Audi Sponsorships in Sport

Audi and sports go hand in hand. This is why the reputable car manufacturer tries to get involved with some of the best sports brands. And Audi is not alone here. The automotive industry spends around $1.3 billion in sponsoring sports.

In fact, sponsoring sports is by far the most enticing sector to spend money on for Audi. It is estimated that close to 70% of Audi’s sponsorship money goes to sports sponsorships alone.

When you factor in the prestige that comes with sponsoring world renowned brands such as Bayern Munich you can see just why Audi spends big on these sports partnerships. These endeavours connect the company logo with recognizable athletes and that is never a bad thing especially as most Audi buyers are also avid sports fans.

Bayern Munich

Audi and Bayern Munich first partnered up in 2002 and have been faithful to each other ever since. With their newest contract set to end in 2025, one can see just how much each of these two brands trusts one another.

The figure which is estimated here is around $10 million per year which is one of the highest yielding sponsorship deals in the football world. On top of that, Audi also has 8.8% of Bayern Munich shares and has its logo on the players’ kits.

In addition to this, Audi also markets its brand by helping organize high-profile football competitions such as the Audi Summer Tour which this year took place in the USA. Teams such as Arsenal, Tottenham, Real Madrid and AC Milan took part in the tour and that is a testament to the pulling power that a brand such as Audi has.

Everton FC

Audi through its Liverpool Audi affiliate also sponsors Liverpool’s second biggest football club Everton FC. Liverpool Audi is part of the Jardine Motors Group, which is one of the top retail groups in the UK.

Here the sponsorship deal is definitely not as high as that with Bayern Munich as most of the efforts of the local Audi team is to raise the brand of new and used cars as part of their offer.
vERC Ingolstadt & FC Ingolstadt

Audi obviously likes to spend the majority of its sponsorship money closer to home. Two of their most notable sports sponsorship deals are the ERC Ingolstadt and FC Ingolstadt partnerships.

ERC Ingolstadt compete in the German Ice Hockey League and frequently draw huge crowds to their hockey arena. The Panthers, as they are affectionately known, are heavily involved with Audi and their most notable common project is the Audi Sportsakademie.

In this modern sports academy, talented ice hockey players live, study and train together in a specially dedicated 840 square metre sports park. The park has what is known as “integrated support” and that means that a whole team of teachers, managers, cooks, and doctors caters to improving these young players both as athletes and as people.

In addition to ice hockey players, there are also 12 young football players, part of FC Ingolstadt, that live door to door with the potential hockey stars.

That is obviously not the only involvement which Audi has with FC Ingolstadt as the car manufacturer is actually their main shirt and kit sponsor too.

KRAMSKI German Golf League (DGL)

The KRAMSKI German Golf League (DGL) is presented by Audi and is the highest national golf league in Germany. The competition takes place over several days and is played out in a tournament format, but also has leagues which enable teams to go up and down the ladder. This makes for an exciting golf platform which Audi felt compelled to be part of.

The car manufacturer has been involved in sponsoring top tier golf for over two decades and that is quite the achievement. However, it is not only the professional KRAMSKI German Golf League which has been the focus of Audi. The car brand has also been a huge factor in the playing careers of many amateur golfers. It is estimated that more than 1.5 million amateur golfers have taken part in their Audi Quattro Cup amateur competition so far.

German Esports Fokus Clan Team/Schanzer Esports FC Ingolstadt 04 Team

Audi recently signed a three-year deal sponsorship deal with German FIFA Esports team Fokus Clan. In addition to this, the German team also partnered up with FC Ingolstadt’s Esports team as well. These two deals are a testament to how much Audi invests in competitive Esports. Even before these two high profile deals, Audi sponsored one of the most popular Esports franchises Astralis and had their logo on their jerseys.

The deal with Fokus Clan stipulates that the team will be provided with a branded Audi Q7 e-tron car which is decked out and has a PlayStation 4 in it. This is as part of a campaign to promote the partnership and also includes logoed team apparel and social media sites.

Audi’s involvement with FC Ingolstadt’s Esports team will be done through Munich-based electronics department store Media Markt. This is nothing new as both Audi and Media Markt are actually the two main sponsors of 2 Bundesliga side FC Ingolstadt.