Stuttgart Want To Learn From The Atlanta Falcons Experience In Berlin

Atlanta Falcons fans in Berlin ahead of the NFL game against the Indianapolis Colts. Bundesliga club Stuttgart wants to learn from the NFL experience in Germany. (Photo by Sebastian Gollnow/picture alliance via Getty Images)

dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images

Maybe it wasn’t the perfect weekend on the pitch for the Atlanta Falcons as they lost their first game in Germany to the Indianapolis Colts 25-31 in Berlin. But off the pitch, it was an important lesson for the National Football League club in growing its brand abroad. The same can be said about Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart, with whom the Falcons have an informal relationship.

Although their partnership isn’t set in stone, the two clubs share a few things in common. Car makers Porsche and Mercedes, which are shareholders at VfB Stuttgart, have strong ties to the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia. Porsche Cars North America has its headquarters and the North American Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta.

Mercedes-Benz, in the meantime, has its US corporate headquarters located in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and owns the naming rights to the Falcons’ state-of-the-art arena. “Partnerships are key,” Atlanta Falcons Vice President of Marketing Shannon Joyner said as part of a roundtable ahead of the game in Berlin.

For the Falcons, having local partners like VfB is important. Even if those partnerships aren’t 100% official. “We want to keep that open,” Joyner said. “Other Bundesliga teams have reached out and we’ve had exploratory conversations on how to work together.”

In a sense, that is also how Stuttgart sees it. Not being married to each other means that both entities can cooperate and explore different avenues in each other’s markets. One example is the Falcons training at Union Berlin’s facility before the game at the Olympiastadion and producing social media content with that club at the same time.

Stuttgart, in the meantime, has the freedom to explore other avenues in North America as well. “The US is one of our key markets,” head of international business at VfB Stuttgart, Simon Gubisch, said. “We are looking for multipliers, and American football is probably the biggest multiplier when we speak about cross-sport ideas. Atlanta is our primary hub in the US because of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, so of course, we also speak with the Falcons about cross-board promotion.”

The way both entities grow their brands, however, is a bit different. The NFL, for example, has a concerted effort to push the sport into the German market. Although only the Falcons and Colts were playing, nine other teams were on the ground throughout the weekend, with activations and events across the city of Berlin.

“A rising tide lifts all boats,” Joyner said when asked about the approach. Although it means the Falcons have to compete with 10 other NFL teams that have signed up for the German market, the joint approach is something the league feels will help the sport grow.

“We are very much in the awareness-building engagement-focused phase,” Joyner said. “We are a business, and transparent about that, but the monetization will track after the brand awareness or brand building. It isn’t a short-term proposition. This is a long-term commitment investment that we are having here.”

That’s one lesson Stuttgart has taken away from the way the Falcons have done things in Germany. But unlike the Falcons, Stuttgart can’t just transplant one of its Bundesliga games to the United States. Playing a competitive Bundesliga game is out of the question, and Stuttgart did play a friendly against Köln in Austin in November 2022, which was poorly attended.

The Bundesliga and Stuttgart have taken a lesson from the NFL experience in Berlin, though. “We had a great example during the latest Klassiker,” Gubisch said. “In Blumenau, Brazil, the Bayern versus Dortmund game was broadcast, but the other clubs were also part of the activation. That definitely helps. But what I like most is the creativity in how the NFL activates here in Berlin. So, we definitely need to take a look around and take some notes.”

For both entities, the activation goes way beyond the weekend, however. The NFL is working hard to be present in Germany year-round with different events. Whether it is the Falcons, the Colts, or other clubs with German rights, clubs are now present year-round and like to activate at cultural events like the Oktoberfest in Munich.

The Bundesliga’s approach is certainly similar to the other way around. The Deutsche Fußball Liga, which governs the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga put on events in New York during the Klassiker with German legends. As with the NFL in Germany, a consistent, long-term presence is certainly key.

Stuttgart, however, also has one other ace up its sleeve. “We have an army base close by,” Gubisch said. According to its official homepage, the US Army Garrison Stuttgart has stationed more than 20,000 army personnel in the Stuttgart metropolitan area, and the Bundesliga club views these people as potential club ambassadors.

“I can activate the Americans in Stuttgart, they leave the city in two to three years and they are authentic brand ambassadors back in the US,” Gubisch said. “That’s an important part of our approach.” It is also an approach that offers the kind of authentic fan experience the NFL can deliver in Germany through its regular-season game.

It is also an approach that isn’t unique in Germany. 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Kaiserslautern is taking a similar approach through its large military base at Ramstein.

Stuttgart has perhaps an advantage over Kaiserslautern in recent success. “It was much harder to grow Stuttgart when we weren’t as successful,” former VfB star striker and club ambassador Cacau said. “Last year we played Champions League, then we won the Pokal, now we play Europa League. Being good also makes it easier to sell the brand.”

Still being good isn’t quite good enough. The Bundesliga is the second-richest soccer league, behind only the Premier League. But Stuttgart felt the financial might of English football when they lost star striker Nick Woltemade to Newcastle United this summer.

“The gap isn’t really in the national television deals,” Gubisch said. “It’s those international broadcast deals. That’s where we need to close the gap to the other leagues. Ultimately, the goal of internationalization is to make money. It is a business after all.”

That’s where the Bundesliga and the NFL indeed have the most common ground. Domestically, they are both the number one sports by some margin. To grow, both have to expand their operations abroad. For the NFL, Germany is the biggest and most interesting market in Europe. The Bundesliga, in the meantime, needs North America to succeed.

“At the end, we are all in the same boat,” Gubisch said. “We are trying to grow our business.” That’s certainly true for the Bundesliga and the NFL as they are trying to grow in each other’s markets.