Experience-Led Sponsorship: Purpose into Participation & Meaningful Impact
Join us for an inside look behind Vhi’s long‑standing sponsorship of the Women’s Mini Marathon, recently crowned European Sponsorship Awards: Event of the Year 2025. A must‑attend session for anyone interested in experiential marketing that truly moves the needle.
Keynote Speaker :
Lorraine McCormack is a highly experienced Sponsorship and Experiential Marketing leader who has spent more than 20 years shaping standout partnerships and events across Ireland. She’s best known for her work on the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon and parkrun Ireland, where she helped transform large‑scale community programmes into powerful, purpose‑driven brand platforms. She is recognised for her ability to create partnerships that genuinely matter - rooted in community impact, authenticity and long‑term value.
Panel:
Valerie Melinn is Client Services Director in Verve, where she has spent over 10 years delivering award-winning brand experiences for a variety of clients including Vhi. Prior agency experience encompassing PR, Advertising and Marketing has given her a keen understanding of how both above-the-line and below-the-line marketing functions can complement and work together to create impactful brand experiences.
Sarah King is Head of Partnerships at FUEL and Head of WellFest, where she leads the vision, relationships, and brand collaborations behind Europe's largest outdoor health and wellness festival. Working across FUEL’s festivals and live experience departments, Sarah plays a central role in connecting brands with audiences in meaningful, experience‑led ways and building long-term, high-impact partnerships.
Our panel will then share their perspectives on:
- How participation, not just visibility, builds powerful brand connections
- How purpose comes to life when brands show up meaningfully and consistently
- Why the smartest sponsorships measure impact through people, loyalty and advocacy, not impressions alone
Date: Thursday, 23rd April 2026
Time: Refreshments 4.30 pm, Speakers 5.00 pm - 6.00 pm
Venue: FUEL, 11 Camden Street, D02 FW54
Tickets: Members €30, Non-members €60
