Published on September 2nd, 2024
Location: Germany
SPORTFIVE sets up Women's Football Sales Hub in Germany
In order to do better justice to women's football as a strategic growth area in marketing, SPORTFIVE is now relying on its own Women's Football Sales Hub under the management of Jessica Stommel. The 30-year-old sports economist has been responsible for the marketing of women's football at SPORTFIVE since her arrival in November 2023. Jessica Stommel previously worked as a sponsorship and marketing manager in various international positions in equestrian sports.
SPORTFIVE recognised the huge potential of women's sport some time ago and has already concluded over 150 sponsorship partnerships for rights holders in women's football in the last two years alone. In Germany for itself, the sports marketing agency exclusively markets 14 women's football teams, including the women's teams of Bayer Leverkusen, VfB Stuttgart, Hamburger SV, Hertha BSC, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04. In addition, SPORTFIVE works exclusively with various associations in Germany, such as the DFB women's national teams in the hospitality sector and the DBB and DHB in the sponsorship sector, and co-operates internationally with, among others, the Champions League record winner - the women's team of Olympique Lyon, the US NWSL, UEFA and the IHF as well as the US women's national team and several teams in the UK.
‘By setting up our own sales team, we want to send a clear commitment to our brand and rights holder partners and the market on the subject of women's football. Thanks to the sponsorship deals we have made and the large number of our exclusive marketing partnerships in women's football, we can definitely say that we are already the largest women's football marketer in the world,’ explains Hendrik Schiphorst, Managing Director of SPORTFIVE Germany.
By setting up our own sales team, we want to send a clear commitment to our brand and rights holder partners and the market on the topic of women's football.
Hendrik Schiphorst
Jessica Stommel and her team will focus entirely on women's football and continue to expand the business segment. It will be supported by the entire sales and activation network in Germany and will benefit from the global exchange with the other SPORTFIVE country markets. As one of SPORTFIVE's three most important global growth areas at present, women's football is being driven forward by a multinational team of experts who report directly to global management.
In her role, Jessica Stommel reports to Stefan Heitfeld, Senior Vice President Regional & Team Sales at SPORTFIVE Germany: ‘While we used to see more and more brands actually wanting to invest in the men's team of a rights holder and then “just went along with it”, we are now seeing more and more specific investments by advertisers explicitly in the women's teams. And we believe this will continue to increase because advertisers can reach slightly different target groups - especially younger women and families - with different stories than in men's football,’ adds Stefan Heitfeld.
Jessica Stommel is looking forward to the new challenge: ‘By establishing the Women's Football Hub, we can not only better bundle the expertise at SPORTFIVE in order to develop innovative strategies for women's football and set new standards in marketing together with a dedicated team. At the same time, we can also promote this important topic to our partner clubs and interested sponsors.’
Hendrik Schiphorst emphasises: ‘The business perspective is the key driver for us to invest in women's football and personnel. It is the most important perspective for us, but of course not our only perspective on the topic. In the context of social change, the demand for visibility and promotion of women, and therefore also of women's sport, is becoming ever louder. We also want to help shape this change and have set ourselves internal diversity and equality goals in which female employees play a major role.’
Further information on the new Women's Football Sales Hub and the detailed background to SPORTFIVE's involvement in women's sport can be found in the interview with Hendrik Schiphorst.
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About SPORTFIVE
SPORTFIVE is a global sports marketing agency that delivers customer-centric solutions based on trust and transparency, deep industry experience and global relationships, digital intelligence and innovation. SPORTFIVE strategically and creatively connects brands, rightsholders, media platforms and fans to create and enable contemporary partnerships in sports.
While creating and growing long-term value for all, SPORTFIVE often leads the sports business into the future through innovative digital solutions and strives to be the most progressive and respected partner in sports.
Being at the centre of professional sport SPORTFIVE will use its unique position, in order to make a positive contribution to sustainability and to live up to the social and economic duty and responsibility, which sport and consequently all parties involved, also have. SPORTFIVE operates with a global mindset and network of over 1,200 local experts based in 15 countries around the world, active in Football, Golf, Esports, Motorsport, Handball, Tennis, American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Rugby, Olympics and Multi-Sport Events and many more.
Press contacts
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Kristin Podewils
Senior Manager Marketing Communications
kristin.podewils@sportfive.com
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