(11/23/2010 | News | Linköping)

Infront Sports & Media, the marketing partner of the International Biathlon Union (IBU), and the enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor, IFS, have signed a sponsorship agreement for the E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon and the IBU World Championship Biathlon. The contract is valid for one year with an option to extend. IFS will debut at the E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon kick-off taking place in Östersund, Sweden from November 29 to December 5, 2010.

In recent years, biathlon has attracted an increasing audience thanks to its unique combination of hard work, skill and the natural environment in which it takes place.

“Biathlon is highly popular in many of our key markets, and we are looking forward to being one of its sponsors,” said Wilfried Gschneidinger, CEO of IFS Central Europe. “The sport’s focus on agility, precision and efficiency matches the ambitions of IFS and IFS Applications. As such, it is a perfect platform for increasing our brand awareness.”

Dr. Stefan Seykora, Managing Director of Infront Austria, added, “It is great to see so many new companies finding their way into winter sports and using this attractive platform for marketing purposes. The international television coverage of top IBU events will provide IFS with outstanding brand visibility. This will contribute to the benefits the company receives from this partnership.”

The Official Data Partner package provides product category exclusivity, and the IFS logo will be inserted in the onscreen result graphics broadcast worldwide. IFS will be the Official Data Partner for the IBU World Cup events throughout the 2010/11 season, including the IBU World Championship Biathlon in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from March 3–13, 2011.

With its commitment to the IBU World Cup Biathlon, IFS joins the group around Title Sponsor E.ON (energy), Presenting Sponsors Viessmann (heating systems) and DKB (banking), alongside Erdinger (non-alcoholic beer), BMW (automotive), Bauhaus (DIY retail), Ehrmann (dairy products) and Adidas (sports apparel).

About IFS

IFS is a public company (OMX STO: IFS) founded in 1983 that develops, supplies, and implements IFS Applications™, a component-based extended ERP suite built on SOA technology. IFS focuses on agile businesses where any of four core processes are strategic: Service & asset management, manufacturing, supply chain and projects. The company has 2,000 customers and is present in more than 50 countries with 2,700 employees in total. Net revenue in 2009 was SKr 2.6 billion.

About Infront

Infront Sports & Media, based in Zug, Switzerland, has grown impressively in recent years and is today one of the leading international sports marketing agencies in the world. The company employs more than 500 employees across 24 offices in 10 countries and enjoys long-lasting partnerships with around 130 rights holders and hundreds of commercial partners. Infront has focused strongly on developing its role in winter sports, to the point that it now represents six of seven Olympic winter sport federations at international level. This includes a long-term partnership with the IIHF in world ice hockey and a major role in international skiing, where it manages more than 90% of the media and/or marketing rights to FIS World Cup events. Partnerships with the FIBT for bobsleigh and skeleton, FIL for luge, the IBU for biathlon and the WCF for curling complete Infront’s winter sports portfolio. As a result Infront is able to offer the very best winter sports opportunities from one central source.

More information is available at www.infrontsports.com

Anne Vandbakk
Phone: +47 66 90 74 10
Fax: +47 66 90 73 01
E-mail: anne.vandbakk@ifsworld.com