Bundesliga side FC Schalke on Monday agreed to a long-term partnership with Leverage Agency to push its expansion into the U.S. market. The N.Y.-based marketing agency will lead Schalke's complete U.S. strategy, including marketing, licensing, public relations, grassroots initiatives and sponsorship acquisition. "Within the scope of our internationalization strategy, we are looking at the Asian market, and especially China, but we also identify the United States as a market with a lot of potential," Schalke Marketing Dir Alexander Jobst told SBD Global in a recent interview. "We are realistic and know that building a fan base and having economic success is a long-term project. Through various measures, we aim to have a constant Schalke 04 presence in the States, without actually having the team over there." The German club did not disclose financial terms or specific goals of the agreement, but a spokesperson revealed that it is a three-year partnership. Leverage Agency CEO & President Ben Sturner said talks with the club about a potential partnership started six months ago. The two sides recently held their first strategic conference call, officially kicking off their relationship, Sturner added.
A GROWING PRESENCE: Schalke's measures in the U.S. have so far been focused on market-specific content and social media accounts. Its country-specific Twitter account, @s04_us, currently has more than 5,600 followers and continues to increase. There are no immediate plans to bring the first team to the U.S. for a summer preseason tour. Schalke, however, traveled to Florida in January for its annual winter training camp. Leverage will put an emphasis on the grassroots level by using the club's highly regarded youth academy to position Schalke in the U.S. market, Sturner said. The 2014 World Cup-winning German squad included four players from Schalke's academy: Benedikt Höwedes, Julian Draxler, Manuel Neuer and Mesut Özil. "Our team, including Christian Voigt, who worked at Puma for over 10 years, will help Schalke grow its brand in the U.S.," Sturner said. Voigt will be one of the heads on the account for Leverage. He will be part of an eight-member staff set to work on the Schalke account. With more than 145,000 members, Schalke is the fourth largest sports club in the world and second largest in the Bundesliga after Bayern Munich in terms of membership. Leverage previously worked with Premier League side Everton.
