Ongoing development of top pan-European ice hockey competition opens new commercial doors and markets
Zug, Switzerland – The 2021/22 Champions Hockey League (CHL) season will welcome APK-Invest and mycasino as new sponsors when the competition begins on 26 August. The agreements were brokered by Infront, the league’s exclusive media and marketing partner.
APK-Invest, the national leader in large-scale agro-industrial production in the Ukraine, has been named an Official Sponsor, signing a three-year agreement. The deal provides APK-Invest with extensive brand exposure through traditional and digital activation opportunities across all rounds of the competition. This includes prominent advertising at all games such as under-ice presence (starting with the Playoffs), its logo on all official media backdrops and the CHL website plus advertising banners on the website and within the official CHL app.
Infront also secured mycasino, one of Switzerland’s first licensed online casinos, as an Official Sponsor for CHL games in Switzerland. The agreement allows mycasino to advertise at Swiss teams’ home games. Its logo will also feature on various highlight videos of Swiss teams published by CHL on Twitter geo-targeted to Switzerland plus other digital activations and rights.
Swiss sports betting platform Sporttip has signed the first purely digital agreement with the CHL for the upcoming season. A custom-made Sporttip betting widget geo-targeted to Switzerland will be prominently placed on the CHL website and within the official CHL app so fans can see all live-odds of their favourite participating teams. Furthermore, Sporttip will be featured prominently in all game centres on the CHL website and within the CHL official app within Switzerland with a web banner at the heart of the action linking to Sporttip's website.
Martin Baumann, CEO of the Champions Hockey League, said: “We are proud to welcome APK-Invest and mycasino to the CHL family. Both brands are leaders in their markets and are known for producing and offering innovative products and services of the highest quality, sharing the attributes that the CHL brings to European ice hockey. The brands’ inclusions are perfect examples of the CHL and Infront’s enthusiasm to expand the competition into new markets, reaching new fan bases, opening new commercial doors and continuously developing European ice hockey.”
It means both brands join GT Radial as new Official Sponsors after the tyre manufacturer recently signed a three-year agreement. GT Radial has made digital a primary focus, using CHL’s fast-growing online and social media activity to improve its presence in Europe. It will also leverage onsite activations with fans, creating money-cannot-buy experiences when possible.
The new sponsors join the existing network of long-term partners, including the Official Presenting Sponsor Engelbert Strauss, Europe’s leading workwear and utility brand, presenting a complete rebranding in its seventh season. Furthermore, Official Sponsor Škoda and Official Partners LGT and Warrior have been using the CHL and its popular digital platforms for several seasons.
Michael Witta, Infront Vice President Marketing Sales and Services said: “This is a perfect example of how we have worked with the CHL to expand into new markets and secure new sponsorship deals on top of the valuable commitment of our long-term partners. All brands hold the values of performance, precision, and speed very highly, underlining the synergies between them and the CHL, paving the way for further cooperation.”
About the Champions Hockey League
The league is fully owned and operated by Champions Hockey League AG/Ltd which includes, as its shareholders, 26 European clubs, six National Leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation. The Shareholder Leagues are from: Austria (ICE), Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. The best teams from the Challenger Leagues (Denmark, France, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and United Kingdom) are awarded participation Wild Cards. The 2021/22 season will feature 32 teams from 13 different leagues and 14 countries, comprising a total of 232 national championships between them. During the season the teams will compete in 125 games from 26 August until 1 March 2022, where the season culminates with a one-game Final showdown and one will ultimately be crowned as European club champions.
