Continental to continue sponsoring the DFB Cup as an Official Partner for at least a further two years

03/30/2012

• Leading tire manufacturer is thus continuing to sponsor regional football in addition to its commitment to UEFA and FIFA

• Position of the Continental premium brand to be further strengthened thanks to increased exclusiveness  

Hanover/Frankfurt am Main, March 30, 2012. Continental, a leading tire manufacturer, is expanding its international football sponsoring portfolio on the road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup via UEFA EURO 2012TM by continuing to act as premium sponsor for the DFB (German) Cup in its role as an Official Partner for this event. The package acquired from the international sport marketing company Infront Sports & Media will run for at least two years up to 2014. By means of perimeter advertising and other advertising media in the stadium, it guarantees Continental a TV presence at all 63 DFB Cup games, which will be broadcast throughout the entire season. Continental can use the title “Official partner of the DFB Cup” as well as an integrated logo for advertising purposes. It will also receive a very generous number of tickets for promotional purposes and will have a presence on the official website of the DFB Cup. The tire manufacturer had initially acted as an Official Partner for the DFB Cup for two years from 2010 to 2012.

“By extending this very successful sponsoring commitment, we are building a bridge between the UEFA EURO 2012TM in Poland and the Ukraine and the 2014 FIFA World CupTM in Brazil. Sponsoring the DFB Cup will allow us to expand on our established international commitment to professional football at a regional level in an attractive manner and to use it as our exclusive communication platform over the next two seasons in the German-speaking world. We also want to underline the clear position of the Continental premium brand with a focus on safety and braking performance,” declared Nikolai Setzer, Executive Board member for the Division Tires at Continental. “It is particularly important for us to involve our business customers in activating the various sponsoring activities as intensively as possible. The nationwide series of matches in the DFB Cup, in what will be a uniquely emotional atmosphere, will provide us with a very wide range of new opportunities for targeting customer loyalty and improving our local presence,” continues Setzer.

Denni Strich, the Head of Marketing at the DFB, commented: “The DFB welcomes the continuation of the collaboration with Continental. Our partnership for the DFB Cup has developed excellently. Continental fits perfectly with our premium competition, which also this year delivers spectacular sport and soon culminates with the highlight of the season – the final match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern München on 12 May in Berlin.”

Continental has been successfully acting as an Official Sponsor for international professional football since 1995; it has been sponsoring Major League Soccer (MLS) in the USA as well since 2010. This means the leading components supplier is pursuing a very consistent and single-minded international strategy of using football as a communications platform. Comprehensive information about all of Continental’s sponsoring activities as well as numerous exclusive insights, team and star portraits about the sporting event of the year UEFA EURO 2012^TM in Poland and the Ukraine is available at www.ContiSoccerWorld.com.