Handball and hummel
The EHF and EHF Marketing signed new supplier agreements with one of handball’s most recognisable sports brands, hummel, in June 2020.
As part of the new partnership, the Danish sports brand has signed two four-year contracts to become the official sports supplier of the EHF and EHF Marketing.
One deal encompasses men’s and women’s EHF EURO competitions – up to and including the Women’s EHF EURO 2024 – while the second covers the four top club competitions: the EHF Champions League Men, the DELO EHF Champions League and both EHF European League competitions.
As we embark on a new era in handball it feels only right to be able to join forces with one of the sport’s most distinguished brands. Like ourselves, hummel are committed to raising the profile of handball and elevating it to a new level. We are naturally thrilled to be able to link up with hummel at one of the most important moments in handball history and look forward to working together on a number of exciting projects on and off the court.
Hummel will be the exclusive merchandising partner for clothing at EHF EUROs and for the EHF Champions League and EHF European League competitions. In addition, hummel will supply sports clothing and shoes for the federation’s staff and officials, including referees, across all competitions.
The partnership with EHF/M represents an integral cornerstone of our indoor strategy supporting brand and business expansion internationally. We want to become the leading team sport supplier in Europe and reinforce our position as market leader within handball. Since hummel already sponsors some of the world's best handball players and handball teams, it is natural for us to enter a partnership with a strong player like EHF/M. As a Danish brand, we’re handball lovers by nature, and that’s why we want to put more focus into our indoor strategy in the coming years.
This is another major statement for hummel in the world of handball. The new partnership with EHF and EHF Marketing underlines the strategic importance of our indoor category and reinforces our position as a market leader. Handball is engrained in our brand DNA at hummel and we are looking forward to strengthening our association with the sport even further at major EHF and EHF Marketing tournaments such as the EHF EUROs and the EHF FINAL4 over the next four years.
Hummel and the EHF are planning a dedicated online shop, which will allow supporters to purchase official merchandise.
Select
In November 2020, the brand-new design for the official SELECT SPORT match balls to be used across EHF Champions League and EHF European League matches in 2021/22 was unveiled.
In keeping with the new brand policy introduced for EHF club competitions at the start of this season, there is no differentiation in design between balls used in the men’s and women’s competitions.
In a subtle design feature, the EHF Champions League ball has the claim Empower to Inspire included. Plus, for the very first time, the second-tier competition, the EHF European League, has its own ball.
The new balls for both competitions will be launched and go on sale exclusively at the EHF FINAL4 2021 in Cologne on 12-13 June and Budapest on 29-30 May as well as at the EHF Finals.
SELECT SPORT share our passion for raising the profile and standards of handball throughout our club competitions. We achieved another milestone by introducing the first ever ball design for our second-tier competition and with one unique ball for both genders that perfectly match the competition’s brands.
SELECT CEO Peter Knap said there were two strategies in the design of the new ball, “the first one being the reduction in number of teams in the CL tournament making this very exclusive and secondly the introduction of a new corporate ID from EHF adding new design elements.
The ball is designed in the corporate colours of EHF dark blue and white with elements of gold to highlight the exclusivity of the tournament. From the start, the creation of the ball design was a cooperation between some creative minds from EHF Marketing and of course the product development department at SELECT. After finalising the design sketch a wider group of people were asked to give their feedback. Normally it takes two to three months to develop the balls, including approval of physical samples. A total of up to 10 people contributed to this process.
DELO GROUP
The Delo Group began its partnership with EHF Marketing as the title sponsor of the DELO EHF FINAL4 in 2019.
The Delo Group then became the title sponsor of the women’s premier club competition, now known as the DELO EHF Champions League, with the 2020/21 season the second year of the partnership.
The company is the first-ever title partner of the women’s competition, and together with EHF Marketing they set high standards for implementation, marketing and reach of the premium competition. The partnership aims to elevate European women’s handball to the next level.
Delo and the EHF have teamed up for a number of different activations, among which was the DELO superfan award in the 2019/20 season. The prize, including a signed jersey, match ball and two VIP tickets for the upcoming match was awarded at each Match of the Week to an outstanding fan chosen by the home club by the Face of the EHF Champions League.
Delo also hosted a visit by the EHF to Russia and its group headquarters in February 2020.
EHF President Michael Wiederer and EHF Marketing Managing Director David Szlezak met with Stanislav Pozdnyakov, the President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Lev Voronin, General Director of the Handball Federation of Russia, and Stanislav Shishkarev, President of the Handball Federation of Russia. They discussed the development of the sport in Russia, including educational programmes and youth participation in handball.
The discussions also covered the requirements for hosting future European championships.
During the visit, Wiederer attended the DELO WOMEN’S EHF Champions League Match of the Week between Rostov-Don and Metz Handball and heard about plans for a new arena in Rostov.
Gorenje partnership flourishing
EHF Champions League Men partner Gorenje committed to a future with European top-flight handball by signing a two-year sponsorship extension in September 2020.
Gorenje, who are part of the Hisense Group, began their sponsorship in 2017. In accordance with the new deal – agreed through EHF Marketing and its exclusive media and marketing partners Infront and DAZN – the Slovenian company will continue to be an official partner of the EHF Champions League Men up to and including the 2021/22 season.
The continuation of the partnership, which focuses on fan engagement, ensures that Europe’s leading home appliance manufacturer will have a presence inside arenas within Gorenje’s regional markets as well as inclusion in all marketing activities and communications.
As part of the extended partnership, the EHF and Gorenje launched the Breakfast for Champions series, powered by Gorenje, for the EHF Champions League 2020/21 season.
Breakfast for Champions is a virtual adaptation of the live interview with star players before each week’s Match of the Week. Each Breakfast for Champions episode features a player from each team in the respective Match of the Week and is conducted by one of the Faces of EHF Champions League.
Gorenje are giving away small home appliances to players in the interview who correctly answer the Gorenje #simplyfans question and have also equipped the Faces of the EHF Champions League with small home appliances.
The extended deal further cements Gorenje’s interest in sports sponsorship. Not only were Gorenje official sponsors of the Men’s EHF EURO 2018 and 2020, but they are the general sponsor of Slovenian handball club Gorenje Velenje and the Slovenian Handball Federation. For more than 25 years, they have also been the general sponsor of the Slovenian Nordic ski team.
In recent seasons Gorenje have proven to have a strong and successful tradition when it comes to supporting top-class handball and therefore we are thrilled to have them as partners for a further two years.
The extension of the partnership followed Gorenje’s successful sponsorship of the Men’s EHF EURO 2020 through its #simplyfans activation.
The activation saw the creation of the first Gorenje mascot, a fridge called Gorini, which entertained fans on social media and live in the arenas.
In Graz, Vienna and Stockholm, a Gorenje promotional booth gave fans the opportunity to film an EHF EURO 2020 #simplyfans video. Everyone had the option to send this video to their email and, by posting the video on Instagram with a @Gorenjesimplyfans profile tag, the spectators had a chance to win a VIP behind-the-scenes tour or be featured on the big screen spot played during each match.
Fans also had the opportunity to win a Gorenje retro #simplyfans fridge or #simplyfans jerseys by posting an EHF EURO 2020 moment on Instagram and tagging @Gorenjesimplyfans
Handball is gaining viewers and fans daily, which we hope to approach and to attract. I believe Gorenje’s life-simplifying products will save them plenty of energy and time in the household, which they can spend for other activities like watching games.