Brand & positioning
UEFA launch campaign Austria
Here, football is more than football
- Client / employer
- CANAL+ Austria
- Period
- 2024–2025
- Role
- Strategic Advisor · Interim Head of Marketing
- Agencies / partners
- BDAWest4MediadentsuBrainlabsML Marketing
Premium football as a growth driver
For the 2024/25 season, CANAL+ launched its coverage in Austria with exclusive top matches from the three UEFA club competitions. A complex rights package needed to become a clear brand and product promise – with the aim of growing the subscriber base and significantly increasing brand awareness.
“Here, football is more than football.”
Key facts
- three UEFA club competitions
- the top Wednesday match from the Champions League
- the top match of the week from the Europa or Conference League
- all three finals on CANAL+
- TV, streaming, social and traditional media
- nationwide 360° rollout
The strategy
The launch positioned CANAL+ not just as a new rights holder, but as Austria’s home for top European football. A unified identity brought live matches, highlights shows, linear television and the app together in an easy-to-understand offering.
The communication focused on:
- an emotional central idea rather than a complicated explanation of rights
- attention-grabbing player and competition imagery
- clear communication opportunities around matchdays
- broad reach combined with performance-driven activation
More than a campaign
The launch was supported by a dedicated sports offering produced in Vienna: studio shows, match highlights and social content were created for linear TV and streaming. The partnership with ORF extended reach into free-to-air television through the joint programme “Mehr Fußball – Die Champions-League-Highlights” (“More Football – The Champions League Highlights”).
Campaign elements
- TV commercials for the launch and individual matchdays
- Radio commercials (nationwide)
- Digital assets / online videos
on Kicker.at, laola1.at, Meta, Google, Reddit and various news sites - Connected / addressable TV banners
- Pitch-side advertising in stadiums
- Projection advertising in Vienna / Graz / Salzburg
- Social media assets
- Social spots featuring Ralf Rangnick
- Various on-site activities with Austrian clubs
(public screenings, competitions and more)
My role
As Strategic Advisor and Interim Head of Marketing, I was responsible for the strategic direction, creative execution with external agencies, coordination with affiliate partners and media strategy. This included integrating traditional awareness media with digital performance channels, working with the internal digital marketing department led by Barbara Suler.
Project partners were BDA, west4media, dentsu, Brainlabs and ML Marketing.
Impact
- significant growth in the subscriber base
- a clear increase in brand awareness
- potential technical reach of around one million Austrian households
- successful extension of the ORF partnership after the first season
- CANAL+ positioned as a distinct provider of top European football during the 2024–2027 rights period
Specific commercial performance figures are confidential.
Sources: CANAL+ media centre · CANAL+ Group · medianet · LEADERSNET · Kurier · west4media
Social media spots
with Ralf Rangnick
Ralf Rangnick (coach of the Austrian national team and CANAL+ TV expert) as the face of the campaign.