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Infront Sports & Media’s Austrian-based subsidiary, APF Marketing Services, has prolonged its exclusive marketing contract with the International Biathlon Union (IBU) up to and including the 2013/2014 season. This was an early extension of the existing contract which ran up to and included the 2009/2010 season. The renewal was unanimously ratified by the IBU’s board.

The agreement was announced to IBU members by IBU President Anders Besseberg during the President’s Conference, which took place during the recent 2009 IBU World Championships Biathlon in Pyeongchang, Korea. It includes sponsorship rights to the E.ON Ruhrgas IBU Word Cup Biahtlon and the IBU World Championships Biathlon.

IBU World Championships Biathlon 2009 - A marketing success
The sponsorship inventory for this year’s IBU World Championships Biathlon, which took place from 13-22 February 2009, was marketed with great success, despite the economic climate. With IBU World Cup title sponsor E.ON Ruhrgas (energy), there were the IBU World Cup Presenting Sponsors, Viessmann (heating systems) and DKB (banking), as well as Erdinger (beer), Bauhaus (DIY retail), Ehrmann (diary products) and Adidas (sports apparel).

Anders Besseberg said: “We are happy to renew our agreement with APF and Infront. Their concentration on winter sports and their specialist knowledge in this area helps us to target the right commercial partners for our sport. In the next few years, biathlon will receive much enhanced television exposure; an impressive 1,400 hours of programming per annum which will further raise the property’s value for sponsor brands.”

Dr. Stefan Seykora, Managing Director of APF, said: “We have shared a close and harmonious working relationship with the IBU since 1992 and carried out successful basic groundwork together, also with IBU‘ s long term TV partner EBU, during the past years. As a result, the sport of biathlon has development from a niche sport into one of the most popular winter sports. Today it is an attractive and valuable marketing platform for major brands and we see strong potential for further growth.”

“Fortunately, we are in a position to make a significantly increased financial contribution to the IBU, despite the current economic chill. The increased guarantee adequately reflects the positive development of the IBU’s sponsorship platforms,” he added.

Bruno Marty, Infront’s Executive Director Winter Sports, said: “Biathlon is a cornerstone of our winter sports portfolio. Our degree of specialisation offers an important advantage for sponsors, when it comes to creating added value to their individual branding and communication needs.”