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General Michael Wiederer said in January<br />
2005. “The Champions League has been<br />
working since we started to take care of TV<br />
marketing ourselves. With currently 35 TV<br />
agreements in 32 participating countries<br />
we have seen enormous growth.”<br />
The positive experiences with in-house<br />
marketing finally prompted EHF officers<br />
around President Tor Lian and Secretary<br />
General Michael Wiederer to institutionalise<br />
marketing in a newly started subsidiary.<br />
In July 2005, the EHF launched a new company<br />
under the name of EHF Marketing,<br />
which has been focusing primarily on the<br />
product development of the European club<br />
competitions, with the EHF Handball<br />
Champions League on the business agenda<br />
in the initial phase. Decisive steps were<br />
taken as early as the second half of 2005,<br />
with the introduction of a TV Highlight<br />
Magazine and greater TV coverage around<br />
Europe.<br />
uously in all aspects,“ (EHF Annual Report<br />
2004). “There are still many challenges to<br />
face, but the current positive development<br />
proves that it is going in the right direction.”<br />
Among the challenges was still marketing.<br />
Since 2003-04, the EHF had done its own<br />
marketing of EHF Champions League TV<br />
rights and, partly, also marketing of perimeter<br />
and floor advertising, and successfully so.<br />
Prior to the 2003-04 season, the EHF had<br />
started the by now long-standing partnership<br />
with insurer Uniqa and, prior to the<br />
2006-07 season, entered into a partnership<br />
with sports floor manufacturer Gerflor,<br />
which has likewise continued to date.<br />
For the 2004-05 season, the EHF again<br />
registered new viewer records. According<br />
to an analysis of TV audiences in eleven<br />
European countries, the EHF’s premium<br />
product EHF Champions League reached<br />
more than 350 million viewers. This was<br />
also the result of the media strategy aimed<br />
at producing moving pictures and delivering<br />
them through multiple channels.<br />
“Competing sharply with volleyball and<br />
basketball, handball has carved out for itself<br />
a very good position,” EHF Secretary<br />
Further activities in 2005 included the<br />
presentation of the new logos for the EHF<br />
Cup, Cup Winners’ Cup and Challenge Cup<br />
competitions. Trailblazing was the development<br />
of a new look for the Champions<br />
League and of additional key tools for staging<br />
this top event in the summer of 2006.<br />
“The new look Champions League, with its<br />
fresh and unified approach is a huge step<br />
for European handball,” EHF President Tor<br />
Lian was pleased to announce. The Annual<br />
Report 2006 stated: “EHF Marketing,<br />
together with its partners, have worked<br />
hard with the Champions League clubs to<br />
present the Champions League with a new<br />
look. Alongside the newly developed Corporate<br />
Event Identity, the Regulations for<br />
the Men’s Champions League have also<br />
been newly drawn up, going into greater<br />
detail in the event management side of the<br />
competition. A Broadcaster Manual and<br />
the selection of a pool of EHF Marketing Supervisors<br />
to support both the clubs and the<br />
marketing and TV partners at the matches<br />
will give a further boost to the product.”<br />
A unique floor design supplied by partner<br />
firm Gerflor also contributed to the<br />
new look. “This will give the Men’s Champions<br />
League a universal look with its ‘black<br />
and blue lagoon’ colours, taking the Men’s<br />
Champions League into a new generation,”<br />
as reported in the EHF Annual Report<br />
145
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