New deals with Leopard Trek cycling team and Swiss Olympic mark the start of operational activity

Zug, Switzerland, 30 June 2011 - Infront Ringier Sports & Entertainment Switzerland AG has now embarked on business operations with Armin Meier taking the position of Managing Director from 1 July 2011 at the company headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. The 50/50 joint venture between the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media and the largest Swiss media group Ringier will provide federations, top athletes and organisers of sports events with comprehensive marketing and consulting services.

A strong network along with extensive know-how allow InfrontRingier to position itself as a competent, innovative and reliable partner in the Swiss sports market - already able to announce two new mandates at the start of its business operations.

Marketing partner for Team Leopard Trek
Team Leopard Trek is a professional cycling team from Luxembourg that competes in its first season on the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) World Tour. With well-known riders including Fabian Cancellara, Fränk and Andy Schleck, it is one of the strongest cycling teams worldwide. As exclusive sales partner, InfrontRingier will market the sponsorship packages in Switzerland, providing Swiss companies with access to an internationally successful cycling team and a wide-reaching communication platform.  

Exclusive Mandate of Swiss Olympic
InfrontRingier also starts its operating activities with an exclusive mandate from Swiss Olympic, referring to the evaluation and examination of a potential Swiss bid for the Olympic Winter Games 2022. InfrontRingier’s Sven C. Zehnder – formerly Marketing Director of NIKE – will in his role as consultant create a close bridge and working relationship with Swiss Olympic. The initial aim of the project team will be to analyse if Switzerland will apply for the 2022 games and decide, if so, which region has the best chance of providing the ideal environment and winning the bid.

The agreements with Swiss Olympic and Team Leopard Trek are the first newly acquired projects by InfrontRingier and complement existing business previously integrated under the umbrella of the joint venture. This includes the Pool Position Switzerland AG that manages Swiss personalities from entertainment, film, TV, fashion, music, sports and show business – as for example Lara Gut, Jonas Hiller and Stefan Gubser. Furthermore, the marketing of the Rose d'Or has also been incorporated into InfrontRingier. The international television festival attracts media professionals, production companies and television stations from more than 40 countries to Lucerne, Switzerland every year.

More information on the projects and core competencies of InfrontRingier can be found on the official website www.infrontringier.ch.

About InfrontRingier
Infront Sports & Entertainment Ringier AG Switzerland – abbreviated to InfrontRingier - is a 50-50 joint venture between the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media and the largest Swiss media group Ringier. For both companies, this is a further step toward expanding and differentiating their current business fields and each will contribute its core competencies, resources and networks to the success of InfrontRingier.

The company will provide Swiss organisers of sporting events as well as Switzerland's top athletes with a wide range of services - from the packaging and marketing of media, sponsorship, merchandising and hospitality rights to high quality implementation. Based on the combined marketing and media skills of the joint venture partners, InfrontRingier is destined to establish itself as leading marketer and player in the Swiss sports market.


For further information please contact:

Jörg Polzer / Nike Möhle
Corporate Communications
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
press infrontsports.com
www.infrontsports.com

Edi Estermann
Head of Communication
Ringier AG
Tel. +41-44-259 64 44
media ringier.ch
www.ringier.ch