"Cross-country skiing and biathlon epitomise endurance and precision - two attributes that suit the BMW brand brilliantly," says Karsten Engel, Vice President Sales Germany. "Interest in these winter sports has grown continuously in recent years. We want to allow our customers to experience these fascinating events first hand."
Over the course of the nine events forming part of the IBU Biathlon World Cup and the 2011 Biathlon World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk (RUS) the BMW logo will be visible on advertising banners and the shirts of the athletes, as well as other branding.
Dr Stefan Seykora, Managing Director Infront Austria, says: "We have once again demonstrated we are able to target the right commercial partners for biathlon. To add BMW to the already impressive list of international brands in the IBU World Cup and the World Championships as a main sponsor is a great achievement for all involved. The images of Biathlon and BMW work well together, and we are expecting excellent results for BMW, in particular, as biathlon will continue to receive increased television exposure at an impressive level of 1,400 programming hours per annum."
The appearance of BMW in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup will further demonstrate the company's winter expertise as one of the biggest manufacturers of four-wheel drive cars worldwide in the premium sector. Apart from the classic means of communication such as banners and branding on the start, finish and intermediate buildings, the BMW logo will feature on the shirts of the athletes at selected Tour de Ski events.
"We are proud to have added another premium brand to the FIS Cross-Country World Cup with BMW," said Christian Pirzer, CEO of FIS Marketing AG. "This is an impressive confirmation of our new marketing concept, which is the central promotion of all cross-country world cup races staged by FIS. The high quality standards of BMW are our incentive and confirm this. We are looking forward to a positive and long-term partnership."
Last year BMW celebrated a successful return to winter sports with its "BMW Winterfreude" campaign. At selected skiing venues over the course of the entire skiing season BMW is present with its complete four-wheel drive experience xDrive and the public can try it first hand.
In addition, the BMW Group is committed to winter sports as a National Sponsor of the Munich bid for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
2011/2011 IBU Biathlon World Cup Calendar.
29.11. - 05.12.2010 Östersund (SWE)
06.12. - 12.12.2010 Hochfilzen (AUT)
13.12. - 19.12.2010 Pokljuka, (SLO)
03.01. - 09.01.2011 Oberhof (DEU)
10.01. - 16.01.2011 Ruhpolding (DEU)
17.01. - 23.01.2011 Antholz-Anterselva (ITA)
31.01 - 06.02.2011 Presque Isle (USA)
14.02. - 20.02.2011 Fort Kent (USA)
03.03. - 13.03.2011 Khanty-Mansiysk (RUS)
14.03. - 20.03.2011 Holmenkollen (NOR)
Next year's Biathlon World Championships will take place in Khanty-Mansiysk (RUS) from 3rd to 13th March.
The 2010/2011 FIS Cross-Country World Cup begins on 20th November 2010 in Gällivare, Sweden, and ends in mid-March 2011 in Falun (SWE). The first World Cup event in Germany will be held in Düsseldorf on 5th December.
The FIS Tour de Ski forms part of the World Cup season. This year the event, which enjoys enormous popularity among spectators, is comprised of two events in Germany (Oberhof and Oberstdorf) and two events in Italy, featuring the spectacular final ascent to Val di Fiemme's Alpe Cermis.