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Hyundai to accelerate European market expansion
through UEFA EUROTOP 2010-2017 sponsorship
- UEFA EUROTOP partnership will strengthen Hyundai’s brand image
- Sports marketing programs to be ramped up
- Hyundai-Kia to sponsor UEFA professional national team events until 2017 as the official EUROTOP Sponsor of UEFA
(Seoul, Korea) Hyundai Motor Company will serve as the official sponsor of the UEFA EURO 2012TM and UEFA EURO 2016 TM.
A strategic sponsorship agreement with UEFA was signed today by Steve S. Yang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor, Hyoung-Keun Lee, president of Kia Motors Corporation, and Michel Platini, President of UEFA, Union of European Football Associations, at the company’s headquarters in Seoul, extending the company’s sponsorship to cover the 2012 and 2016 UEFA European Football Championship.
“As the official EUROTOP Sponsor of UEFA, Hyundai and Kia will make the utmost efforts towards the success of UEFA professional national team events until 2017," Mr. Mong-Koo Chung, Hyundai·Kia Automotive Group Chairman and CEO said before the signing ceremony. "Our commitment and support of UEFA will help raise awareness of the Hyundai-Kia brand and fortify our position as a global company.”
“We are truly happy to extend the sponsorship agreement with Hyundai, one of the world’s most promising companies. We will closely cooperate with Hyundai’s efforts to advance its presence through football sponsorship,” Michel Platini, President of UEFA added.
The UEFA European Football Championship final tournament, the most prestigious football competition in Europe, is held every four years, featuring 16 countries drawn into four groups of four teams. Poland and Ukraine were selected to co-host the UEFA Euro 2012TM competition.
The UEFA EURO 2016TM final tournament will feature 24 countries, up from the 16 nations at UEFA EURO 2012TM. France, Italy and Turkey have submitted their bids to host the UEFA EURO 2016TM.
Hyundai has already demonstrated itself to be a reliable and effective UEFA EUROTOP partner having served as the official automotive supplier for the European Football Championships in 2000 and 2004. For UEFA EURO 2008TM, Hyundai-Kia was named one of UEFA’s EUROTOP Partners thereby continuing its reign as one of the most visible brands in football, the world’s most popular sport.
Under the agreement signed today, Hyundai will enjoy main sponsorship rights for all UEFA EURO events, including the rights to use logos, emblems as well as signage display in the stadiums. Hyundai will also provide vehicles used during the tournament.
With an estimated audience of 750 million people in Europe alone and the competition attracting a worldwide audience, the benefits of Hyundai and Kia’s EUROTOP partnership with UEFA are tremendous.
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship was shown in a total of 200 countries, with accumulated viewers reaching around 6.6 billion people. Visitors to the football stadium numbered over one million.
As a result of its sponsorship of the UEFA EURO championships and the FIFA 2010 South Africa World Cup and FIFA 2014 Brazil World Cup, Hyundai-Kia is firmly on track to meeting its goals of raising its brand awareness. Hyundai·Kia has a wide variety of marketing programs in store for the 2010 FIFA South Africa World Cup.
[Photo caption]
Steve S. Yang, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, Michel Platini, President of UEFA, Union of European Football Associations, and Hyoung-Keun Lee, President of Kia Motors Corporation (left to right).
