This year marks our 20th anniversary of working in the top flight of German football.
As we celebrate, we also look back at how the league and our clients such as FC Bayern München have developed in that time.
A lot has changed since 1998 when we signed FC Bayern as our first client outside of our home country of Denmark. The German market was the logical first step in our international expansion, not only as close neighbours, but also because the Bundesliga had all the right elements to grow fast and on the international stage. Back in 2012, in fact, it was the first European division to launch an operation in Asia.
State of the Bundesliga
The $1.84bn investment in infrastructure for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and $1bn in youth academies has paid dividends.* The homegrown talent on the pitch, a more attractive football, along with affordable ticket prices and well-built stadia has meant that the Bundesliga now delivers the highest average match attendance in football of 44,923 for the 2017/2018 season.
November has left us well and truly spoilt for choice ?
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— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) December 6, 2018
The 50+1 club ownership approach, which prevents commercial investors from having more than a 49% stake, is often seen as a limitation but is credited with retaining the original fan-focused club approach and has kept ticket prices inclusive for all.* The high attendances make the Bundesliga the most watched league in the world bringing significant brand value, particularly when other leagues, see empty seats and a lot of their fans priced out.
Revenues from broadcast are increasing too, setting new records for the past 13 years and breaking the €1bn mark for the first time in the 2017/2018 season.
This is all good news for the Bundesliga clubs, all of which operate with a positive bank balance and 14 out of the 18 have revenues exceeding €100m.
Spotlight on FC Bayern
Our first Bundesliga clients, FC Bayern München, have always led German football to be commercially savvy, providing partners with the best opportunities to reach their audience.
The new millennium was a turning point for the club. In 2000 they signed Deutsche Telekom in what was one of the biggest sponsorship deals in football, and in 2005 they moved from the Olympic Stadium to the new Allianz Arena, one of the world’s most modern stadia.
FC Bayern’s attitude towards long-term partnerships is well represented by the fact that Telekom is still on the front of their shirt and, furthermore, through the investment that the other three Main Partners – Adidas, Allianz and Audi/VW – have made in the club.
Sponsorship branding takes centre stage
Despite advances in digital technology, Main and Platinum partners still use Amayse 3D CamCarpets™ to activate their branding rights some ten years into their relationship.
FC Bayern was the first in Germany to see the potential of our 3D CamCarpets™, a product that has survived disruption in sports branding such as the introduction of LED advertising boards. It remains eye-catching and exactly what commercial partners want in order to be at the heart of the action. Read about the History of the 3D CamCarpet.
“Deutsche Telekom is proud to have such a long-standing partnership with FC Bayern München. The 3D CamCarpets™ by Amayse give us a premium position on the pitch with great exposure to our target audience. Our brand is always well represented and celebrates the great association we have with the club.”
Hiro Kishi, VP Sports Sponsoring, Deutsche Telekom
That is a testament to the quality of the product, especially when companies such as DT are so protective about their logo and brand, and how it is represented.
FC Bayern München has faith in the quality and consistency of the service from Amayse to be able to guarantee sponsor satisfaction.
“We endeavour to provide our partners with communication channels of the very highest quality. Our long-standing partnership with Amayse, who we have been working with for 20 years, enables us to offer our partners best-in-class pitch signage.”
Andreas Jung, CMO FC Bayern München
The impact of the changing broadcast landscape
The FCB Digital and Media Lab is a great example of how German clubs are looking to expand global audiences and increase revenue from broadcast and sponsorship with their own content channels. For the first time this summer, in fact, we saw a number of clubs retaining the rights of some pre-season matches and distributing them through their digital TV channels.
The fast change in the broadcast market, a growing global audience, and a greater emphasis on highlights packages see the 3D CamCarpets™ becoming even more effective at making sure club sponsors are part of the action whatever media broadcast.
Now working with FC Bayern, the rest of the major clubs in the Bundesliga and other clubs and football federations around the world, we are proud to look back at our first international client and celebrate 20 years of excellent service and standout event signage.
“What the whole team has achieved in these 20 years is remarkable. We have expanded our client base globally through hard work and ensuring a consistently excellent service and effective branding product. Everyone involved with Amayse, past and present, has had a large part to play in our success. We look to the future, continuing to develop innovative products and providing value to our clients and their sponsors.”Jørn Klinge, CEO, Amayse.
