Volkswagen maximised the potential of their sponsorship package and Infront’s state-of-the-art LED boards in an innovative and creative fan-orientated campaign at the 2014 DFB Cup Final. Through powerful two-way communication, Volkswagen was able to successfully reach and engage its audience in a commercial-free TV environment.
The 2014 DFB Cup Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, two of the most successful teams of the Bundesliga, was certain to have a huge TV audience, offering an attractive opportunity to reach German fans. As exclusive marketing partner to the DFB, Infront established comprehensive central sponsorship packages for the entire DFB Cup competition – securing Volkswagen (VW) as one of only six official sponsors. The agreement included sleeve branding of all participating teams, player substitution panel branding, hospitality, and promotional presence in the DFB Cup fan village. For the Final, VW went one step further, developing a campaign with their media agency, Mediacom, which took full advantage of the state-of-the-art LED boards provided by Infront as the ideal platform to engage the audience.
LED boards as the star of the game
In a unique approach, fans were given the opportunity to share their personal fan message prominently on the LED boards surrounding the pitch, thus drawing attention throughout the entire live broadcast. Leading up to the Final, VW ran an ad campaign across various social media channels and blogs, encouraging fans to submit their message. During the match, curious fans were constantly looking to see when their message was displayed. The promotion not only increased fan interaction, but allowed VW to position their “Cup special edition cars” close to the target group through tailored LED board advertising during prime time in a highly emotional environment. With 75,000 onsite spectators at Berlin’s Olympic stadium and 14.27 million TV viewers on ARD, VW’s fan LED boards were more frequently shown and for a longer duration than any commercial would have been.
ACHIEVEMENTS
- VW’s campaign resulted in the submission of over 611,000 fan messages and more than 11 million actual impressions on social media
- A click rate of 3.75% generated 420,000 direct visits to the Volkswagen landing page
- The initiative won the German Media Prize 2015 in the category “Best Media Idea – TV”, together with its media agency Mediacom
- Infront provided and managed the state-of-the-art LED boards that made this type of promotion possible, and – as an exclusive marketing partner to the DFB - established this most comprehensive official sponsorship package ultimately acquired by Volkswagen
