The Irish sponsorship market brought in more than €125 million last year, with events such as The Gathering and the EU presidency fuelling a positive turnaround in the industry.

While spend on sponsorship is expected to experience a temporary dip of 1.5 per cent this year, according to industry experts Onside Sponsorship, major companies are still continuing to invest in sponsorship, shifting away from advertising and traditional marketing.

This Thursday, more than 200 sponsorship professionals are expected to attend a conference in Dublin to discuss the positive potential that the sponsorship market in Ireland, and internationally, is currently demonstrating.

Thinkhouse founder Jane McDaid will guide delegates through a journey of how to win youth audiences through sport.

“We all improve through collaborating around great ideas. As individuals we never have all the answers but coming together in a great format like this will enable all of us to think smarter, act faster and deliver more,” Sport for Business founder Rob Hartnett said.

Closing up the programme will be Sky Cycling development director Robert Tansey and Sky Ireland marketing director Mark Anderson who will discuss how partnerships can transform engagement.

“Sponsorship continues to be an extremely viable marketing communications vehicle and its future remains bright as long as we continue to evolve,” FishBait Marketing chief executive Rick Jones said.

On the subject of sponsorship, the Interactive Advertising Bureau is also hosting a conference this Thursday, to help advertisers embrace digital storytelling to build their brands online. Mindshare Worldwide chief technology officer Steve Plimsoll, Twitter senior sales manager Don O'Leary and AdRoll EMEA managing director Marius Smyth will be among the speakers.