ESA Member Testimonials
ACCOR
“Membership of ESA allows us to access industry best practice to help educate internal stakeholders and to ensure credibility in what we do. The Brand round tables have been incredibly useful to discuss what are often shared challenges in the industry, whilst the events and webinars provide invaluable education and networking opportunities for our teams.”
Stuart Wareman | SVP Experiences, Events & Sponsorships
ACCOR
AEG
“AEG are a major play in the European sponsorship industry, so it made sense over the last 14 years to be a member of ESA. Our employees have attended ESA seminars, conferences and training programmes and we have also helped provide content and speakers for some of these events. Our staff find these events not only educational but a platform to network with industry colleagues across Europe. The ESA Awards has given AEG an opportunity to showcase some of our best work, and of course we are delighted to have won on occasion! Thank you, ESA for being at our side.”
Paul Samuels | Executive Vice President, AEG Global Partnerships
AEG
Arsenal Football Club
“I have been an advocate of the ESA Diploma since it was launched in 2012. Since then, over 30 members of my team have completed the ESA Diploma and they have all benefitted from the educational materials and the industry networking opportunities the course offers. As we want the industry to continue to flourish, I believe the Diploma is an essential learning component for our future leaders.”
Gordon Tannock | Head of Partner Services
Arsenal FC
British Gas
“Sponsorship done well is invaluable. Sponsorship done poorly is a waste of time and money. ESA is invaluable at helping us to cut through the noise and identify what works in sponsorship and why. Through our membership, we have been able to appoint new agencies and suppliers. We have networked with the key people in the industry and, from the seminars and white papers, learned how to improve our sponsorship performance.”
Matthew Leopold
British Gas
Core Sponsorship
“ESA is a big part of our support network in Core Sponsorship; a highly valuable resource that we feel deeply connected to. All of our new team members go through the ESA Diploma programme. It gives them a grounding in sponsorship’s best practice alongside real-world experience and is a must-have qualification for our team. The ESA Awards are highly coveted and we thrive on pitting ourselves against the very best in the business. As a resource, the access to case studies, agency round tables, webinars and research is invaluable. We lack an industry body in the Irish market for Sponsorship and so we are even more grateful to have ESA to lean on to ensure we are ahead of industry trends and on top of key developments. The team there are pretty awesome also!”
Jill Downey | Managing Director
Core Sponsorship
CSM
“As a business, we challenge ourselves and our clients to Pursue Extraordinary in everything we do. Our relationships with ESA helps us to deliver on this ambition. Thanks to the association’s industry-leading professional training and qualifications, many of our people have been able to expand their knowledge and practical skillset through the ESA Diploma and ESA Sponsorship Sales Certificate. ESA also represents an avenue for benchmarking and showcasing our most extraordinary work through the highly respected ESA Awards. These Awards, and other ESA events, are also an invaluable chance to meet with and learn from the most courageous and competent within the industry, and beyond. It is testament to the work of ESA that this network is as strong as it is. We are proud of this long-standing, multi-faceted and highly productive relationship.”
Hannah Robertson | Group Marketing Manager
CSM Sport & Entertainment
Electric Ireland
“Through its recognition of excellence and sharing of best practice and performance, ESA has given us invaluable tools to help guide our own sponsorship best practice, monitor future trends and learn from some excellent case studies across diverse industries. Given the fact that Ireland is a relatively small sponsorship market, our membership with ESA provides a valuable platform for us to connect and engage with peer brands in Europe. It also supports our talent development strategy through delivery of rewarding and insightful course content; helping to broaden our company’s expertise in sponsorship in Ireland and internationally.”
Sarah Sharkey | Brand, PR & Sponsorship Manager
ESB Group
eToro
“Membership of ESA has enabled eToro to be at the heart of the conversation about trends, challenges and opportunities within our industry. A great example of this is the Brand Round Tables that provide a rare opportunity to connect with other sponsorship professionals who have relatable experience. Along with the ESA webinars, this has been a really important source of peer-to-peer engagement, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re looking forward to developing relationships within the ESA community and enjoying the member benefits long into the future.”
Dylan Holman | Senior Manager
eToro Global Sponsorships
Juststuf
“ESA is important to our Juststuf partnership agency, as it creates an engaging platform from which to network, promote, learn and share best-practice with industry colleagues. The ESA member seminars are particularly valuable to us, not only in understanding the rationale behind high profile partnerships across a broad range of sectors, but also in providing us exposure and introductions to new partnership owners and opportunities.
