Zug, Switzerland - LIQUI MOLY is extending its wide-ranging winter sports engagement, with the company joining as the Official Sponsor of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. The brand will be featured across the flagship event, held from 5 to 21 May at the LANXESS arena in Cologne (Germany) and the AccorHotels Arena in Paris (France). Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, is the exclusive media and marketing partner of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship.
As an Official Sponsor, LIQUI MOLY, the motor oils, lubricants and additives manufacturer, will benefit from brand exposure in prime camera view positions including board advertising behind the goals in both arenas as well as logo integration across all official print material, the IIHF website and video spots on-site. The rights package also includes a hospitality contingent and further brand activation opportunities throughout the event.
Peter Baumann, Marketing Director at LIQUI MOLY: “The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship is the final big international winter sports event of the season and many of the participating countries represent our key target markets. Russia is by far our largest export market and we are keen to expand into the North American market - where we see huge growth potential. Indeed, in all of these target markets, ice hockey is either hugely popular or even a national sport. Through this sponsorship opportunity, LIQUI MOLY will reach millions of spectators in markets that our motorsport engagements aren’t able to reach.”
Bruno Marty, Executive Director Winter Sports at Infront: “The upcoming IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will be an amazing sports spectacle: It is the first time that the flagship event will be hosted in the French capital Paris and with the LANXESS arena in Cologne being the largest stadium in Western Europe expectations are high. For two continuous weeks, the LIQUI MOLY brand will be visible on TV in over 160 countries – providing superb exposure.”
The 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship will face off on 5 May with two matches - Sweden vs. Russia and Finland vs. Belarus. A total of 64 games will be played at the LANXESS arena in Cologne and the AccorHotels Arena in Paris. The final will take place on 21 May in Cologne in front of more than 18,000 spectators.
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.
LIQUI MOLY GmbH from Ulm in South Germany offers a wide range of high-quality products such as motor oils, additives, vehicle care products and service products. The range includes some 4000 items. LIQUI MOLY develops and tests their products in their own laboratories, manufactures exclusively in Germany and markets all of their products themselves. LIQUI MOLY was founded some 50 years ago and is now one of the leading companies in the industry. The products are sold in Germany and in 120 other countries.
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.