EURO 2008 was the biggest sporting event of the year in Europe. Millions of German football fans applied for the 14,000 tickets available with the German Football Association DFB. For all the fans who were not lucky enough to secure a ticket in this lottery, viagogo.de offered a legal and safe alternative to experience the live atmosphere in the stadiums in Austria and Switzerland.

By means of a reputation and sales-enhancing issue management campaign for viagogo.de in the context of the EURO 2008 (January to July 2008), we positioned the company as the key place to buy football tickets. As a result, a substantial shift in published opinion was reached and more than 100 clippings/mentions were achieved. On viagogo.de, fans bought EURO 2008 tickets worth several million Euros.

We started the media approach early in January 08 and continued the permanent media work over the next six months. Clippings were generated throughout the whole campaign. Some of the topics we successfully deployed were:• The start of the ticket application phase.• The end of the ticket application phase.• The 100 day countdown before the start of EURO 2008.

• The announcement of the German national team.• Availability of last-minute tickets for matches.• Sale of tickets for German matches.By means of an intensive issue management campaign we stressed the following topics:• We informed the public/football fans that there we represented a legal and safe option where they could buy tickets.• Positioned Viagogo as a fan advocate via UEFA, who argued against ticket resale.• Stressed the safeguards and guarantees of Viagogo in comparison to eBay and others.• Positioned Viagogo Country Manager as an expert in the media.• Marginalised other aggressive competitors (e.g. Seatwave).

Timing, a strong set of legally-backed arguments, and a proactive media approach that took issue developments into account were the decisive success factors. In January and February 08 - at the beginning and the end of the official application phase for the tickets - we achieved essential print and TV coverage. After that, viagogo was known among journalists, who kept asking us for a statement on this issue.During the seven months of our campaign, Viagogo was featured in all key media and became the synonym for secondary ticketing. In nearly all reports, Viagogo Country Manager Daniel Nathrath was quoted as the only representative of the secondary ticket market.

• In total, more than 100 reports and articles in print, online, radio and TV were written about the company.• Print circulation: nearly 30 Mio.• Radio / TV coverage: Nearly 10 Mio.• Media value: 750,000€The campaign was also a massive sales-enhancing measure for Viagogo. For EURO 2008, football fans purchased tickets for several million Euros on the platform.