Published on October 10th, 2025
Location: Germany
Unilever and SPORTFIVE Launch Partnership for Brand Activation in the Football Environment
Unilever and the international sports marketing agency SPORTFIVE announce their partnership. The aim of this collaboration is to drive brand activation both in the context of the German men’s and women’s national teams and at major international football events such as the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in the USA and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™ in Brazil. At the heart of the cooperation is the emotional and sustainable staging of Unilever’s personal care brands, including Rexona, Dove, Axe, and others.
Both companies are pursuing a holistic activation strategy that goes far beyond traditional sponsorship measures. By leveraging the emotional power of football, they aim to create brand experiences that connect people around the globe.
Karsten Bentlage, Senior Vice President at SPORTFIVE, explains:
“The launch of our collaboration with Unilever is a strong sign of trust in the strategic and creative expertise of our Brand Activation unit. We share a common vision with Unilever: to translate the emotional power of football into relevant and authentic brand experiences. We look forward to bringing this partnership to life and building lasting relationships between the brand, consumers, and the community.”
Together, we aim to translate the fascination of sport into inspiring brand experiences that excite, inspire, and connect.
Jonas Kamp, Category Director & Sportsmarketing Lead at Unilever Deutschland
Unilever also sees great potential in this partnership. Jonas Kamp, Category Director & Sports Marketing Lead at Unilever Germany, emphasizes:
“We are excited to work with SPORTFIVE to activate our football partnerships in a holistic and sustainable way. Together, we aim to translate the fascination of sport into inspiring brand experiences that excite, inspire, and connect. This is how we bring our Personal Care brands authentically to the heart of the action and build genuine, lasting relationships with fans and consumers.”
The collaboration includes not only strategic consulting but also the implementation of a wide range of activation measures around the cooperation with the German men’s and women’s national teams – particularly in connection with the upcoming global football tournaments, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in the USA and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™ in Brazil. A special focus will be on developing creative social media campaigns that bring Unilever’s brands authentically onto the digital playing field and enable real interaction with the fan community.
Drawing on many years of experience and proven expertise in Brand Activation, SPORTFIVE develops tailored strategies and innovative concepts to effectively stage brands in the sports environment and anchor them sustainably with target audiences.
Unilever operates in over 190 countries, offering food, personal care products, detergents, and household cleaners that are used by around 3.4 billion people every day.
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About SPORTFIVE
SPORTFIVE is a global sports marketing agency that delivers customer-centric solutions based on trust and transparency, deep industry experience and global relationships, digital intelligence and innovation. SPORTFIVE strategically and creatively connects brands, rightsholders, media platforms and fans to create and enable contemporary partnerships in sports.
While creating and growing long-term value for all, SPORTFIVE often leads the sports business into the future through innovative digital solutions and strives to be the most progressive and respected partner in sports.
Being at the centre of professional sport SPORTFIVE will use its unique position, in order to make a positive contribution to sustainability and to live up to the social and economic duty and responsibility, which sport and consequently all parties involved, also have. SPORTFIVE operates with a global mindset and network of over 1,200 local experts based in 15 countries around the world, active in Football, Golf, Handball, Motorsport, Esports, Cricket, Tennis, American Football, Basketball, Hockey, Rugby, Olympics and Multi-Sport Events, Wintersports and many more.
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About UNILEVER
Unilever is a leading global consumer goods company. The company operates in over 190 countries, offering food, personal care products, detergents, and household cleaners that are used by around 3.4 billion people every day. Unilever employs more than 128,000 people worldwide and generated a turnover of €60.8 billion in 2024. In Germany, Unilever is the market leader in the deodorant and shower categories.
For more information about the company, visit http://www.unilever.com and http://www.unilever.de.
Press contacts
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Frederik Festner
Senior Director Marketing Communications
frederik.festner@sportfive.com
