July 3, 2019 – As we have previously announced, the ancient amphitheater in Pula will transform into a football field for the first time in history on July 8 for a spectacular sporting event which will feature the legends of Bayern Munich and the legends of the Croatia national team. This spectacle is the result of the strategic partnership between the Istria County Tourist Board and the powerful Bavarian club which was agreed year ago and will continue for three years, reports HRTurizam.
The basic idea of the strategic partnership was to combine two premium brands that would help to identify quality and superior products by linking marketing activities in the offline and online segment, e-marketing, social networks, and a specific marketing campaign in collaboration with Bayern.
The strategic partnership allows Istria to cooperate on nine major marketing projects. All projects are positioned so that they take place in the period that is most important for the tourist promotion of Istria, i.e., the winter months and the preseason.
So far, they have accomplished seven of the nine major activities.
1. Selecting and filming three FC Bayern Munich players as the main testimonials for the tourist promotion of Istria – significant destination campaigns;
2. Appearance of Bayern representatives at the renowned tourist fair ‘Free’ in Munich with all relevant promotional activities at the fair;
3. Matchdaypresenter intended for owners, co-owners and strategic partners;
4. Promotion of Istria through all channels in the online and offline segment with all presentation channels at the Allianz Arena for seven days;
5. Matchdaypresenter intended for media representatives;
6. A communication campaign through all of FC Bayern Munich’s channels worth €150,000;
7. Ticket package for promotion of Istria at the Allianz Arena in Munich
The remaining two are also the most important projects – the annual workshop of FC Bayern Munich (which was just held from June 25-27) and the best way to complete the first year of cooperation – the legends match between Croatia and FC Bayern Munich.
The football legends of Bayern Munich and the Croatia national team will meet at the Pula Arena on July 8. The ancient amphitheater will transform into a football field or, more accurately, due to the lack of space, a futsal field, for the very first time.
The Istria County Tourist Board announced the names of some of the Bayern Munich legends we can expect in Pula, including Ivica Olić, Paulo Sergio, Giovane Elber, Martín DeMichelis, Luca Toni, Klaus Augenthaler and Marcel Witeczek.
Some of the famous footballers who will represent Croatia are Stipe Pletikosa, Robert Jarni, Ivan Klasnić, Marjan Mrmić, Ardian Koznik, Petar Krpan, and Ognjen Vukojević.
Inside the arena, a small field of 40 meters by 20 meters will installed.
Between the games, the experience will be complemented by a music program and numerous performances, and after the winner is announced, the VIP Lounge in the Arena will continue with an entertainment program and DJs.
Schedule of events:
20:00 – 20:30 Junior’s match
20:30 Event announcement with a presentation of partners and sponsors
Presentation of all teams (two ‘Vatreni’ and two Bayern Munich teams)
Draw
20:50 – 21:15 First semi-final match
21:20 – 21:45 Second semi-final match
21:45 – 21:55 Music program/Performances
22:00 – 22:25 Match for third place
22:30 – 22:55 Final
The games are followed by an awards ceremony and after-party with DJs in the VIP lounge of the Arena.
FC Bayern Munich is the 4th most valuable club in the world and one of the main brands in Germany, and the key is the market. Namely, Germany is Croatia’s most significant and largest broadcast market, and within Germany, Bavaria certainly has the largest share. Thus, the strategic partnership between FC Bayern Munich and Istria is certainly one of the largest and most significant marketing projects in tourism.
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