Irish Sponsorship Awards 2025 celebrates excellence in partnership and innovation

The Irish Sponsorship Awards 2025 brought together Ireland's sponsorship community on 13 November 2025 at The Royal Marine Hotel, Dublin, for a black-tie gala celebrating excellence across creative partnership, strategic activation, and community impact.

Mediahuis claimed Sponsorship of the Year alongside multiple category wins including Best Multi-Platform Sponsorship and Best Digital Sponsorship, reflecting comprehensive integrated delivery across storytelling and cross-channel activation. FBD Insurance secured dual recognition for "Funding, Backing, Donating," winning Best Societal Sponsorship and Best Grassroots Sponsorship—demonstrating how scaled community investment across 350+ initiatives drives brand loyalty whilst advancing grassroots participation. EUROSPAR won Best Arts & Cultural Sponsorship and Environmentally Sustainable Sponsorship for Junk Kouture, proving that creative sustainability initiatives combining youth engagement and circular economy principles establish new benchmarks for purpose-driven partnership. Kerrygold's Nature Wrapped in Gold garden won Innovation in Sponsorship, delivering 51,000 product samples and achieving 26 per cent awareness lift among key shoppers, proving experiential authenticity drives measurable commercial outcomes. Bord Gáis Energy's "It's All Heating Up" campaign won Best Use of Social Media, disrupting traditional GAA sponsorship through platform-native humour and multi-channel integration. Mindshare's Danone Aptamil podcast partnership claimed Best Low Budget Sponsorship, establishing that strategic targeting and format precision matter more than budget scale.

Four distinct patterns emerged across this year's awards, signalling sector evolution. Sustainability integration moved beyond messaging to measurable impact, with award winners demonstrating genuine environmental commitment. Digital-first activation combining social, experiential, and broadcast elements distinguished award winners from traditional approaches. Community-centred partnerships delivered authentic stakeholder co-design rather than tokenistic CSR. Budget efficiency through strategic targeting demonstrated that precise audience alignment matters more than spending scale.

Winning entries across all categories prioritised authenticity over visibility, quantified impact across multiple metrics, integrated multi-platform coordination, aligned sustainability with commercial objectives, and pursued strategic targeting over broad reach. The awards reflected rising expectations where sponsorship demands demonstrable commitment to authentic partnership, stakeholder benefit, and sustainable value creation.

For past winners, category details, and updates, visit the official Irish Sponsorship Awards website and subscribe to the newsletter for exclusive insights and coverage from Ireland's sponsorship sector