How did strong client relationships open doors to the 2006 World Cup?

Success through partnership

Here we have a clear reference to my life."How did close relationships with clients open the doors for you to the 2006 World Cup?" Yes, that was a solid achievement in my career.

From 2000 to 2002, I worked in Daimler's bus division.

Well, just before 2006 we had already had the chance to provide buses for the national team in the championships which took place in Germany.

It was very interesting to us, building the Mercedes buses.

Unfortunately, there was another main sponsor, Hyundai,which held the transportation rights. We were clearly a nuisance to them, whenever they saw a vehicle with a star on the streets of Germany,carrying world-famous football teams.

We were practically out of the business as a corporation,and then I reached out to a client of ours in Munich who knew me well,and with whom… Well, we both came up with an idea that,against all odds,allowed us to get back into FIFA through the back door.

We managed to bring in buses from our second brand, Setra,by presenting the idea that we weren't just going to supply buses,but also made our drivers train intensively in safety,installed safety features in the buses,that were beyond the standard,used eco-friendly engines in those vehicles,and ensured multiple backup options so that if a bus carrying the players broke down, it could be quickly replaced allowing the team to reach their destination.

All of that convinced FIFA.They said: "Perfect, in that case the central Daimler corporation can take care of the teams' transportation." And, at that moment, we sold 32 vehicles to a consortium of three clients in Germany who had successfully managed a FIFA World Cup.

I have a very strong connection with football.You said you had a personal connection with it,is it the same on your private life?

No, I only played football as a kid, but it's true that through my work I've always been connected to football,to the teams,to the companies which managed club transportation in the Bundesliga and to those with whom we built the buses to transport the teams.

What have you learned from football that has been useful personally or in your career?

The only thing I've learned from football is that it's become a very professional business which gave me good opportunities to pursue additional business.

It was always important to me, finding opportunities to sell products that perhaps wouldn't… The opportunities that you don't notice right away.

The thing is,those opportunities almost always came up during conversations with clients and bus company executives,who told me what they wanted to do in the sense of where...

where they saw a good chance to keep growing.And we tried to support those business owners on their journey and drive both the client's and the business' success.

Certainly, working with such powerful partners helps strengthen your own brand.

Yes, I've been absolutely lucky to have had the chance to work with a market leader, Mercedes-Benz.

But with the second brand, Setra,we had another product in our portfolio that could attract tourist buses clients and executives who had long-distance coaches.

This is because it's part of a more luxurious kind of tourist buses.

Setra is even above Mercedes-Benz when it comes to coaches.

At first, that challenge probably seemed like a completely surreal opportunity, right?

The 2006 FIFA World Cup challenge? Yes, definitely.

It felt surreal, because back then I was in charge of Setra not Mercedes.

And my colleague in charge of Mercedes had his proposal rejected and came back saying: "We have no chance of placing our products here." And the good thing for me was that, at the beginning,I wasn't involved in that issue at all.

But thanks to client contacts, especially the one in Munich,I found a way that could give me the opportunity to get our own products out on the streets after all,through the World Cup.

And we achieved more than that.