Successful 74th DFB Cup season concludes with millions watching from all over the world
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Infront handled various marketing and media services, engaging fans through the award-winning DFB Cup App and giving sponsors exposure in more than 200 countries and territories across the season
Zug, Switzerland – The 2016/17 DFB Cup season culminated recently with a thrilling final in the sold-out Olympiastadion in Berlin. During the past season, the German Football Association (DFB) together with its exclusive marketing partner Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, secured over 30 media rights agreements in more than 200 countries and territories, providing six Official Sponsors with extensive visibility across the whole event.
Live coverage reaching 83.7 million viewers in Germany alone
The cumulative live audience in Germany - both on free-to-air and pay-TV - added up to 83.7 million across the entire season. Worldwide media rights agreements have been signed with premium broadcasters such as BeIN Sports, ESPN, Match TV, Viasat, Televisa and DirecTV.
All internationally-marketed matches were produced in HD 16/9 standard and distributed via satellite. Over the course of the season, 19 live matches were offered with English commentary with Infront’s broadcaster servicing team coordinating and supporting the licensees as a central point of contact for inquiries around signal production and transmission.
Officials Sponsors gain worldwide exposure
For the 2016/17 season, a new marketing cycle has been introduced, providing six Official Sponsors extensive exposure on one of Germany’s most popular sports platforms. New to the contingent this year was ERGO (insurance services), who joined other long-term committed partners: Bitburger (beer), Deutsche Post (German postal service), engelbert strauss (workwear manufacturer), TARGOBANK (bank) and Volkswagen (car manufacturer).
A series of sponsor-led activations on site ensured maximum engagement across the events with campaigns including: “Volkswagen’s Man of the Match” ceremony, the TARGOBANK “My Fan Moment” (providing the winner with a comprehensive behind-the-scenes tour, VIP tickets and overnight stay) and the “ERGO DFB Cup trophy tour” (a three floor bus with a DFB Cup museum driving through Germany and stopping at eight different locations). There was also a newly introduced “Volkswagen Junior Eskorte” at all DFB Cup matches - an initiative that provides children in Germany with a once-in-a-lifetime experience to accompany players on the pitch.
Award-winning App adds further gamification highlights
At the beginning of the season, the DFB together with Infront and its subsidiary OMNIGON launched a new DFB Cup App, providing unique gamification features for fans to engage worldwide. Once registered and interacting with the App, fans benefited from a number of infotainment, engagement and service features through a comprehensive selection of multimedia content. The App proved its success: OMNIGON received the Interactive Media Award with the highest honour of ‘Best in Class’ distinction for its work on the DFB Cup App.
Facts & Figures
Over the course of the season, close to 1.4 million spectators in the stadiums were able to engage with the sponsor pack. In total, sponsor branding was featured on over 13,250 meters of static boards, complemented by 2,500 meters of Infront’s LED boards at the live matches. As an innovative feature, an animated LED press wall was once again used for the press conference with a higher resolution than ever before.
The venue dressing ensured a consistent look and feel to all matches of the DFB Cup. Over 24,000 square meters of venue fabric were used in the stadiums with the interview backdrops accounting to an additional 410 meters of dressing – the equivalent of the stadium perimeter.
Denni Strich, Director Marketing at DFB und Managing Director DFB GmbH: “Together with our partner Infront we have experienced a thrilling and financially successful DFB Cup season. The Final alone was broadcast in 188 countries and territories, which is a clear indication of the DFB Cup success story. Beyond that, the award-winning DFB Cup app has created a digital platform that provides fans with numerous interactive opportunities.”
Stephan Herth, Executive Director Summer Sports at Infront: “Our partnership with the DFB started more than 35 years ago, which is among the longest partnerships in the industry. Together we have worked extensively on building up this platform, which is the pinnacle of football for German fans and very popular worldwide. The success of the past season demonstrates that the platform is in full swing – across the board, from sponsor activations, broadcast partner take up, digital fan engagement and international interest reflected in the live audiences.”
About Infront Sports & Media
Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, is one of the most respected sports marketing companies in the world, managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production, event operation and digital solutions – and has won a reputation for its high standards of delivery. As the number one player in winter sport and with a leading role in football, summer and endurance sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with close to 170 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 900 experienced staff working from over 35 offices across more than 15 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In November 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Holding, part of the Chinese conglomerate the Dalian Wanda Group.
About Wanda Sports
Wanda Sports is the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape in three key areas: 1) Spectator Sports (media & marketing business), 2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business), 3) Services (digital, production and service business). Led by President & Vice Chairman Philippe Blatter, Wanda Sports incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media, the iconic endurance brand IRONMAN and Wanda Sports China. The headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.
