Punchestown Named Best Sponsorship Team at National Awards Ceremony
27th Sep 2022
27th Sep 2022
Punchestown Racecourse were announced winner of The Best Sponsorship Team in association with The Irish Times at an award ceremony held in Clontarf Castle Hotel, Thursday 22nd September.
The Punchestown sponsorship team of Leona Hughes, Janet Creighton and Conor O’Neill held off stiff competition to secure the top spot with judges complimenting the attention to detail, innovative approach and dedicated client interaction received by sponsors. Despite being a small team the Punchestown staff manage a full portfolio of forty-three event sponsors at the annual five day racing festival each April in addition to a further fifty sponsors and partners at fixtures throughout the year. Punchestown are proud to say that as one of Ireland’s largest sporting events with a significant UK attendace, almost 50% of the festival sponsors are Kildare based companies, further emphasising the importance of community and support of independent or family owned enterprises. Among the Punchestown sponsorship line-up are bookmaker super firms Paddy Power, William Hill and Ladbrokes alongside leading global property developer Ballymore, luxury lifestyle icon Bollinger Champagne and household names from the media, tech, financial, tourism, insurance, motor and construction sectors.
The home of Irish jump racing was shortlisted in two categories at the Irish Sponsorship Awards both of which featured some stiff competition with leading marketing agencies and in-house sponsorship departments in attendance on the night. The Punchestown team narrowly missed out on a big award double when pipped to the post by Lidl Ireland Ladies National Football in the Best Sporting Event Sponsorship category.
Delighted to see the sponsors and team receive such recognition Punchestown CEO Conor O’Neill said “We are very proud to fly the flag for Irish racing in such a competitive industry. This award is particularly special for our loyal and amazingly supportive sponsors who have stuck with us through some truly challenging times in recent years. We always say that people make Punchestown and never was that as evident as during Covid when, despite empty enclosures and racing behind closed doors, our sponsors rallied and championed Punchestown. Without this level of support we cannot deliver one of Irelands most prestigious and loved sporting events. I would like to take this opportunity to give credit to our small team who, despite lining up against some of the biggest names in the industry, have shown that customer service, exceeding expectation with passion for people and place makes all the difference every time. We look forward to welcoming new sponsors to Punchestown ahead of our next season!”
The Punchestown racing season gets underway Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th October and runs through to June 2023. The Punchestown festival takes place from Tuesday 25th to Friday 29th April 2023. For further information please visit www.punchestown.com
