Gorenje’s #simplyfans project wins prestigious SPORTO 2018 award

One of the main partners of the VELUX EHF Champions League and the Men’s EHF EURO 2018 and 2020 has been rewarded for a highly successful campaign, engaging handball fans in Europe’s prime handball events.

Gorenje was among the main awardees at the SPORTO awards ceremony in Portoroz, Slovenia last week, which once again acknowledged the best projects in the field of sponsorship and sport marketing.

In the major category ‘Best Sports Sponsorship,’ the project ‘Gorenje Simplyfans’ was recognised as the best in the Adriatic region, and therefore winning the SPORTO 2018 award.

Gorenje activated its sponsor partnership with the Men’s EHF EURO 2018 and the VELUX EHF Champions League by creating the integrated #simplyfans campaign, bringing together sports fans around Europe.

The campaign, which exceeded Gorenje’s expectations with great results in media value, is widely regarded as unique in the world of handball.

“We are extremely proud that the professional public also recognised our good work in the field of sponsorship activation of handball,” says Alenka Potočnik Anžič, Director of Marketing Communication for the Gorenje brand. “At the same time, this prize represents a great obligation for even better work in the next two years, when we remain the sponsor of European men's handball at the highest level. Congratulations and gratitude goes also to all the partners in the project.”

David Szlezak, Managing Director of EHF Marketing GmbH, is full of praise for Gorenje, which has been partner of the VELUX EHF Champions League since the 2017/18 season.

“When we welcomed Gorenje to European handball family, it was clear from the very first moment that we gained a very active partner. It is a pleasure to work with a company which is really committed towards handball and the sponsorship,” Szlezak says. “We are very proud of the recognition that their #simplyfans campaign received with the SPORTO award and we are also happy that we were able to support Gorenje’s initiative.”

The SPORTO Awards competition rewards the outstanding work in the field of sponsorship and marketing in sport. The competition is open to applicants based in the Adriatic region, and is organised in cooperation with the European Sponsorship Association (ESA) and national partners. The highest ranked project in each country within the category ‘Best Sports Sponsorship / SPORTO Sponsorship Award’ is automatically placed in the contest for the prestigious ‘Best of Europe’ at the ESA Excellence Awards competition. Winners of the ESA Awards will be announced on 28 February 2019 in London.

Photo © 2018 Sporto | from left: Edita Gabrič Zager (Gorenje), Tobi Hester (ESA) and Alenka Potočnik Anžič (Gorenje)