Sports marketing open forum

As part of the ongoing programme of activity for Limerick as European City of Sport 2011, Marketlink, the innovation and entrepreneurship programme for students at LIT, hosted an open forum on sports marketing.
The open forum, which was chaired by Dr Maria Hinfelaar, President of Limerick Institute of Technology, examined how sports marketing has developed in recent years and looked at the opportunities this emerging trend presents for marketing Ireland, the Midwest Region and Limerick, which is synonymous with sport of all kinds.
One of the guest speakers, Cooraclare native Enda McGuane, deputy CEO of the Munster GAA Council, outlined how the council use the media to interact with its membership.
“Our members are drawn from every demographic in society and we face an ongoing challenge in developing communications channels that can reach all our members, given the vast array of media in use in Ireland today. Social media and the internet are essential tools that are utilised at every level, from province to county to club,” he said.
Mr McGuane emphasised the value of the GAA to each community and the economy.
“In a time when the local construction industry has been decimated, the value of infrastructure projects across Munster GAA in 2009/2010 was €33 million and the value of Munster Senior Championship matches to local economies in 2011 was €9.3 million, based on match attendances,” he pointed out.
The line-up of speakers also included JP Hartigan of Shadowman.ie; Mark O’Connell, associate director, Focus Consulting; Niall Woods, managing director of Navy Blue Consulting and former CEO of Irish Rugby Union Players’ Association (IRUPA); Karen Brosnahan, business manager, Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau and Rory Sheridan, sponsorship manager, Diageo.
Mark O’Connell of Focus Consulting commented on the value of sport to the Midwest Region. “From a regional perspective, sport has shown itself to be a vital sector to focus on from a number of aspects. The economic contribution that sport makes as a result of hosting major events is hugely significant. The evidence from the Special Olympics and major events in Thomond Park Stadium last year was a clear demonstration that we have the facilities, people and event-hosting knowledge to ensure sport will be a vital contributor to the development of the region,” he said.
MarketLink is an eight-week multidisciplinary careers, innovation and entrepreneurship programme for third-level students studying in LIT.
A key ingredient of the programme is the interaction between students, local entrepreneurs and SME managers in the Mid-West.