European Sponsorship Association launches 2024 ESA Awards
The 2024 ESA Awards ceremony will also feature the second inauguration of the ESA Fellowship, introduced in 2023 to honour leaders who have made an outstanding contribution to the sponsorship industry.
One of the hallmarks of the ESA Awards, as highlighted by regular entrants, is the high standard of judging. Senior sponsorship and marketing professionals are invited to apply today to be part of the 2024 ESA Awards judging panel, which in 2023 year consisted of 79 judges from 10 European countries.
Recognising the importance of staying aligned with industry trends, the ESA Awards Committee has split the highly coveted Best Use of ESG & Purpose-led Sponsorship category into two exciting new categories:
- Environmentally Sustainable Sponsorship
- Sponsorship with a Social Purpose
ESA has also revamped its Rights Holder of the Year award for 2024.
ESA Chair Andy Westlake said: “A full house of 450 savoured and celebrated the incredible diversity of our industry at the 2023 ESA Awards, and we can’t wait to see what the best of European sponsorship has to offer in 2024.
"The ESA Awards goes from strength to strength as the continent’s premier sponsorship gathering. As well as category winners and ESA Fellows earning well-deserved recognition, it’s a brilliant opportunity for networking."
"Sponsorship is a very powerful component of the marketing mix and I encourage anyone who is proud of their achievements this year to enter the ESA Awards. There is a fantastic range of categories and the judging is world-renowned."
Those entering the 2024 ESA Awards will be asked to submit a 250-word elevator pitch and either a 10-minute video presentation or a 2,000-word written entry.
ESA Awards Chair of Judges, Matthew Leopold, said: “Every year we think the quality of entries to the ESA Awards couldn’t get much higher and yet we are continually surprised and delighted by the spellbinding standard.
"Sometimes there are simply too many deserving winners applying for the same prize and we hope that the new categories recognising environmental sustainability and social purpose will reflect what the industry is telling us are the very cornerstones of their partnerships."
ESA would like to thank the event sponsors that make a vital contribution to the success of the ESA Awards. Sponsorium, caytoo, CSM Live and SPORTO have renewed their support for 2024, and Sponsorworks has joined the list of category sponsors. For sponsorship opportunities please contact us at opportunity@sponsorship.org.“This year has seen renewed growth in women’s sport and I’m sure we will see this reflected in the 2024 ESA Awards entries. We’re excited to see what the sponsorship community will come up with and I urge anyone with extensive experience who is passionate about our industry to apply to the judging panel.”
About ESA
The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to inspire, unite and grow a welcoming and diverse sponsorship industry. ESA does this through education, guidance, representation, the recognition of excellence and the sharing of best practice and performance.
ESA’s reach encompasses all types of sponsorship activity from sport, broadcast, education, charity, the arts and culture, to environment and the community. Its members include sponsors, rights holders, agencies and consultants, professional advisors and suppliers. Visit sponsorship.org for more information.
