Baden, Austria. Bravery and strength of spirit are especially important in the current challenging times. This applies very much to the organisers of the annual international Beach Volleyball competition held in Baden, in the outskirts of Vienna. Earlier this summer, despite the many challenges they had to deal with, they seized an opportunity to deliver a 1-Star FIVB World Tour event as well as the final stage of the Austrian Beach Volleyball national championships. Their effort has paid dividends, resulting in an all-time record advertising value of their event standing at € 1.7 million.
The result is especially remarkable knowing that the organisers had to make many changes to their initial plans, including moving to a much smaller venue due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place. “We seized the opportunity in this very challenging year,” says Dominik Gschiegl, CEO of Vision05. “There were very few sporting events in general and the Baden Open was one of only a few World Tour tournaments organised since the outbreak of the pandemic. Despite this, the coverage was great and the increase in advertising value of our event – +70% – is just sensational,” he continues.
Usually, the event takes place at the iconic Strandbad, attracting some 25,000 people a year. This time, however, due to the COVID-19 restrictions in place, only 200 fans could have access to the venue set up at the Weilburgpark. There was no party and the organisers had to scale down their entertainment programme – however, the players competing in Baden responded with much enthusiasm and delivered great performances.
After delivering a double-gender 1-Star World Tour event, Baden played host to the final stage of the Austrian Beach Volleyball national championships as well
Robin Seidl/Philipp Waller claimed men’s gold for the host country at the Baden Open – and a week later Clemens Doppler/Alexander Horst and Nadine Strauss/Teresa Strauss secured the national championship titles at the same venue.
Live streaming was available for all matches, with ORF Sport+ providing live broadcasting of the two events from the quarterfinals onwards. This accounted for more than 18 hours of live Beach Volleyball action and 300 articles published across the media dealing with Beach Volleyball in Baden, to go with hundreds of social media posts – and potential 42 million media contacts.
The total advertising value stands at a terrific € 1.7 million, with Beach Volleyball providing a real and much-needed boost to the local economy in Baden as well. The Vision05 team is currently working on plans for next year already. “We are pleased with the sensational advertising value result, which underlines that Beach Volleyball in Baden is a great opportunity for sponsors to get in front of a sport-loving people and to present themselves to an enthusiastic audience,” concludes Gschiegl.
