German automotive chemical specialist LIQUI MOLY and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League have agreed on an advertising partnership that will run over the course of three seasons.
“We’re the first German oil brand to go into professional U.S. sports, which shows just how important this is,” said LIQUI MOLY Marketing Director Peter Baumann at a press conference in Los Angeles.
According to the company, North America is one of the markets that offers the most promising growth prospects for LIQUI MOLY. “This is why we’re launching this advertising campaign with our biggest budget yet in North America,” said Baumann. The NHL hockey team Los Angeles Kings was selected “because a lot of our customers are based in the LA area; the level of spending power and the frequency of German cars are also particular high in California.”
LIQUI MOLY turns 60 in 2017 and the company aims to establish the brand in the U.S. and Canada. “We’ve been the most popular motor oil brand in Germany for many years now, having long overtaken the global petroleum giants there, so this is a long-term goal we’re pursuing in other regions of the world as well,” said Baumann. As in Germany, this will require consistent brand development sometimes involving unusual measures, according to Baumann. “Sport is omnipresent in North America and generates huge media interest – especially the four main sports of American football, baseball, basketball and hockey.”
LIQUI MOLY says hockey’s prevalence in the U.S. was why the sport was chosen, with the Los Angeles Kings as a brand ambassador. With more than 11 million fans, the Kings are among the most popular of the 30 NHL teams in the U.S. and Canada, and they’re currently one of the most successful as well: Los Angeles won the championship in 2012 and 2014.
“We’re seeing fast-paced growth in sales in North America so the aim of this advertising campaign is to further stimulate this development,” said Baumann. “Our sales team was significantly enlarged last year for this reason, too and that’s by no means the end of the story.”
An online and print advertising campaign covering the USA and Canada was launched back in February, mainly concentrating on garages. “That campaign is focused on the B2B area, while our sponsorship activities will reach all target groups,” he added.
The main component of the partnership with the Kings is the rinkside brand presence: for the remaining preliminary matches of the current season and for the next three seasons, LIQUI MOLY will be advertising with a rinkside board and in an area behind the goal and above the board – only visible on television – as well as on the cube above the rink.
LIQUI MOLY also will be advertising on the board and on the ice in the arena of Ontario Reign, also based in California. This team plays in the American Hockey League (AHL) and is one of two farm teams for the Los Angeles Kings.
“We are very pleased to welcome LIQUI MOLY into our sports family, and we believe this new partnership is truly one-of-a-kind and historic in terms of sponsorship activation across our three pro hockey teams,” said Kings President, Business Operations Luc Robitaille. The contact was established through Eisbären Berlin. Like the Los Angeles Kings and Ontario Reign, the top-level German hockey club belongs to the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), one of the world’s leading companies in the entertainment and sports industry.
