Top of the league for sponsorship
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ONE of the first examples of corporate sponsorship was a daily newspaper which organised a competition between the world’s top aviators in July, 1909.
Fast-forward to 2008 and global spending on sponsorship is thought to be in the region of £21.5billion.
And it is very important to support sports at a local level, says Dominion Gas chief executive George Yule, himself a former professional footballer.
“Sports sponsorship, in many ways, is power by association. Nike sponsor some of the world’s most recognised sporting events as it is core to the success of their brand that they are associated with many of the high-profile sports people taking part. The result is that sponsorship has helped successfully place them as one of the most instantly recognisable brands in the world.
“Sports sponsorship at any level is, of course, about getting into the minds of the fans that watch and support that particular event; associating your company with well loved athletes is an effective way of building your brand and subconsciously raising awareness of your company.
“Dominion Gas was a co-sponsor at this year’s Gothenburg Greats football celebrations, linking Scotland’s only oilfield service company supplying the full range of diving, welding, industrial, laboratory, test and calibration gases with Scottish sporting legends.
“But we also support events on a much more local level. Dominion Gas has sponsored the Ythan Challenge in Ellon for the past three years. The company is not only main sponsor to an event that provides the people of Ellon with a great local sporting attraction and family day, but the Dominion team really get behind the event, with Dominion Gas’s own Donna Gray taking top hours, winning the women’s race last year.
“The company also sponsored the Scottish ladies cricket team during their recent trip to South Africa for an international tournament, and on the local scene, is the main sponsor for St Ronald Cricket Club in Aberdeen.”
Awareness of the effectiveness of sports sponsorship has risen in recent years, as have the rewards, says George.
“We have cultivated a real open-door policy here at Dominion Gas and we take an active interest in the families of our staff. Several members of staff have children that play in local football and cricket teams and, as a company, we aim to show our support outwith the four walls of the office by sponsoring the strips of several local teams each year. I believe this has gone a long way to helping good staff relations and giving the company a high staff retention rate.”
Aside from being a successful businessman, George is keen to support the north-east’s future sporting ambitions, recently taking up the role, in his time away from Dominion Gas, as chairman of the board of directors for Aberdeen Sports Village, which is scheduled to open in summer 2009 .
The purpose-built sports village will include one of the largest indoor third-generation synthetic pitches in the UK, indoor and outdoor athletics training facilities, a water-based hockey pitch and a large multi-sport games hall, along with a large fitness suite and studio space.
“This is the type of facility that I could only wish for as a young sportsman growing up in Aberdeen,” says George.
“Now, the next generation of north-east sporting heroes, possible Olympians, and people of all walks of life have somewhere to come together to make dreams come true. It really will be a world-class sporting facility that will benefit generations of the community.
“Business leaders have a responsibility to support their staff and local community. Sponsoring sports is perhaps one of the most worthwhile ways of doing this.”
Dominion Gas is the only Aberdeen-based company to be shortlisted for this year’s National Business Awards for Scotland in the Logica Leadership category.
The company will also be hoping to take top honours at this year’s Northern Star Business Awards, where it is a finalist for both the Rising Star and Overall Small Business awards.
