INTRODUCTION Hockey Ireland is appointing a communications/sponsorship agency partner to create and implement strategic sponsorship and communication plans. All Hockey Ireland functions are firmly rooted in our brand values of respect, integrity, excellence and inclusiveness. As such future sponsorships and partnerships should support and compliment these values. We expect to carry out shortlisting and presentations in December 2015 with a view to commencement of services provision in January 2016.
BACKGROUND Hockey Ireland is the National Governing Body for the sport of field hockey in Ireland. Governing the 32 counties of Ireland, the Association is responsible for the management and overall development of all areas of the sport. The Association was formed in 2000, as a result of the merger of the two preexisting Unions which governed men's and women's hockey separately. Both pre-existing Unions' origins date back to the late 19th Century, when they were formed within a year of each other. Many Hockey Ireland competitions have histories as rich as the sport itself and the Irish Senior Cup is the oldest hockey cup in the world. At the 2013 AGM a motion was passed to become a Limited Company. Hockey Ireland has a number of affiliated Branches that govern the sport at provincial/regional level. The sports approximate 162 clubs and 187 schools are affiliated to Hockey Ireland through its Branch network. The Irish Hockey Umpires Association, which manages the sport's umpire base, and the Irish Universities Hockey Association, which governs the sport in Ireland's university system, are also affiliated to Hockey Ireland.
There are over 50 divisions of men s and women s hockey around Ireland which equates to in excess of 7,000 men and women playing hockey matches every weekend. The vast selection of divisions means that every type of hockey player is catered for, whether that is the young professional playing in Division 1 or a student in Division 4 or the back-to-hockey working parent in Division 6. Hockey is a sport for all ages and abilities with a demographic comprised of ABC1 well-educated, decision makers. The sport is growing dramatically with 144,000 participants around the country and an increase in youth participation of 38% since 2010. Hockey on a global scale is also expanding; over 200 million viewers watched the 2014 Hockey World Cup and 630,000 people attended hockey at the 2012 London Olympics. Hockey Ireland is firmly built on the passion and commitment of our staff and volunteers, and desires to work as a team with a commercial/agency partner that matches our enthusiasm and unwavering belief in the potential for hockey in Ireland.
Current Successes We Want To Build On 2015 has been the most successful year in the history of the organisation. The men s international team qualified for the Olympics and in doing so will be the first Irish hockey team at an Olympics since 1908, and the first Irish team sport of any kind at an Olympics since 1948. The record-breaking this year didn t just include that all-important ticket to Rio, the men s squad also won a European Championship bronze medal for the first time and beat hockey-powerhouse Pakistan. The men s squad is comprised of a mixture of players competing professionally in Europe and others balancing their role in the squad with life as solicitors, entrepreneurs, students etc. For example, Davey Harte, the team captain and goalkeeper, is considered one of the best keepers in the world and is hired to compete in the high profile Hockey India League for 4 weeks every January, as well as playing full time in the Netherlands. On the flip side of that Eugene Magee, the second most capped member of the squad, works full time for Liberty IT while playing club hockey here in Ireland. Not to be outdone by their male counterparts, the women s international squad have had an impressive 2015 as well. The young team have quickly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with as they defeated USA, 5th in the world, in June and won the European Championships II in an undefeated streak a month later.
The media coverage the teams have received since March equates to approximately 1,000,000 in AVE. Some of the media outlets that featured the team were Sky Sports, RTE, BBC, UTV, TV3, Irish Times, Irish Independent, Belfast Telegraph and Newstalk Radio. Both squads World League 3 matches were shown live on Sky Sports, and all of the men s European Championships matches were aired lived on BBC.
Objectives Hockey Ireland s objective is to work together with an agency partner that would support the development of a Communications and Sponsorship Programs Sponsorship/Partnership Develop a Sponsorship/Partnership Strategy for Hockey Ireland Help craft sponsorship presentations Activate sponsorships Service sponsors Ultimately source sponsors o Senior men-primarily in the build up to the 2016 Rio Olympics o Senior women s & junior age group teams Please note Hockey Ireland is currently committed to sponsorship agreements with EY and Subway, and as such competitors of these organisations cannot be considered. Communication
Brief HOCKEY IRELAND Develop a campaign to bring the hockey community on the journey to Rio 2016 Build the profile of the team and key individuals with the Squad and Management Team who become heroes/ambassadors for our sport Maximise exposure with traditional media outlets to try to gain the type of coverage afforded to the mainstream sports of rugby, football and GAA. Create social media programme to increase engagement and interest in the senior men s squad initially and eventually all national teams Interested parties should provide a framework they recommend to help Hockey Ireland achieve its ambition of increasing sponsorships and partnerships for all international squads. Along with that, candidates should provide a suggested approach to a communication strategy with the aim of increasing our reach and awareness. Candidates should show a clear: Understanding of our organisation, current trends and developments: Provide an assessment of our needs Outline how you propose to meet those needs and what benefits added value you will provide Proposed approach to positioning Hockey Ireland as an attractive sponsorship investment Proposed approach to account management
Proposed approach to pricing Realistic commercial revenue targets after 6 months Proposed approach to a communication strategy; how to reach the hockey community (internal) and how to broaden our reach with the wider population (external). Proposed approach to implementing an engaging social media programme Proposal for the measurement of the success of this initiative Next Steps Step 1: Please provide details of your agencies credentials and a cover note outlining why your agency is a suitable partner for Hockey Ireland. Candidates should submit their expression of interest and credentials by 5pm on Friday December 4 th. Proposals should be submitted to Alex Sherwood- Marketing Manager (alex.sherwood@hockey.ie). Step 2: Shortlisted candidates will be asked to discuss their submission in more detail at a presentation to Hockey Ireland, which will be held on December 14 th /15 th.