LIGANOVA launches new sports business unit

Berlin/Stuttgart, November 21, 2023 – The new offering is aimed at expanding and deepening brand resonance for rights holders and brands and rethinking their presence in the context of sport. “Sport has always shaped the zeitgeist, because sport and lifestyle inspire each other. At the same time, we are currently experiencing a renaissance of physical spaces everywhere. It is therefore a logical step for us to also become active in sport,” explains Timo Schönauer, CEO of the LIGANOVA Group. First projects have already started, including the production of the interior fittings for the new main stand in the MHP Arena Stuttgart and the activation and integration of the VfB brand.

LIGANOVA Sports is managed by the two experienced sports marketers Olaf Bauer and Sven Müller, who have the necessary industry know-how. As a pioneer in sports marketing, Olaf Bauer has accompanied major developments in the sports industry since 1997 – both from an agency and club perspective. Sven Müller, who originally started out in the traditional agency business, has been working in various functions at the interface between sport, brand and creation since 2006. Both know each other from their time together at SPORTFIVE.

LIGANOVA, with over 400 employees at seven locations, brings its expertise
for planning, design, production and operations as well as a feel for harmony and zeitgeist. “We see brand and retail expertise in particular as a key advantage when it comes to creating new impetus for rights holders and brands in the space – regardless of whether in physical, digital or virtual space. We want to transform this innovative expertise into the sports sector,” says Olaf Bauer.

“We want to create the next generation of spaces in sport. The key conceptual levels for this are functionality, participation, customer experience and zeitgeist. The harmonious interplay of these levels improves and expands the experience and generates more brand resonance between fans, brands and rights holders,” says Sven Müller. Sustainability and digital elements play a central role in the development of the physical space. Digital and sustainable add-on services are provided within the LIGANOVA Group portfolio.

In the past, LIGANOVA has repeatedly had points of contact with the topic of sports marketing in the space, for example via brands such as adidas, Land Rover, FC Chelsea, FC Bayern Munich and Juventus Turin. The LIGANOVA GROUP agency subsidiary “Code Gaia” also supports several Bundesliga clubs in recording and balancing their ecological footprint with its Sustainability-as-a-Service software offerings.