Hankook Tire and the UEFA Europa League, which first joined hands in the 2012/13 season, signed a contract until the 23/24 season to work together as official partners for a total of 12 years. At Hankook Tire, we look for companies and organizations with similar values and goals in order to work together to nurture the relationship of both partners. For this reason, Hankook Tire has been able to successfully work with the UEFA Europa League for more than 10 years. Hankook Tire and the UEFA Europa League have become reliable partners that have faced countless changes in the mobility and sports markets together.

A chronology of Hankook Tire within global sports

Sponsorship marketing is now an important topic not only for Hankook Tire but also for all global brands. This is because brands can be imprinted in the subconscious of the spectators who focus on the sports games they enjoy. When sports fans come into contact with the brand later, they naturally recall their experience at a stadium or other sports venue, and that experience is then linked to the brand image. For that reason, various global brands today work together with a team that resembles and promotes the image they pursue to deliver the unique value of their brand to a wider audience.

In the same context, Hankook Tire has placed great importance on working with organizations and teams in the sports sector. The UEFA Europa League is not the only place that boasts a long relationship with Hankook Tire. From motor sports to soccer and baseball, from world-class sports competitions to individual teams and leagues, our company furthers the development of the sports field by maintaining a wide and deep relationship with many partners. The question is, what value does Hankook Tire want to express through their sports sponsorships, specifically with the UEFA Europa League?

Driving Emotion & Winning Innovation

Driving Emotion is Hankook Tire's promise to provide the best driving experience with the driver's emotions considered. Winning Innovation is Hankook Tire's passion and the source of Driving Emotion to constantly challenge ourselves to provide a seamless driving experience in which drivers and tires become one.

The introduction of 'Hankook Tire's unique innovative technology that enables steady running even in unpredictable extreme conditions aligns with our brand slogan 'Driving Emotion' through motorsport. which expresses Hankook Tire's spirit of winning innovation. Our company constantly challenges itself to provide the best driving experience to consumers, just like the athletes that passionately compete for the best moments of the UEFA Europa League.

Hankook Tire x UEFA Europa League
Journey to Discover Common Denominators and Growth Points

The UEFA Europa League was held for the first time in 1971 and has become a world-class soccer competition that everyone knows today. Hankook Tire was established in 1941 and is currently leading the growth of the mobility industry using in-depth research in all driving environments around the world and innovative technology. Along with the UEFA Europa League, we share the same values in that we continue to challenge ourselves to be leaders in our sectors and overcome difficulties that arise over time.

The partnership between Hankook Tire and the UEFA Europa League will continue into the 2023/24 season. Hankook Tire extended its sponsorship to the newly launched UEFA Europa Conference League* during the 2021/22 season, and signed a sponsorship contract with Laufenn*, Hankook Tire's global strategic brand.

In addition, it is important to note that not all companies that want to be sponsored by Hankook Tire can obtain a partnership agreement, even if they are global companies with high financial value and recognition. In particular, sponsors are more carefully reviewed and selected in internationally popular competitions and leagues such as the UEFA Europa League, where the value that the company aims for and the various activities implemented to realize the value play an important role. In this respect, the fact that Hankook Tire has been with world-class leagues for more than 10 years as an official sponsor implies its influence and brand value in the global automobile market and sports industry.

Hankook Tire in UEFA Europa League 1
Meet Hankook Tire at the football field

It is not hard to see Hankook Tire at a UEFA Europa League match. Currently, Hankook Tire’s logo is displayed on stadium boards, LED billboards, and media walls to informing sports fans of the partnership between the UEFA Europa League and Hankook Tire. Representative examples include announcements and sponsorships such as ‘Player of the Week’ and ‘Referee Mascot’, consumer events and promotions linked to the UEFA Europa League final and major league matches.

In addition, just as athletes continue to maintain a healthy sports culture by repeatedly focusing on sportsmanship even in the fierce process for victory, Hankook Tire never loses its responsibility to realize various social values while leading the mobility industry through ceaseless challenges and innovations.

Hankook Tire in UEFA Europa League 2
Sports Marketing with Sportsmanship in mind

In the past, Hankook Tire established a variety of experience programs specifically for children sports fans. Until the 2021/22 season, children across Europe were given a unique opportunity to act as center circle carriers before the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, while the 2020/21 season final at the Gdańsk Stadium, Poland, the UEFA Foundation for Children, children from Amp Futbol Polska, a local soccer-related non-profit organization, and the Fair Play Team were invited to enjoy the game together. From the 2021/22 season, the Referee Mascot right is giving children the opportunity to enter the stadium with the official referee before the start of the game. As such, it is expected that children who dream of sports can develop their dreams in the process of experiencing the heat of the sports scene with their skin, such as stepping on the grass of the stadium and facing their favorite players.

In addition, Hankook Tire runs campaigns that actively reflect social issues like sustainability and pandemic-related issues. A representative example of this is the project to make bags by upcycling tarpaulin that was used as a center circle banner. Inside the bags were various gifts, including tickets to the final, which were given to children belonging to the non-profit organization Amp Futbol Polska and Fair Play Team.

Additionally, a remix version of the official theme song was released in collaboration with world-renowned violinist David Garrett. Players moved dynamically and passionately along with the music to deliver an energetic experience for sports fans during the UEFA Europa League 2020/21 season, when most of the matches were played without spectators due to the pandemic.

Hankook Tire is always a part of the sports scene where the passion of players and the enthusiastic shouts of sports fans collide, succinctly conveying the value of driving emotion and the spirit of winning innovation to everyone. As an official sponsor of the UEFA Europa League, we plan to continue various marketing activities in the 2023/24 season with sportsmanship being a key goal.