Mainz, Germany - The international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media is to become exclusive marketing partner of 1. FSV Mainz 05. Infront and the Bundesliga club have concluded the corresponding agreement on Friday. The mandate includes the overall marketing from the 2015/16 season – including high-quality partner opportunities such as the main and shirt sponsorship packages, the stadium naming right, board advertising at home matches and comprehensive hospitality services in the Coface Arena. The contract will run for at least ten years up to and including the 2024/2025 season.
Harald Strutz, President of 1. FSV Mainz 05, said: “Our club’s internal marketing team, led by Dag Heydecker, has done excellent work and we could increase the marketing revenues of the club fivefold of what it was eight years ago. However, due to the continued rapid development of the Bundesliga, it is our responsibility to fully exploit our economic resources and as such maintain our competitiveness. We are delighted that with Infront we have gained a great and experienced partner – one who can optimally support our marketing with its sales strength and its national and international networks. Through financial guarantees we are assured high economic planning security and thus a basis for further sportive development of Mainz 05.”
Infront strengthens the marketing activities of 1. FSV Mainz 05 with seven staff members, including three former employees from the Bundesliga side, who have been taken over. The Infront colleagues – headed by team leader Axel Pfeiffer – will work in full cooperation with the existing marketing team of the club, led by Dag Heydecker, Director Sales and Marketing of 1. FSV Mainz 05.
Christian Heidel, Manager of 1. FSV Mainz 05, said: “Over the past few months, we have worked intensively on this cooperation. For us it was crucial that Mainz 05 continues to be in the lead and independent. Mainz 05, supported by Infront, remains the point of contact for our sponsors and VIP guests, as the Infront staff will be integrated into our club environment. Infront is supporting this close involvement into the club and this philosophy has encouraged us in our decision for the partnership. We are convinced that Mainz 05 and our existing partners will benefit from the extensive expertise of Infront.”
Reinhardt Weinberger, Managing Director of Infront Germany, added: “The new partnership with 1. FSV Mainz 05 is one of the biggest club mandates within the entire Infront Group and we thank the club for its trust. With the support of our national and international sales network, the Infront team in Mainz is to put every effort into creating a solid economic basis for sportive success. In a cooperative partnership with the club, its existing sponsors and future partners, we want to strengthen the 1. FSV Mainz brand in the long term - with the fan-oriented and regionally rooted club culture always remaining in the foreground.”
Through the cooperation with 1. FSV Mainz 05, Infront is further extending its extensive football portfolio. Both nationally and internationally the company can look back on many years of football marketing experience - amongst others as a partner of the Italian Serie A and the French Ligue 1 and for clubs such as AC Milan or AS Monaco. In German football, besides the DFB Cup and international matches of the national team, Infront is now marketing a total of 14 football clubs.
Already in the past, Infront has supported 1. FSV Mainz non-exclusively in marketing matters. In addition, the company provides and operates the state-of-the-art LED boards, used at all home matches of the Bundesliga club, since the 2014/2015 season.
About Infront Sports & Media
Infront Sports & Media is the most respected sports marketing company 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 and event operation – 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 160 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of 600 experienced staff working from 25 offices across 13 countries, delivering 4,000 event days of top class sport around the world every year.
