Bayern Munich and Deutsche Telekom AG have signed the second biggest shirt deal beating Manchester United and Liverpool.
Europe’s leading telecommunications company has extended its commitment as main and shirt sponsor of Germany’s most successful club by a further three years until 2013, the companies announced at an event on Tuesday at the Allianz Arena in Munich. The deal is valued at $112 million.
“I’m proud we’ve been able to secure the commitment of our valued partners at Deutsche Telekom for the next few years,” commented Bayern general manager Uli Hoeneß. Telekom and Bayern first joined forces in 2002. “The point of view we share with our partner is that a sponsorship agreement like this must offer significant benefits to both parties. In this respect, our work together has been extremely successful,” Hoeneß continued.
Performance-related deal
The monetary aspect to the new agreement will remain undisclosed, although Hoeneß revealed that the “good deal” with Deutsche Telekom was “strongly performance-related.” Should Bayern “not feature on the international stage for an occasional period,” the club would “make concessions”, Hoeneß said. On the other hand, the sums involved “will go up if we’re extremely successful internationally. There could be icing on the cake.”
“The extension of our partnership serves clear strategic goals,” said Christian P. Illek, T-Home board member and T-Mobile Deutschland managing director (marketing). The commitment to Bayern was “an important component in developing and implementing our future-oriented multimedia service provision for a digital and networked life.”
Exceptional media and image scores
“Bayern is far and away the most successful club in Germany,” commented Dr. Henning Stiegenroth, Deutsche Telekom AG head of sports marketing. The partnership with Bayern benefited from “very good acceptance” among fans and spectators alike, and “convincing media and image scores. This underlines the fact that our investment in the partnership with Germany’s best-known football club is the right thing to do.”
Alongside conventional shirt and perimeter advertising, Deutsche Telekom will in the future benefit from further exclusive exposure opportunities geared towards brand awareness and customer retention. Bayern’s stadium TV programme will be produced with the same look and feel as LIGA total!, the TV service introduced by Telekom at the start of the season. From now on, LIGA total! will be shown around the stadium and in the business and sponsors’ areas at the Allianz Arena, with further branding activity to follow.
FCB in T-Home-Cup
The pre-season T-Home-Cup, contested for the first time last summer, will enjoy increased significance in the years to come, not least due to Bayern’s participation, guaranteed as part of the extended agreement through to 2013.
Image: REUTERS/Johannes Eisele
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