With rugby fever breaking out across the nation, The Old Spot on Bath Avenue was the venue for an exciting Tuesday night this week with one Irish Times reader bagging the trip of a lifetime to Japan to attend the final of Rugby World Cup 2019.
Every week during the month of August, 10 lucky Irish Times readers were randomly selected as finalists and entered into the draw for an all inclusive trip to the much anticipated Rugby World Cup 2019 final in Yokahama, Japan. Excitement was mounting as the 40 finalists and their guests arrived to the Dublin pub with the hope of winning the trip of a lifetime courtesy of DHL in partnership with the Irish Times.
To kick off the night, Irish Times journalist Gavin Cumiskey sat down with Irish rugby legend Jamie Heaslip as they discussed his career and what he expects from the Irish squad in the upcoming tournament. Following this, renowned Irish Times rugby journalist Gerry Thornley and yet another Irish rugby legend, Gordon D’Arcy joined Gavin as they reviewed the performance of the Irish squad this year, the controversial line up and what they expect from the world number one team throughout the championship.
When the panel discussions concluded, Irish Times Sports Editor Malachy Logan made the random selection of competition winner, a delighted Ian Branagan.
Speaking at the event, Rob Kinsella, Head of Client Solutions, The Irish Times, said, ‘we are delighted to have partnered with DHL on a fantastic trip to Japan for the final of Rugby World Cup 2019™. In terms of brand positioning and elevating DHL sponsorship of Rugby World Cup 2019™, we have delivered a cross platform activation that has engaged a captive audience and delivered in terms of anticipation and excitement.
I’d like to thank our partners in DHL for a great collaboration; having a great one to one direct client relationship enables us to truly understand everyone’s objectives and exceed KPIs. We’re delighted to have launched this campaign for our audience and look forward to more exciting brand activations throughout what I hope will be a successful Rugby World Cup 2019™.’
Ciara Hynes, Brand, Communication and Marketing Manager at DHL said ‘’as a global sponsor of Rugby World Cup 2019™, DHL are continuing a long-standing relationship between DHL and the game of rugby. By partnering with The Irish Times, the leading media outlet in rugby journalism we knew we would be reaching our target audience and achieving the highest level of brand awareness. We are delighted with the partnership and looking forward to sending massive rugby fan Ian and his son to Rugby World Cup 2019’’
