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INTERNATIONAL FOCUSGERMANYAnd when the advertising market slows down,creative communication strategies become moreappreciated.”Globally, there was a 15 per cent increasein the number of sport sponsorship dealsin 2009 compared to 2008, accordingPricewaterhouseCoopers and sportsmanagement consultancy IFM. Germanbrands Daimler, Deutsche Telekom, adidasand Volkswagen alone signed five of the 20largest contracts in 2009. This representedan investment of €367m and DeutscheTelekom’s three-year, €75m deal with BayernMunich became Europe’s third-biggest singlesponsorship deal when it was signed last year.Sponsorship spendThe annual ‘Sponsor Visions 2010’ study,undertaken by TNS Infratest on behalf of theHamburg-based Pilot Group since 2000, breaksdown the financials of Germany’s sport businessindustry.An estimated €4.2bn will have been spenton advertising in the country by the end of thisyear. The largest part of that amount, €2.6bn,is estimated to be sport sponsorship while just€900m goes to media, €340m to public andsocial projects and €300m to cultural activities.German sport sponsorship investments areexpected to reach €2.7bn by the year 2012, outof an estimated total sponsorship industryworth €4.4bn.“The German sponsorship market is ona high level compared to others and is veryprofessionalised,” says Hasenbein. “Clubsand agencies tailor their sponsorship offersto the specific needs of their clients’ wishes.The sponsors professionalise their activities byclearly defining their goals and activating andembedding their sponsorship into their entirecorporate communication strategy. In addition,the number of reviews of the performance of acompany’s investments are on the rise.”The Sponsor Visions study 2010 indicatesthat football, handball and beach volleyballhave the biggest growth potential in Germany.Biathlon, motorsport, boxing, basketball,swimming and cycling are also expected to showlong-term growth.“Football, led by the Bundesliga, is theundisputed number one when it comes tosponsorship. Handball has maintained a highstandard as well,” Hasenbein explains.He also emphasises the importance ofGerman stars in other sports which createattractive sponsorship options. “Formula Onehas become more attractive again in Germanydue to Michael Schumacher’s comeback andSebastian Vettel’s success,” he says.“Maria Riesch winning in alpine skiing andMagdalena Neuner’s great performances inbiathlon has also had similar positive effects.”In contrast to that, equestrianism, volleyball,tennis, inline skating, snowboarding and sailing- sports where German stars are in short supply- are expected to lose audiences and sponsors.Beyond that, it is important to emphasisethe prominence of naming rights deals,which have become an unrivalled sponsorshipoption in Germany. Munich-based Allianz, thesecond-largest international insurance andfinancial services organisation in the world, paysBayern Munich €6m per year for the namingof Bayern’s Allianz Arena - Germany’s mostvaluable deal of its type. Club naming rights arecommon in the Beko Basketball Bundesliga butwhen it comes to league title rights, the ToyotaHandball Bundesliga leads the field with Toyotapaying an estimated annual sum of €2m.One recently-signed sponsorship dealmarked another first in German sport businesshistory. The 2010-11 German Bundesliga seasonhas its first ever official league ball, named‘Torfabrik’ (‘Goal Material’) made by adidas.The five-year deal, announced during the SouthAfrica World Cup where adidas’ Jabulani ballcaused so many headlines, is worth €25m.Herbert Hainer, adidas CEO, explained the dealwould help German-based adidas underline itsposition as the number one football brand in theworld by reinforcing and developing its presencein the all important “home country’s market”.Less is moreThe modification of sponsorship structuresis another trend in Germany. Last year, theGerman Football Association (DFB) andits marketing partner Infront successfullyintroduced a new, integrated marketing conceptfor the DFB Pokal (also known as the DFBCup - German football’s annual knockout cupcompetition). The number of advertisers wasdrastically reduced and an exclusive, premiumenvironment was created, with a unified designconcept created to offer “stronger” branding inall stadia for DFB Pokal matches.“Based on the concept of ‘less is more’,a reduced number of commercial partnersand a clear sponsor hierarchy increases thelevel of exclusiveness and brand awareness”,Infront’s Weinberger explains. “It is quality andexclusiveness that sells.”As a result, the DFB Pokal has becomeone of Germany’s most sought-after brandcommunication platforms. All four TOPThe DFB Pokal is now a hot sponsorship property - Getty Images Sportpartners for the 2009-10 season - Bitburger,Deutsche Post, Jack Wolfskin and T-Home -achieved measurable success in reaching theirrespective audiences, thanks in part to recordbreakingaudience figures on TV. The DFBsays cumulative viewing figures rise 20 percent to hit 729 million in 2009-10 and the finalbetween Bayern Munich and Werder Bremenwas watched by around 10 million and achievedan audience share of 33.2 per cent.A new streamlined sponsorship platform wasalso introduced for the FIS Alpine Ski WorldCup for the 2009-10 season. Under this newstrategy, Infront - collectively marketing theadvertising and sponsorship rights to numerousFIS Ski Alpine World Cup events - has alreadysecured two companies (Swiss-based companiesEmmi and Stobag) as new sponsors.The success of these streamlined marketingapproaches shows that even prestigiouscommunication platforms like the DFB Pokalor the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup can still beenhanced to deliver higher value for sponsors.And based on its experience with theseproperties, Infront is also implementing anew marketing approach for the prestigiousinternational Four Hills Tournament - the skijumping series that has taken place for 58 yearsat four different venues in Germany and Austria.“As the new marketing partner to thistournament we have introduced three majormeasures to enhance the premium characterof the series and its value for sponsors: a new,consistent brand identity for all four componentevents; standardised venue dressing and anexclusive, streamlined marketing hierarchy,”says Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Directorfor winter sports.“The new identity will reinforce theperception of the Four Hills Tournament as thehighlight of the winter sports calendar and at thesame time deliver what sponsors want - a clearimage that they can combine with their brand.”Sport on TVOne very well-documented characteristic of theGerman sport business sector is the relativeweakness of its pay-TV market.Pay-television penetration is only 12 per cent,a quarter of that in the UK and Italy and halfthe level of Spain and France. In a market with72 SportBusiness International • No.161 • 10.10