influencer channels.
The campaign delivered outstanding results, unequivocally meeting its objectives. The awards were a resounding success, generating widespread positive media sentiment and full attendance from players and leadership across all codes. AIB successfully established itself as the first sponsor to unite all four codes, setting a new benchmark for inclusive sports sponsorship. Beyond metrics, this positioned AIB as a progressive, inclusive brand deeply committed to grassroots Irish sport, strengthening emotional connections with communities and leading the way for the Gaelic Games community’s move towards full integration by 2027.
