Maxxis takes to the ice in Norway

In a move to raise brand profile and product awareness in Norway, Maxxis has entered into a sponsorship deal with one of the country’s leading ice hockey clubs. The tyre maker’s Norwegian distributor, Gummi Centralen AS, has signed a two-year sponsorship agreement with the Frisk Asker Tigers. The club competes in GET, Norway’s premier ice hockey league, which it has won eight times.

As Maxxis shares, ice hockey is Norway’s second largest spectator sport (after football), with around 100,000 people tuning in to watch televised games. As part of the arrangement with the Frisk Asker Tigers, the Maxxis distributor enjoys exclusive broadcast rights with television channel TV2 and will gain high brand visibility at the Askerhallen arena, with banners around the stadium, pre-match on-ice presentations and branding on the club’s official website and players’ shirts. Gummi Centralen AS will also reinforce the sponsorship deal on its website and in its marketing communications, including customer newsletters and the new winter price list.

Maxxis says that, despite injuries to top players during the 2010-2011 season, the Frisk Asker Tigers finished in a “creditable” seventh place and many of its promising younger players – it is part of the club’s strategy to develop local youngsters and turn them into future players for Norway’s national team – took advantage of the opportunity to compete at the highest level. Next season, Gummi Centralen AS plans to maximise the sponsorship deal with further on-ice promotions at the Askerhallen arena plus tyre displays in the VIP hospitality suite, along with giveaways and product offers.