A.C. Milan and Infront Sports & Media, the club’s official advisor, have prolonged the partnership agreement with Nivea for Men for the upcoming season. Nivea for Men, a skin care product of the Beiersdorf Group, will remain Top Sponsor of the club – aligning itself with the world’s most successful club for the fourth consecutive year and building upon the extraordinary brand exposure achieved over the previous season.

STREAMLINED SPONSORSHIP – ADDED VALUE

In 2010/11 Infront and A.C. Milan have achieved exceptional levels of TV and online exposure for all commercial partners involved with the club. This has been accomplished due to the win of the national championship (Lega Serie A) for the 18th time, and also as a result of the new, streamlined sponsorship concept introduced in 2010. This included a clear-cut four-tier hierarchy and the reduction of the total number of sponsors from 42 to 33. Strictly following the philosophy of ‘less is more’, the aim was to improve the presentation and visibility of the partners’ brands and messages as well as further increase levels of exclusivity. Figures released by Auditel prove that the new concept outperformed within the first year.

The six Top Sponsors – Intesa Sanpaolo (banking), Nivea (cosmetics), Audi (car manufacturer), Dolce & Gabbana (fashion label), MSC (cruises) and Tim (telecoms) achieved a level of exposure equal to 442,884 seconds on TV – a 100.5% increase compared to a year ago. In addition, each of the Top Sponsors benefited from four dedicated A.C. Milan star players promoting their respective brand image and associating it with the club through TV commercials, print
advertisements and other communication campaigns.

EXTENSIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR ONLINE BRAND EXPOSURE

Further exposure for the commercial partners was provided via the club’s online and advanced media platforms. Infront Advanced Media Solutions handles the entire multimedia activity of A.C. Milan including the development and design of the website, creation of mobile and iPad applications and the social networking sites. Through the Infront partnership a close connection to the marketing activities of the club and the needs of its commercial partners is guaranteed.

Throughout the season the web page www.acmilan.com displayed over 150 special featured splash pages that highlighted the sponsors’ involvement and enhanced the representation of their brands.

Additionally, the advertising banners on the website reached 20 million impressions, whilst 13 million e-mails were sent out to the A.C. Milan community via direct marketing campaigns. Four million hits were also registered from the advertising spots on Milantime – the Web TV of A.C. Milan – also managed by Infront Advanced Media Solutions.

IN HIGH DEMAND – CORPORATE HOSPITALITY EXPANSION IN THE PIPE-LINE

Along with the impressive performance of the team and the prestigious appeal of A.C. Milan (as the world’s most successful club) is a rising demand for corporate hospitality opportunities at the home games. In response, Infront and A.C. Milan have developed a new concept to develop an extended corporate hospitality function inside the San Siro Stadium within the next five years. As a mid-term solution, two prestigious buildings within walking distance from the stadium will provide interim locations for high-class hospitality and a total of 1,700 additional spots for corporate clients and guests.

Infront handles the conceptualisation and implementation of the entire commercial concept including the selling process of the corporate hospitality packages alongside the development and continued enhancement of the platform as a whole. The opportunities for commercial partners are comprehensive – the successful sponsorship format introduced in 2010 will be maintained for the upcoming season.

For 2011, it will offer opportunities for six Top Sponsors, eight Premium and twelve Official Partners (including the former categories Official Partners and Suppliers).

Due to A.C. Milan’s successful 2010/11 performance, further awareness for commercial partners is guaranteed through the club’s involvement in international competitions such as the Supercoppa di Lega (contested by the Lega Serie A champion and the winner of the TIM Cup) held in Beijing, China at the beginning of August as well as the UEFA Champions League. The national Lega Serie A starts again at the end of August.

Source: worldfootballinsider.com

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