Conti Secures Sponsorship Deal for World Cup Qualifiers

As an official sponsor of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Continental AG has secured significant television coverage for itself during the 260 qualification group matches to be played in Europe. Continental will appear on four of the advertising hoardings in the stadiums used for more than 170 matches, and the television images broadcasted around the world will extend Conti’s presence to millions of TV screens.

Once again, the image shown on the hoardings will be the Continental logo together with a car tyre. “This sponsorship package will help us to boost brand-awareness for Continental’s premium tyres in our core markets through to the start of the next football World Cup in summer 2010,” pointed out Dr. Alan Hippe, deputy chairman of the Executive Board and person responsible for the Passenger and Light Truck Tires division.

Following the successful use of sponsorship for UEFA EURO 2008 – Continental reports significant gains in brand-awareness for its premium brand of tyres in all markets since 2006 – the company will continue the marketing strategy used in recent years. Indeed, even before the 2006 FIFA World Cup had kicked off, the German tyre major had signed up for a perimeter sponsorship package at the qualification matches for UEFA EURO 2008.

Talking about the primary objective of its sponsorship activities at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Dr. Hippe said “we want Continental to become one of the top three premium replacement tyre brands in the growth regions of Eastern Europe, Russia, Asia and South America in particular.” The company will also adhere to its other marketing goals for the next two years; to create stronger emotional ties to the Continental brand through its association with professional football worldwide, to set the brand apart from its competitors through product exclusivity, and to forge close ties between football sponsorship and business customer relations.

In South Africa, home to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Conti holds the market leading position in the replacement tyre business, with a market share using locally produced tyres of more than 20 per cent. In Port Elizabeth, Continental operates a passenger car tyre factory that has a total workforce of 1600 and produces around 2.6 million tyres each year, for both the OE and replacement sectors. The company also operates a commercial vehicle tyre plant in Port Elizabeth, which meets demand south of the Sahara as well as demand in the home market.