Bwin Become Main Sponsor for Europa League and Conference League
Bwin has partnered with the Europa League and Conference League to officially sponsor all live matches and their promotional material and merchandise. Bwin has been a football sponsorship mainstay for the past couple of decades; most famously, they sponsored several of the 2010’s Real Madrid kits, worn by players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, and many others. Their current partnership operates on a three-year deal beginning this season, despite qualifying for both tournaments being already underway.
By sponsoring both European competitions, Bwin has the opportunity to spread its brand image to all parts of Europe. The Europa League and Conference League host matches in all the continents countries, including Hungary, Romania, Luxembourg and Albania, to name a few. ©TheAndrasBarta/Pixabay
Part of the current deal involves full brand awareness for Bwin at every Europa and Conference League fixture throughout the season, all the way from qualifying to the final. To compensate for the lack of digital marketing, Bwin’s media team are organizing several interviews with players featuring in the competition to promote the brand and improve their reputation among football fans. They will also take part in numerous Instagram live streams and YouTube videos connected with live matches to increase the ongoing content stream.
The partnership will also allow Bwin to use all of the footage captured from live matches as well as archives of previous tournaments to be used for marketing material. To celebrate their new collaboration, Bwin will be giving a number of tickets for the Europa League and Conference League final on the 18th and 25th of May, respectively. Hospitality is an important aspect of the deal, and Bwin want their brand to be front and centre to reach as many consumers through tangible advertisement as possible.
Furthermore, they will also be responsible for upholding a new safe betting campaign. UEFA has imposed strict measures on gambling advertising for their tournaments. Bwin’s marketing must meet pre-approved guidelines to be deemed suitable for audiences at home and in the ground. These guidelines follow a sudden rise in gambling across the continent. To prevent any increases in problem gambling, UEFA will closely monitor all sponsorship marketing to make sure it meets their expectations.
Bwin’s marketing director, Stephan Heilmann, recently spoke of the company’s great opportunity to make a real impression on the footballing world and replicate the impact they once had in the mid-2010s. As previously mentioned, Bwin sponsored Real Madrid for almost seven seasons, and this period of the partnership was the company’s most successful duration since its founding in 2006. Since then, they’ve managed to secure contracts with Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, one of Germany’s and Europe’s most exciting football teams.
Around the Grounds, Europa League and Conference League Qualifying
While Bwin has already received a healthy amount of exposure, the best is yet to come once the knockout tournaments finally begin. Some exciting qualifiers were played over the past couple of weeks with some unexpected entrants. Tottenham Hotspur got off to a shaky start in their qualifying tie against the Portuguese side, Pacos de Ferreira. After a 1-0 defeat, Spurs called in the big guns to see them off at home; Harry Kane grabbed a brace in an effortless victory for the North Londoners.
One of the most exciting prospects of this year’s European football is Jose Mourinho’s Roma facing Tottenham in a knockout round of the Conference League. Mourinho was, of course, sacked last season despite reaching a League Cup final, and he’ll surely want some sweet revenge against his old club in Europe’s newest competition. The first group stage matches kick off on the 14th of September, M. Tel-Aviv face Alashkert in the tournament’s first-ever fixture.
Some other teams worth mentioning include FC Copenhagen, FC Basel, Rennes, AZ Alkmaar and Qarabag, who will play their first-ever match in a European tournament on the 16th of September. Bwin would’ve undoubtedly preferred a Champions League partnership. The spectacle brings in millions of spectators every year; however, the cost of this deal would’ve been too much to handle. Settling with the lesser tournaments may prove to be an intelligent business move in the long run.
