This is the 24th time in a row that ŠKODA has supported the IIHF WM as the Main Official Sponsor. In 1992, ŠKODA began their commitment as a vehicle partner to the finals in Prague and Bratislava. The brand has been the Main Official Sponsor at every World Championship since 1993.
ŠKODA provided the organisers with a total of 45 vehicles. Over the past 24 years, the fleet has travelled about six million kilometres during the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championships. The vehicles cover an average of about 250,000 kilometres at each IIHF WM.
ŠKODA presented their model range outside and in the arenas. ŠKODA’s flagship, the SUPERB, and a ŠKODA OCTAVIA Combi RS attracted the attention of the crowds in the immediate vicinity of the rink. The ŠKODA logo featured prominently on the ice at the venues in Moscow and St. Petersburg, on the boards and on the kits and helmets of the Czech and Slovak national teams.
As the Main Official Sponsor, ŠKODA also provided lots of entertainment at the matches: ŠKODA constructed large fan zones of up to 450 square meters in front of the arenas. Thousands of visitors went there every day up close to the ŠKODA models, taking part in exciting duels in the Air Hockey Challenge and Box Hockey. Whoever won in ŠKODA’s Virtual Hockey Challenge – a virtual hockey simulation on large LED screens – received one of ŠKODA’s fantastic prizes. In addition, lots of fun was to be had at the live presentations, quizzes, the ŠKODA mascots and dance routines by the ŠKODA Ice Girls. One of the highlights of each game day was the ‘ŠKODA Fan of the Game’. In total, 128 hockey fans were given exclusive prizes before the respective World Cup matches.
ŠKODA also gave out 132 000 flags and 105 000 helmets with which the supporters were cheering for their countries. In Moscow, visitors to the IIHF World Cup matches had the opportunity to be photographed in front of a spectacular background at the ŠKODA Photobox where they received their personal souvenir photo.
ŠKODA is also exclusive partner of the 2016 IIHF App, which additionally featured ‘HOCKEY CARDS’ this year. More than 43 000 fans used the app to select their favourite team and favourite players to take and share selfies. In addition, skoda-hockey.com featured up-to-date information on the events surrounding the World Championship in Moscow and St. Petersburg – the website recorded a total of 40 000 visitors during the event. The online social-media campaign was met with great response: 1100 photos and 150 videos were posted using the hashtag #itsmygame (#хоккейвкаждом).