ESA also provides online tools, data, awards opportunities and structured education, to raise the level of expertise and governance in our largely unregulated industry.
ESA, their board and their proactive membership base are always so welcoming and willing to share experience and expertise with members new and old and we always feel a part of a diverse and interesting community with a wealth of global sponsorship and marketing knowledge to tap into at any time for advice and support. We love belonging to ESA and feel our membership is both value for money and a valuable part of our business model.”
Lance Baber and Kerrie Flaus | Directors
Juststuf Partnership Marketing
McDonalds
“ESA membership has allowed McDonald’s to gain further insight into the sponsorship industry through best practice guides, legislative updates and the ability to network with others from across the industry at ESA’s many events. Being a member also shows our support for the sponsorship industry.”
Tom Barnsley | Senior Sports Sponsorship Manager
McDonald’s
Mediacom
“With over 10 years’ ESA membership already under our belt, MediaCom has found ESA Events to be an invaluable source of information for trends and best practice, and a great arena in which to network. The ESA Awards has allowed MediaCom to showcase our most recent sponsorship campaigns across Europe, plus our involvement with ESA’s Media Group enables us to meet up quarterly and openly discuss new media sponsorship concepts.”
Misha Sher | Worldwide VP
MediaCom
Octagon
“As long-standing ESA Members, we have always hugely valued the role that ESA plays in the European sponsorship industry. ESA has done a tremendous job at representing the industry’s interests and raising standards for sponsorship across Europe. We are big supporters of the ESA Diploma, which provides a great grounding in sponsorship and sports marketing, and crucially, a formal qualification for participants – which had been sorely lacking compared with other industries. ESA provides a consistent schedule of high-quality events and thought leadership throughout the year, and just as importantly, is run by good people, highly motivated to continuously improve the industry. We are grateful for all they do and proud to be members.”
Joel Seymour-Hyde | Head of Octagon UK
Octagon
opro
“It’s of real value to OPRO being a member of ESA. The regular breakfast events are extremely useful from a networking perspective, as well as gaining meaningful insights from my peers within the sponsorship industry.”
Daniel Lovat | Sports Marketing Director
OPRO
Sport England
“We’ve worked closely with ESA for the past eight years, and Sport England is a staunch advocate of ESA’s educational side of the business, sponsoring the ESA Diploma since its 2012 launch. We look forward to being involved with ESA qualifications for many years to come.”
Scott Radcliffe | Head of Partnerships
Sport England
Sport Science Agency
“Membership of the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) is an important part of Sport Science Agency’s strategy to remain informed of the latest industry developments. The events, insight and expertise that ESA membership allows us to access ensures we stay current and can constantly refine our work to reflect the latest market trends.
The breakfast events have been particularly useful, with a number of fantastic speakers all willing to share best practice and viewpoints from the various sides of the sponsorship industry, be that agency, rights holder, charity, brand or athlete.
ESA’s focus on ensuring its members have the opportunity to develop their businesses through introductions, invitations, promotions and other membership benefits means it stands out as an organisation we are delighted to be associated with.”
John Mulcahy | Director
Sport Science Agency
SQN
“SQN has been a member of ESA since its inception in 2003 and has always appreciated the valuable insights, services, events, and networking opportunities afforded by the organisation. The members’ website offers a wealth of information from industry trends to legislation on certain topics which is invaluable when navigating the complex world of sponsorship on behalf of clients and for our own benefit. We look forward to continuing our long and fruitful partnership.”
Claire Ritchie-Tomkins | Founder and CEO
Sine Qua Non
Surrey FA
“Membership to ESA has provided Surrey FA with a greater depth of understanding of the sponsorship and commercial arena, allowing us access to best practice, to industry news and to keep abreast with emerging trends. The ESA Board have been forthcoming in their support and guidance as we develop our commercial strategy, and this has been immensely helpful. The regular events have also been of great benefit to me and my team.”
Sally Lockyer, MBA | CEO
Surrey FA
Value of We
“ESA offers a great platform to meet and connect with high-level representatives of both brands and rights holders. For us as an agency, both are of huge importance so we’re happy to have everything in one place. On top of that, ESA takes care of knowledge exchange and organises great webinars and working groups. We’re happy to be an active part of the community and looking forward for more years to come.”
Richard Petrich | Managing Director & Co-Founder
Value of We GmbH
