The Café de Paris in London became the centre of the sponsorship universe as the industry gathered to recognise those companies who made a difference in 2015
Last night, at the prestigious Café de Paris in London, the 9th annual ESA Excellence Awards took place. The ceremony saw a plethora of UK and international winners crowned across eighteen categories, including awarding the ultimate honour of Sponsorship of the Year.
Organised by the European Sponsorship Association (ESA), the Excellence Awards recognise the best campaigns across a multitude of disciplines including hospitality, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and community, media and employee engagement, as well as the more established sporting and entertainment verticals.
Undoubtedly the highlight of the evening was the announcement of the prestigious Sponsorship of the Year award. This award brings the winners of nine eligible categories together to be judged against each other by an expert panel of independent judges.
And, for 2015, the winner has been revealed as Buxton Water with their #WithYouAlltheWay London Marathon 2015 campaign.
Alex Goddard, of CAA Sports Consulting, offered up his view of the evening: “Winning the Sponsorship of the Year award feels great. We went in for the mass participation award, which we also won, so it feels fantastic to be able to go one step beyond that.”
Goddard continued, “It was a great opportunity to work with an organisation like Nestlé, and to work with one of their smaller local brands, and do something completely different. They took a few risks and it really paid off.”
As well as the Sponsorship of the Year presentation, the 2015 ESA Excellence Awards also saw a number of other high-profile awards handed out, including:
- Best of Europe Award: Tele2 Sweden (A World Class Arena)
- Best Sports Sponsorship: British Gas (British Swimming)
- Best use of Hospitality Activation: McDonald’s (The FA Community Awards)
- Arts & Culture Sponsorship Award: KPN (Late Rembrandt exhibition campaign 2015)
- Best Use of PR: Electric Ireland GAA All-Ireland Minor Championships (#ThisIsMajor)
For a full list of the short-listed nominees, commended campaigns and winners, please go here
Karen Earl, Chairman of the European Sponsorship Association, said:
“On behalf of ESA I not only wish to congratulate Buxton Water on scooping the coveted Sponsorship of the Year award, but to congratulate all the winners as well as the commended campaigns. This year has seen an incredible number of entries across the various categories and they are all of the highest quality. To be short-listed is an achievement in itself, and those companies who get to walk away with an ESA trophy should be incredibly proud of what they have attained.”
The annual Excellence Awards celebrate successful sponsorship campaigns in all sectors – sport, culture, entertainment, media, community and corporate responsibility – by assessing their business objectives and campaign results. The Awards are the only ones to recognise the best sponsorships across Europe and reward outstanding work achieved by sponsorship industry professionals.
–ENDS–
For further information on the ESA Excellence Awards please contact:
Keef Sloan
keefsloan@sponsorship.org
+44 (0) 20 8390 3311
+44 (0) 07973 614302
About ESA
The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) exists to inspire, educate and raise standards within the sponsorship and wider marketing industry. As a membership association ESA’s vision is to encourage consumer engagement through effective multi-channel marketing. Its many activities, which include policy, governance and corporate responsibility, education and training, information, networking and the ESA Excellence Awards, all have these goals as their core objectives. ESA’s reach encompasses all types of sponsorship activity from sport, broadcast, education, the arts and culture through to environment and the community. Its membership includes sponsors, rights holders, agencies, consultants, professional advisors and suppliers.