Bundesliga International and ESPN+ began teasing the 2021/2022 season with a slightly tongue-in-cheek US promotional campaign featuring David Hasselhoff.
Co-developed by a joint Bundesliga Worldwide New York and ESPN+ marketing team, the collaboration aims to drive awareness of the upcoming season and boost platform subscribers.
The three-month campaign is spearheaded by a hero promo spot in which sees former Baywatch and Knight Rider star David Hasselhoff remind viewers that he might be a major music star in Germany but that one thing even bigger than him in Germany is the Bundesliga. The creative also draws tongue-in-cheek similarities between Hasselhoff and the league in terms of star power, intense emotion and even US expertise.
The spot is being broadcast on all of ESPN’s owned channels together and backed by digital, social and other TV work.
The lead commercial is supported by a social media campaign led by a set of memes and gifs.
This new national marketing campaign is a part of the Deutsche Fußball Liga’s (DFL) internationalization strategy: one which is designed to drive consciousness and viewing of the Bundesliga.
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ESPN+ has been the home of the Bundesliga in the USA since August 2020 when the sports broadcasting giant signed a deal to provide the league’s fans in America with a unique offering – including on-demand replays – of every Bundesliga match.
ESPN+ and Bundesliga Worldwide have also been collaborating on a number of other marketing initiatives ranging from digital watch events for flagship matches such as ‘Der Klassiker’ between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern München, as well as co-producing short, localized documentaries explaining key rivalries within the league such because the Berlin Derby and Klassiker.
The latter initiative led a marketing campaign on ESPN+ specifically advertising the second Klassiker of last season which aired on on ABC, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ and generated a total viewing audience of 732,000 viewers: making it the second most-viewed Bundesliga match of all time within the English language.
Bundesliga Worldwide initially expanded its international footprint on the ground in the USA back in 2018 when it opened its first North American office in New York Metropolis. The regional office enables Bundesliga Worldwide to facilitate direct engagement with followers throughout the Americas by overseeing the league’s media and advertising operations throughout the area.
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