Hankook Tire and S.S.C. Napoli announce their partnership

• Hankook Tire Italia and the Serie A football club ‘Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli’ (S.S.C. Napoli) announced their partnership agreement during a press conference on 13th September at S.S.C. Napolis athletic facilities in Castel Volturno. The sponsorship of the popular first-League Club will initially comprise of two seasons until 2020-21. The contract gives the premium tyre manufacturer a strong presence within the Series A audience. Hankook Tire uses sponsorship activities successfully all over the world to further increase awareness of the brand in the European market.

Sesto San Giovanni, Italy, 13th September 2018 - Ahead of the second home match this Season, Hankook Tire Italia and the professional Serie A football club, the top tier of Italian football, S.S.C. Napoli announce their partnership agreement. As one of the best clubs in Italy, the sponsorship with S.C.C. Napoli will offer Hankook Tire, for the next two years, a broad fan base to extend their brand awareness in Italy and address a huge number of potential customers through the emotional vehicle of football. With effect from the start of the 2018-19 season, the commitment will initially extend until the 2020-21 finals. The established club, founded in 1926, has won Serie A twice, and been runners-up six times. They have also won the Coppa Italia five times, the Supercoppa Italiana twice, and have been winners of the 1988–89 UEFA Cup.

Carlo Citarella, Managing Director of Hankook Tire Italia comments: "Football has a long tradition in Italy and is a fixed part of Hankook Tire’s sports marketing strategy. The signing of today’s sponsorship agreement with S.S.C. Napoli is a matter that is very close to my heart and which bears a high strategic importance for Hankook Tire, especially for the south of Italy".

Commenting on the announcement, Alessandro Formisano, Head of Operations, Sales & Marketing of S.S.C Napoli said: "I’m really proud of this partnership agreement signed with Hankook Tire Italia, the established and innovative tyre manufacturer’s brand and marketing philosophy perfectly fits our club".

The agreement will have a duration of two years and will remain in force until May 2020. The Serie A Championship officially started on 18th of August, and Hankook Tire is awaiting an exciting season with its new partner.

Hankook Tire is original fitment manufacturer to Audi, BMW, Ford, Hyundai, KIA, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Porsche, Seat, Scania, Skoda and Volkswagen among others, and is well established with its premium products in the automotive sector. In terms of its marketing strategy, the tyre manufacturer relies on a multi-level concept which is made up of local, continental and global sponsoring commitments. This way, individual market situations can be integrated in an optimum way and customer loyalty and the visibility of the brand can be supported through specific measures. Thus, for example, Hankook Tire has been a global sponsor of Real Madrid C.F. since 2016 and is involved in the UEFA Europa League throughout Europe. On a local level, Hankook Tire recently announced its partnership with AS Monaco; the German subsidiary sponsors Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, while the Czech branch sponsors Sparta Prague and the Russian Hankook Tire office Spartak Moscow.