05/16/2008 As an Official Sponsor, Continental will be entertaining football fans at the UEFA EURO 2008^TM with interactive football offers

Hanover, May 2008. As an Official Sponsor, Continental AG will be present during the UEFA European Football Championship^TM 2008 not just in the stadiums and their immediate vicinity, but also in the middle of the fan zones in the eight venue cities. In the fall of 2007, the people of Hanover called for bids from PR agencies and awarded the contract for implementation to Proteco Marketing Service GmbH, based in Diedorf near Augsburg. The winner’s concept envisages the most interactive presence possible in the fan zones. Since the possibilities regarding available space vary considerably among the eight venues, different approaches are also required from city to city. ”We aim to offer football fans the opportunity to be interactive before and after the matches with our fan-zone presence. Together with Proteco, we have therefore developed four different variations,” declares Silke Gliemann, Communications Manager at Continental’s passenger and light truck tires business in Europe.

Here you can download the press release as a Word-file (525 KB).

The “ContiSafetyCenter” in Zurich, in particular – comprising a total area of 170 square metres – should serve as an oasis of calm and safe haven for a short break from the lively activities for the security staff and volunteers as well as for all the other assistants.

Plans are to provide massage chairs and a leisure lounge as well as safes to store personal belongings, a communications area with the possibility of sending SMS and e-mails, in addition to a coffee bar. There will be a separate area for fans with Internet access, table football, the FanStyleCenter for face-painting and tattoos, as well as ContiFanCasting, where fans can be photographed and receive instant printout pictures.

The “ContiFanCenter” in Vienna, which also comprises an area of 170 square metres, will also offer all fans the opportunity to play games on the online platform www.ContiFanWorld.com, to play table football and “Speed Kicker,” as well as use the FanStyleCenter and ContiFanCasting.

A third concept is the “The Duel,” which is based on the TV ad with national goalie and advertising partner Timo Hildebrand spanning 35 square metres, to be offered in Basel and Salzburg. The concept challenges football fans to score as many goals as possible with a cannon-like ball shooter aimed at the traditional goal wall with two holes to become Top Scorer. Plans are to award merchandising products as prizes.

With the fourth variation “ArenaChallenge,“ encompassing 25 square metres, fans in Berne, Geneva, Innsbruck and Klagenfurt must securely bring the ball into the stadium using their feet, along a ramp designated as a street, which leads to the key visual “Tire with Stadium.“ Plans are to award merchandising products as prizes as well.

Experiences with the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany revealed that interactive offers are very popular since fans also want to show for themselves just how good they can score. “We are excited about the extent of the euphoria that prevails in Austria and Switzerland, although it strongly depends on the domestic audiences in terms of maintaining positive underlying sentiment over a period of three weeks,” recalls Alexander Lührs, Head of PR – PLT Tires.

„“For all those fans still interested in tickets, we recommend visiting our websites,” reiterates Lührs. At www.ContiSoccerWorld.com Continental provides comprehensive information on its own football activities – including the winners of previous tournaments – as well as on the teams and stars in the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualification rounds, on UEFA EURO 2008™ itself, and, of course, on all ticket contests. www.ContiFanWorld.com features numerous online game possibilities as well as chances to win other attractive prizes in addition to tickets.

With annual sales of more than €25 billion (based on 2006 figures), the Continental Corporation is one of the top five automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of tires, brake systems, powertrain and chassis systems and components, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics and technical elastomers, the Corporation contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also a competent partner in networked automobile communication. The corporation currently employs approximately 150,000 people
at more than 200 locations in 36 countries.

The tire divisions are an Official Sponsor of UEFA EURO 2008^TM, to be held in Austria and Switzerland in June 2008. For further details, visit the websites www.ContiSoccerWorld.de, www.contifanworld.com and www.conti-online.com.