TSG develop innovative marketing approach

As part of the "TSG is movement" future strategy - which contains five areas of action - TSG Hoffenheim has been integrating social value with its own development since 2017. "It was a logical step to integrate this approach even more closely into the core business and thus also into marketing," says Stefan Wagner, head of corporate development at TSG, who played an instrumental role in developing the Common Value Model. "Our thesis is as follows - if we can have positive social impact and relevance in our partnerships, then all involved can reap the benefits. This applies to the sponsor, to TSG and to society as a whole. In this context, 'common value' is synonymous with 'community value.' ''

"In a scenario experiment, we investigated the perception of a fictitious club project. In the experiment, we proposed a sustainable fan collection and a conventional one - both with and without the active support of a sponsor,'' explains Manuel Reppmann, who developed the study together with Prof. Dr. Laura Marie Edinger-Schons, chair for sustainable business at the University of Mannheim. "In the experiment, we were able to show that socially responsible and sustainable commitment on the part of TSG has a positive effect on the perception of TSG sponsors. The transfer of the positive effect to the sponsor can be promoted by actively involving the sponsor in the commitment. In developing the study, we applied strict scientific criteria - in practice, it would be feasible to strengthen the observed effect through communication to create a deeper and more emotional connection,'' adds Reppmann.

TSG is currently integrating this approach into daily conceptual work. "This includes credible content with real added value based on our fields of action. Initial discussions show that we are on the right track, primarily because we are addressing the evolving expectation of society and, above all, of business. This strategy could - in addition to the classic approaches - open up completely new possibilities in sports marketing," explains Denni Strich, who is responsible for marketing on the board of management. "Our task now is to integrate these and other aspects of a future-oriented sponsoring environment into a holistic strategy,'' adds Strich.

This development fits in with a fundamental sense of reflection and future changes. "Commercial sport - football in particular - has been viewed in a different light in recent times, and not just since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic," says Dr. Peter Görlich, managing director of TSG Hoffenheim. ''Since the launch of 'TSG is movement' in 2018, we have adopted a very innovative approach in which we define our own development in relation to society as a whole. The Common Value Model means that this approach has now become a critical element of the club's overall operations. We will now continue to develop this strategy in order to prepare ourselves for the future.''

 

Further information on the study and the background of the Common Value Model can be requested via medien@tsg-hoffenheim.de