Evolution of the UEFA Champions League

‘A big idea’

James Bisgrove,

Sponsorship Manager

UEFA Champions League, UEFA

Introducing UEFA• Founded 15 June 1954 in Basel

• Member associations 53

• Number of clubs 235,000

• Number of players 23 millions

• Number of teams 1,003,143

• Number of referees 315,000

• Number of matches per season 1,800 approx.

The UEFA Champions League….

When did it all begin?

“The key to making it “whole” is the brand, the look, the name, the music.

Creating a uniform standard of quality everywhere in the world”

Jurgen Lenz, Champions League Pioneer

The Idea

1992 – The dawn of an new era for European club football

The Whole is greater than the sum of the Parts

„The whole is greater than the sum of the parts‟

CHF10 Million

CHF70 Million

1991/92 1992/93

Competition Revenue

“It’s definitely the tournament we all want to win at Barcelona.

It’s the most important trophy in the world, and we want to win it”

Collaboration

Collaboration & Partnership

Clubs

Leagues

NA‟s

Sponsors Broadcasters

CoachesPlayers

Fans

Format and Clubs

Format

1992/1993

• 5 rounds in total

• 1 qualification round

• 1 group stage

(semi-final / 2 group

of 4)

1999/2000

• 8 rounds in total

• 3 qualification rounds

• 2 group stages

(8 groups / 4 groups)

2003/2004

• 8 rounds in total

• 3 qualification

rounds

• 1 group stage

(round of 32)

2009/2010

• 9 rounds in total

• 3 qualification rounds

• 1 play-off round

• 1 group stage

UEFA Champions League Format 2012-15

13

Number of Clubs per Season

91/9292/9393/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08 08/09 09/10 10/11 11/12

8 16 24 32

32

3236

42

24

5556

7374 77

77

Teams Group Stage Teams total

Number of Matches per Season

24 48 72

144

96

7381

95

77

147149

239

209 215

215

Matches Group Stage Matches Total

Number of Countries and Champions represented per Season

• Important change in access list as from 2009/2010 season

Countries Champions

15-16

17-18

14-15

17-18

Marketing Plan

Marketing Plan - Objectives

Build the equity as

the strongest brand

in the sports world

and beyond

Enhance the

experience for and

interaction with fans

Establish the

competition as a truly

global property

Attract partners that

reflect the positioning

of UCL

Strategic Direction

Trial Adopt LoyaltyTrial

With fan segmentation as important underlying framework

Brand

A strong positioning with a clear strategy

The Best of The Best on the Ultimate Stage

The core identity

never changes

The cycle identity

changes every three years

The final identity

changes every year

An Evolved Brand

With rigourous brand management on a global level

Great audiences on a global level in fragmenting media landscape

Source. Sponsorship Intelligence Average Audience (millions)

2013 Super Bowl vs. UEFA Showpiece Finals (Core Target Market)

88%108.4m

12%15.2m

USA Other markets

46%76.5m54%

91.6m

Europe Other markets

Super Bowl 2013 UCL Final 2012/13

128mGlobal

Audience

167m Global

Audience

State of the art delivery

Sponsorship

Integrated approach

2012-2015 2009-2012 2006-2009 2003-2006 2000-2003 1997-2000 1994-1997 1992-1994

6 4 86+2

31

UEFA Champions League Partners Sole & Exclusive Activities

Sponsors

Broadcaster

Young Journalist

Offic

ial S

po

nso

r P

art

ne

rs

Back Stadium Tour

Official match coin to referees

Referee Escorts (5 children)

Centre Circle carrier

Player Escorts (2 or 22 children)

Official Match ball carrier

Off

icia

l Supplier

Part

ners

Fan Photographer

Heineken- Man of the World

Media Rights

Media Objectives

• Broaden reach of the UEFA Champions League

• Increase fan viewing experience

Global & Broad

Reach

Anything, Anywher

e, Anytime

Embrace Digital

Media

Forefront Technical

Development

„Platform Neutral‟ – Anything, Anytime, Anywhere

TV Online Mobile and Tablet

Fans

Digital Platforms – Explosive growth

Objective:

Grow digital community accross all platforms; where the fans are and with the tools the fans use

Licensing

Licensing - tool for specific target groups

Revenue

0 €

200 €

400 €

600 €

800 €

1,000 €

1,200 €

1,400 €

1,600 €

1,800 €

2,000 €

UEFA Champions League

UCL

Revenue distribution

Brand value

The UEFA Champions League brand

creates a high value for its

stakeholders

Analysis was conducted by Interbrand

to understand the brand value

Three analyses make up the

calculation

The property was valued at 3.14bn

• The UEFA Champions

League brand creates a

high value for its

stakeholders

• UEFA Champions

League would qualify for

the Top 200 most

valuable brands

• Comparable to the Top

10 „Strongest‟ brands

• All achieved in under 20

years

Conclusion

• UEFA Champions League in good

health

• Must have platform for broadcasters

and sponsors to differentiate

• Task to always improve and fine-tune

the foundation to remain „Best of the

Best on the Ultimate stage‟