With the close of the UEFA EURO 2024™, Lidl, one of Europe’s leading food retail chains, is celebrating the successful completion of its first international football sponsorship. Given that sports is a central pillar in Lidl’s long-term commitment to health and conscious eating, the sponsorship led the “We are on your team” corporate campaign. From maintaining competitive prices and providing simple, healthy and fresh food, to bringing fans closer to the biggest football event in Europe, representing its commitment to its consumers, the company once again proved it is by everyone’s side.
Hand in hand with football stars
Over the four weeks of the competition, and hand in hand with footballer stars, Lidl gave 1,122 children the chance to join the well-known Lidl Kids Team to travel to Germany and attend matches as official accompanying players. Lidl Kids Team participants were six- to 10-year-olds, selected regardless of gender, origin or other characteristics. The children’s legal guardians simply needed to complete the kids’ entry form, available exclusively via the Lidl Plus app. The number of participations in the draw exceeded 1.1 million.
Each Lidl Kids Team had a packed schedule filled with fun activities and educational local experiences, before meeting the best football players of Europe on the field and in front of tens of thousands of fans at the UEFA EURO 2024™ match. From hugs with the football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, to talks with Czech Republic captain Tomáš Souček, walking the pitch with Spanish midfielder Rodri, and meeting English idols such as Rio Ferdinand, all the children enjoyed unique experiences throughout the tournament.
Inspiring healthier choices
Breaking away from tradition and aiming to give football a helping hand, the company aimed to make healthy choices more attractive and affordable. With the innovative decision to offer healthy options instead of traditional snacks found in stadiums, Lidl made fresh fruit available at stadium stores in Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Stuttgart andFrankfurt, as well as in the fan zones in Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Hamburg and Dusseldorf, thereby creating new relationships between football stadiums and a healthy diet. As a result, 91 tonnes of fruit were used to make fruit salads that were distributed to everyone, as a healthy alternative option, inside and out of the stadiums. This made matches fresher and healthier, not only for professional players, but also for spectators, supporters and fans of all ages – especially children. The European Championship put football in the spotlight and Lidl put fresh fruit in the spotlight, while looking to redefine snacks and nutrition during sports events.
In addition, the aim was to bring the football vibe to fans outside UEFA EURO 2024™ host cities. To achieve this, Lidl fan festivals, which also focused on healthy eating, were held in 21 locations in Germany as well as in nine other European countries in which Lidl operates.
Lidl recognises the important role played by big sports events such as the UEFA EURO 2024™ in encouraging children to participate in physical activity. Therefore, providing experiences such as the opportunity to become part of the Lidl Kids Team, helped to promote this aim, while the company hopes to inspire more children across Europe to adopt an active lifestyle.
Bringing fans closer to football
Lidl’s partnership with UEFA EURO 2024™ also rewarded the company’s loyal customers across Europe. Lidl organised draws, for example, via the Lidl Plus app, offering users the unique opportunity to win a double ticket to the games and an all expenses paid trip for two to Germany. The total entries reached a staggering 15.3 million. The company gave 16,000 fans from about 30 countries the opportunity, mainly through draws carried out on the Lidl Plus app, to watch matches during the UEFA EURO 2024™.
Even in Lidl countries that did not qualify for the UEFA EURO 2024™, Lidl was able to convey the tournament’s key emotions with its campaign. This created a comprehensive experience, bringing fans closer to stadiums and fan zones, but also people on TV and social media networks. According to UEFA, the 10 fan zones in the host cities received a total of 5.8 million visitors.
“Football inspires millions of people every day, and Lidl is a reliable partner in the daily shopping experience of millions customers,” noted Martin Brandenburger, Lidl Cyprus’ CEO and Chairman of its Board of Directors. “Consequently, the UEFA EURO 2024™ was a perfect choice for us. We at Lidl also brought our social responsibility to this partnership. Our shared goal was to raise awareness and inform the public about a healthy and active lifestyle, with fresh, sustainable and healthy food, which in our opinion worked very well for us.”
About Lidl
A member of the Neckarsulm-based Schwarz Group, Lidl is among the leading food retail businesses in Germany and Europe. Today, it operates over 12,200 stores and more than 220 logistics centres in 31 countries.
Lidl Cyprus has been active in Cyprus since 2010. Today, it employs more than 700 employees, while its network includes 21 stores and one state-of-the-art logistics centre.
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