Sponsorship Competitions: Hilton Hotels & London Irish Case Study
8th April, 2011
We recently put together a great sponsorship campaign utilising social media, print and events for official sponsor of premiership rugby Hilton Hotels within the London Irish Rugby Club’s Big 5 events. By acting as a sponsor of the events, Hilton Hotels were able to access the London Irish fan base through their more engaged channels: the London Irish Facebook page, the St. Patrick’s Party, and local paper Reading Post.
The aim of the Hilton campaign was to promote the Hilton Hotel Spring Sale. Working with London Irish, we created three different promotions through three different channels:
- 2 tickets for the Fan Fair rugby game plus one nights accommodation at Hilton Reading promoted on Facebook
- 2 tickets for the Fan Fair rugby game plus one nights accommodation at Hilton Reading promoted at the popular St. Patrick’s Party
- 4 tickets for the Fan Fair rugby game plus lunch with the players promoted through Reading Post
Facebook & Sponsorship
Social media can act as a sponsorship platform to reach an engaged online audience. We promoted the competition as a free offer for fans of the London Irish Facebook page enabling users to share with their friends. By positioning the offering within the social context of sharing Facebook provides, it added value to the user experience rather than becoming a disruptive advertisement. The 5,000+ fans of the Facebook page loved it, achieving the main objective of promoting the Hilton sale, but also driving traffic and generating more Facebook friends for the London Irish Facebook page. 
London Irish St. Patrick’s Party
The popular St. Patrick’s Partyattracts a sell out crowd each year. With live entertainment and experiential campaigns run throughout the stadium, we wanted to ensure that any additional promotions could cut through and make an impact. To win the Hilton prize, fans were put on stage for a ‘dance-off’ with the band while the Spring Sale information was displayed on screens. By engaging the crowd through an audience vote, we ensured that the competition was impactful with the lively audience.
Reader Offer with Reading Post
The local paper, Reading Post, providing a prime front page position to promote both the London Irish Big 5 games as well as the Hilton Hotels Spring Sale through a reader competition. By working with this publication, we were able to compliment our earlier promotions of online and experiential by supplementing our reach to an older and local demographic.
At Slingshot Sponsorship we aim to add value through partnerships ensuring that any sponsorship campaigns we create build brand engagement. The combination of diverse channels and integrated sponsorship rights from both parties ensured a successful and engaging response from London Irish fans – creating value not only for the sponsor and the rights holder, but also for the fans.
