With their collaboration, shopping centre Ideapark and Floorball Club SC Classic won two awards and a special mention at the ESA Awards in London.
The collaboration between shopping centre Ideapark and SC Classic “Sports entertainment in the middle of the shopping center” was included in the ESA (European Sponsorship Association) Awards held in London on March 9, 2023. At the event, the best sponsorships of the year were awarded in different categories. Ideapark and Classic received gold in the category “Sport Sponsorship < €250,000”, silver in the main category “Sponsorship of the Year”, and the collaboration was the only one to receive a special mention in the category “Best of Europe”.
A REAL, DEEP, AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
In 2020, Ideapark signed an exceptional sponsorship agreement with Classic, through which the club transferred its functions and match events to the shopping centre. Ideapark invested 2 million euros in building a high-tech arena in the middle of Ideapark, taking Classic’s match events to a new level of entertainment. The Bläk Boks arena brought Classic’s audience to Ideapark. Classic’s games, practices and camps alone bring 120,000 annual visitors to the shopping centre.
The cooperation received wide attention in the competition and the jury especially praised the added commercial value brought by the cooperation.
“In addition to the win in our own category (sports sponsorship), we are especially happy about the second place in the overall competition (Sponsorship of the Year). The award enrtries covered cases from all around Europe and included a large number of really important players, such as Heineken, FC Liverpool, Nivea, Paris Saint-German and Formula 1. It is great that the jury took into account this unique, mutually beneficial cooperation of ours. Sports and cooperation, especially with Classic, are an essential part of Ideapark’s transformation from a traditional shopping center to an experiential entertainment center”, says Ideapark Lempäälä CEO Visa Vainiola.
“Ideapark and Classic are united by a common world of values and the courage to do things without prejudice. The cooperation is built to serve our common customer groups exceptionally well”, says Pasi “Passo” Peltola, executive director of Classic Family.
Cooperation has also been planned and implemented by marketing agency i2. “It is very unusual in sponsorship that two different organizations use sponsorship as a tool for strategic change. Ideapark and Classic have the ability to work like this, and it’s great to be a part of this collaboration”, sums up Ari Rauhala, CEO of i2.
THE WORLD’S BEST FLOORBALL SPECTATOR EXPERIENCE
The most visible part of the cooperation between Ideapark and Classic is the experiential Bläk Boks event stage, which enables Classic’s men’s and women’s F-League home matches to be played in Ideapark. Cooperation includes much more, such as marketing cooperation and service and digital development.
Due to its location and versatility, Bläk Boks provides interesting content for spectators other than floorball fans. Spectators may enrich their experience by exploring Ideapark’s 170 shops and restaurants, as well as a 2.5-acre entertainment centre.
Not only did Classic’s activities add 4 million € in sales to Ideapark, but a grand total of 500,000 visitors also came to Ideapark for sports events in 2021.
Picture: IFF Champions Cup 2023, Florbal MB vs GC Zurich, Bläk Boks. Photo: Anssi Koskinen
