• Award for the innovative sponsorship campaign “Where Winners Feel At Home” in the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) Awards 2019 category “Best Use of Hospitality”
• Creation of a functioning hotel room in Allianz Arena a central creative element of the campaign
• As lead agency, brands and emotions is responsible for the innovative idea, conception and implementation of the activation
Courtyard by Marriott, together with brands and emotions, has been awarded the ESA Awards for the activation of its partnership deal with FC Bayern Munich. The prize in the category “Best Use of Hospitality” was awarded for the innovative approach to the “Where Winners Feel At Home” campaign.
The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) Awards, which was presented on 28th February 2019, recognises and rewards the very best work in the sponsorship industry across Europe. The high-profile jury of international marketing experts and industry specialists from Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Russia, UK and the USA among others, honoured the Courtyard by Marriott brand, recognising its outstanding activation as the “Official Hotel Partner” of FC Bayern Munich: “The sponsorship is an answer to a clear business need, the hospitality execution outstanding and the entire activation based around a strong proposition. The campaign brought the brand to life with good brand association. The legacy and longevity potential of the sponsorship is obvious and we look forward to seeing where the brand goes with it in the future.” On the agency side, the partnership is managed by Munich communications agency brands and emotions, who played a key role in the conception, creation and implementation of the activation.
The “Where Winners Feel At Home” campaign, which was implemented in line with the launch of the partnership agreement at the beginning of 2018, is aimed at establishing Courtyard by Marriott as the “official hotel partner” of FC Bayern Munich amongst both fans and guests alike. brands and emotions developed the guiding idea, setting a new benchmark in the introduction and activation of an “official hotel partner” for FC Bayern Munich.
“Never before has a hotel company made such a lasting first impression in football sponsorship,” said Stuart Wareman, Director of Strategic Alliances and Partnerships at Marriott International. “Through directly linking the FC Bayern Munich experience with Courtyard’s core product and service values, we were able to leverage the emotional connection between both loyal fans and passionate guests to bring the sponsorship to life.
The extraordinary creative power is reflected in the central element of the activation – the conversion of the Courtyard by Marriott Suite in the Allianz Arena into a functioning hotel room with breath-taking views of the pitch. “The establishment of a functioning Courtyard by Marriott hotel room within the stadium perfectly blends the hotel product with sponsorship, and also makes it possible to experience the Allianz Arena and Courtyard in a new emotional way”, commented Rüdiger Ohl and Frank Kampp, Managing Director and Owner of brands and emotions. “Offering the first sleepover in a European stadium directly highlights the core competence of the brand – not only the provision of a perfect hotel room, but the creation of a unique experience.”
The first officially sanctioned European stadium sleepover became reality on 12th May 2018. One couple were able to spend the night in the Courtyard by Marriott Suite at the Allianz Arena before the match against VfB Stuttgart the next day. An exclusive stadium tour, candle-lit dinner and visits from FC Bayern Munich legends Lothar Matthäus and Giovanne Elber rounded off an overwhelming experience for the winners.
Rüdiger Ohl and Frank Kampp said of the award, “We are delighted to have been honoured, together with Courtyard by Marriott, in the category ‘Best Use of Hospitality’. In today’s world of communication, you need innovative approaches to make a mark. The recognition of this campaign and its innovative strategy is special praise for our way of thinking and working. The relationship with Courtyard by Marriott is fair and equal, which is reflected in the results. These results are also down to the visionary openness of FC Bayern Munich and we look forward to many more years of collaboration”.
The award is already the second received for an agency project in 2019 and is added to the numerous honours over the past few years. brands and emotions have won the following awards, amongst others: BrandEX Award 2019, Agency of the Year 2015 and 2017 (Sponsoring), International Sponsoring Award of Special Award for the Audi Cup project (2015/2017), Audi FC Bayern Basketball (2012), CSR Project “Football boots for Rio” (2014), Living Medal Count for the Winter Olympics in Sochi (2014) and the CSR campaign #SneakersforGood (2017).
In addition, Rüdiger Ohl and Frank Kampp have received various awards for the Laureus World Sports Awards, Payback Olympia Activation, Audi Cup 2009 and 2011 and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Engagement projects. The multitude of prizes underlines the extraordinary innovative ability of the agency and the people behind it.
–ENDS–
Contact:
Anja Scheib
+49 (0) 89 411143 44
a.scheib@brandsandemotions.com
Further information at: www.brandsandemotions.com
brands and emotions is an internationally active, owner-operated communications agency specialising in instrument-independent communication and its strategic development, as well as professional project planning and implementation. Emotional brand boosting for national and international brands as well as the handling of complex communication projects is a focal point. The agency was founded in 2011 and currently has 76 busy employees in the agency group. The founders and managing directors of brands and emotions, Rüdiger Ohl and Frank Kampp, draw on many years of agency and group knowledge. For their customers, they have won various national and international awards, including the 2015 International Sponsoring Award and the 2017 Agency of the Year. Brands and emotions has locations in Munich, Frankfurt and Basel, as well as footholds in Shanghai and Barcelona/Madrid. The brands and emotions network includes “brand spiders GmbH”, founded in 2016.
Rüdiger Ohl has been successful in leading positions in the marketing and communications sector for almost two decades and is known as a specialist in the strategic development and implementation of complex international communication projects. He has many years of experience as a key account manager and in management for numerous international brands, such as Mercedes-Benz, Payback, Coca-Cola and Deutsche Telekom at the renowned agency Schmidt & Kaiser GmbH, where he has decisively shaped several benchmark projects in the market, such as The Laureus World Sports Awards, the Mercedes-Benz Football national team commitment, entry into the fashion sector and various vehicle launches, as well as engagements in Olympic, World Cup and European Championship. He was also managing partner for three years and co-founder of the Ledavi agency, developing the innovative
global communication platform Audi Cup during this time. In 2011, he founded brands and emotions together with Frank Kampp with the aim of transferring his extensive knowledge on the handling of complex communication projects into a new agency model. Many of his projects, such as Laureus World Sports Awards (2001), Payback Olympic Activation (2004), Audi Cup (2009/2015), Audi FC Bayern Basketball (2012), the CSR project “Football Boots for Rio“ (2014) and the CSR campaign #SneakersforGood (2017) were awarded the coveted “International Sponsoring Award“. He is one ofthe few individuals who has managed to win this award so often.
Frank Kampp has been working successfully in various areas of the business for almost 20 years marketing, sports marketing and the communications industry. He is responsible for the establishment of trend-setting communication measures. Prior to his agency career, he worked in various positions on the group side, including at AUDI AG as sponsoring manager. Here he developed the communication and experience platforms for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Ski World Cup Kitzbühel and the Audi quattro Cup. As Marketing Director of the City of Munich, he was responsible for the entire scope of local activities for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, from the FIFA Fan Fest to the newly developed communication campaign of the state capital. With the agency, Die_Favoriten Zwei, which he founded and manages, he established successful formats in the sponsoring and events sector for automotive and consumer goods. In 2011, he founded brands and emotions together with Rüdiger Ohl with the aim of transferring their knowledge from the point of view of the brands into complex communication projects, as well as into a new agency model. In his role as managing director of brands and emotions, he was responsible for the further development of the Audi Cup, the worldwide-largest preparation tournament in football. He was also responsible for the Volkswagen Group’s involvent in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Together with Rüdiger Ohl, he was awarded the “Agency of the Year“ award by Fachverband Sponsoring in 2015 and 2017.
