ROMAN PUTSCH has played a key role in UEFA’s evolution on the marketing platform. The Head of Marketing Activities will attend an MFA  Symposium, between today and tomorrow, that will discuss Digital Media and Communications. Putsch spoke with GIANLUCA LIA on how Europe’s governing body has adapted to the transformation of the digital world…

How important for UEFA is identification in its own branding?

“For me, a brand is a promise. Whether in club, national team or youth level we focus on delivering this promise across all touch points of the competition.

“So, it starts with a clear positioning that resonates with fans. This guides how we then deliver the brand in the stadium, on your screen but also in city event dressing and elsewhere.

“The UEFA Champions League is about the best of the best competing on the ultimate stage. We want to ensure that you feel this wherever you experience the UEFA Champions League.

“This makes the competition also very attractive to commercial partners who want to showcase their brand in this environment.”

Is it UEFA’s goal to reach all types of audiences through branding?

“Our competitions reach millions of football fans around the globe. Reaching large audiences is a consequence of the brand power of our competitions.

“The UEFA Nations League is a good and maybe more unexpected example. A new national team competition where every game counts. Teams play teams of their level in a pan-European competition with promotion and relegation.

“The excitement from promotion and relegation is at the heart of the brand design. This is helping to communicate to fans what the competition is all about – and the success of the first edition shows that we are on a good path.”

How would you describe the transformation of UEFA’s branding throughout the years?

“Fans engage with football in many different ways today. While the live match remains at the heart of it, football clearly goes beyond the 90 minutes.

“You can find football content everywhere. So, we need to keep our competitions instantly recognisable and adapt the delivery to fans habits.

“We have understood that a clear brand strategy drives more cut through in this cluttered environment. We have constantly refined our brands to support digital applications, mobile and social media platforms.

“We also enhanced the branding for a richer ultra-HD TV experience and built a more flexible partner co-branding approach.”

The Champions League has gone through a huge transformation in terms of branding and marketing through UEFA. Can you give us more details on this and the impact it has had on football audiences around the world?

“Every football fan knows the starball, the anthem and the trophy. We have modernised and enhanced the brand over time.

“We have focused our marketing approach to provide fans around the world with surprising access to the competition through our social, web, app and newsletter programmes in various languages.

“Over 136 million fans follow the UEFA Champions League on social media. We are the world’s number one league on Instagram. The opportunity to provide this audience with compelling content and relevant messaging provides massive value for our sponsors also.

“More recently, we have put specific efforts on reaching fans in growing markets such as China, Brazil and India by building dedicated digital campaigns and event series.

“We have also set up the inaugural eChampions League this year.

“We reach new fans through esports but we also maintain the clear link to the action in the stadium. The winner will be crowned at a tournament around the UEFA Champions League final in Madrid and will receive the trophy pitch-side just before the action kicks off between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool.”

Lately, Champions League finals are drawing a much larger audience and UEFA is also starting to host music shows during the opening ceremonies – is this the way forward to emulate shows like the Super Bowl so that the final becomes a bigger event?

“The UEFA Champions League final is the biggest global annual sporting event. I cannot think of what better drives emotions than world-class sport and music. The combination is powerful.

“We see that music adds a lot to the fan experience and it also attracts a significant number of new fans to the event. But the sporting merit, the match itself will always remain at the centre of everything we do.”

Women’s football is growing thanks also to UEFA, in particular due to the Together #WePlayStrong campaign – how would you judge the campaign?

“Growing women’s football is at the heart of UEFA’s strategy and the campaign supports the wider strategy. We have built the campaign,  which has been running for two years now,  to change perception of the women’s game, invite more women and girls to play and to generate more revenue for the women’s game in Europe.

“It is really working well. Look at the UEFA Women’s Champions League final last weekend in Budapest. For the first time, we had a stand-alone event separated from the men’s final.

“The stadium was full. The sporting quality and coverage levels were excellent. With Visa and Nike we now have strong partners with us on this journey – and we are looking forward to seeing others join.”

One competition that has changed lately in terms of name and branding was the Europa League – the branding and music was changed twice in the last few years, take us through the decision process behind that?

“The UEFA Europa League evolved from the UEFA Cup in 2009. We introduced the latest revised branding this season. We wanted to build in more clues from the trophy and capture the highs and lows of the European adventure clubs and supporters experience in the competition.

“You can see that in the design and hear it in the music. Think of the amazing journey of Eintracht Frankfurt and its supporters this year. To me this really embodies the spirit of the competition.”

We assume that when UEFA tries to identify new sponsorships, it focuses on finding a fit between the sponsor’s objectives and the social approach with the platforms’ audience?

“Let’s flip this around. Sponsors are looking for properties that best embody the type of messaging they want to send to consumers. Our digital footprint and activation opportunities are at the heart of the discussion.

“Broadcast exposure is important but through digital we can strongly increase return-on-invest for our partners through a more personalised marketing approach.

“A key added value we provide to sponsors is support on developing and distributing content and campaigns that are football-relevant and resonate with our audiences. We will continue to build our offering in this space.”