Professional Documents
Culture Documents
UCL Promotion Guidelines
UCL Promotion Guidelines
Promotional Guidelines
Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Approval Process 4
General Principles 6
Partner Guidelines 10
Issuer promotions 12
Merchant promotions 15
Media promotions 18
Product Integration 19
Social Media 23
Match footage and imagery 25
Asset Overview 29
Appendix 35
• This document outlines key promotional guidelines covering the three core
promotional partner types: issuers, merchants and media.
• The document also covers key guidelines for new elements of the contract,
Approval Process
Approval Process
• All usage of the UEFA Champions League name & marks MUST be submitted for UEFA approval.
• Kindly note that UEFA is entitled to spend up to 10 business days before providing their feedback (this excludes the time Mastercard will spend in
reviewing the creative material).
• To submit promotions for approval, or if you have any questions on the content of this document, please contact the following email address:
uclapprovals@octagon.com
• All artworks are available through the UCL/MC toolkit. Please contact Sebastien Watteyne sebastien.watteyne@mastercard.com
IMPORTANT NOTES:
• Due to a change in our Corporate Sharefile security settings, please provide the e-mail addresses for everyone that needs to receive the artwork when
you request it.
• Please also confirm which promotion the request is for and whether the images are for digital and/or print usage.
• If you do not provide this information at the time of your request, the response will be delayed.
• When submitting an item for approval, please put the following in the copy of your email:
- Market: (e.g. UK)
- Partner: (e.g. Santander)
• In the attachment, please add the completed Promotions Approval Form and one presentation with all the creatives and English translations
included
©2018 MASTERCARD. PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL 5
Section 3
General Principles
General Principles
• UEFA shall not grant approval where a promotional partner is a competitor of (a) any UCL Sponsor or (b) any official UCL content
distributor partner
• There cannot be any third party branding / reference / prizes (i.e. a non-UCL sponsor) in the promotion.
• Issuer, merchant and media logos cannot sit on top of UCL artwork and must be in a clearly separate banner
• The name and / or logo of a promotional partner shall be positioned to ensure that Mastercard is clearly the sponsor of UCL by use
of the following terminology “Mastercard, official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, in association with (promotional
partner), presents…”
• Tickets cannot be sold but rather included in a package or as a prize and provided ‘free of charge’, courtesy of Mastercard.
• Full competition names must be used and cannot be translated into local languages:
• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Super Cup
• UEFA Futsal Champions League Finals
• UEFA Youth League
• “UEFA Champions League” should be written all on one line where possible and full stage names should be used:
• UEFA Champions League Group Stage 2018/19
• UEFA Champions League Round of 16 2018/19
• UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2018/19
• UEFA Champions League Semi-Final 2018/19
• If relevant to the Final, the official UCL Final designation is included - UEFA Champions League Final Madrid 2019. In addition, “Final” is
spelt with a capital “F ”.
• Official club and stadium names must be used. No third party naming partner such as the Allianz or Wanda Metropolitano can be
mentioned.
• The trademark must be used when referring to the card itself, for example: “Use your Mastercard® card and get a chance to win UEFA
Champions League tickets!”
• Full list of official designations can be found in the Terminology section of the Appendix.
©2018 MASTERCARD. PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL 8
Visuals and Logos
• The correct UCL logo, brand elements (no recolouring) and current How to use approved sponsorship
adidas matchball images should be integrated. composite logos:
• For all promotions, the promotional material must include the Official Sponsor
Mastercard / UCL, UCLF or USC composite logo
• Mastercard only promotions
• Composite logos may be translated into other local/regional
languages - subject to Mastercard and UEFA approval.
• The black background composite is encouraged to align with brand Official Card
positioning. • Promotions with issuers
• The size of the promotional partner (issuers, merchants and media • Promotions with merchants
partners) logos must not exceed the size of the Mastercard logo in (preferred usage option)
the composite mark. • Point of sale where Mastercard is
the only payment option
• Mastercard shall be positioned at least as prominently as the
• Issuer, merchant and media logos cannot sit on top of UCL • Point of sale where Mastercard is a
artwork and must be in a clearly separate banner payment option
Partner Guidelines
UCL Official Partners 2018-2019
Co-promotions with the other UCL partners are strongly encouraged. No promotions with competitors of UCL partners are allowed and their brand
cannot be seen in any creative.
Replacing Unicredit, but doesn’t stop Mastercard from running promotions with
Banking banks. If a market wants to offer exclusivity of pass through rights with one
issuer, must be checked with Santander
Sony Mobile have not renewed for the current cycle, PlayStation in combined
Computer Consoles and Gaming
‘Digital Life’ sponsorship deal.
Payment Services and Digital Wallets Prevents other partners activating with Visa, Amex etc.
PepsiCo activate Pepsi Max, Lays & Gatorade brands. Prevents promotions with
Soft Drinks, Water and Snacks
Coca-Cola, Powerade, Pringles etc.
Official Matchball Supplier Prevents promotions with Nike, Under Armour, Puma etc.
• There are no longer any restricted markets, so issuer promotions can be run in all markets
• Promotions in association with issuers must include a clear link with the Mastercard product through usage or acquisition. For example:
‘Spend x amount on your Mastercard ® to win..’ OR ‘Sign up to for the new Mastercard ® issued by X to win…’
• Mastercard shall be positioned as prominently as, or at least on an equal basis as the issuer. Mastercard must appear as the hero of
the promotion and it must be clear that they are providing the UCL assets. The sentence ‘Tickets are courtesy of Mastercard, Official
Sponsor of the UEFA Champions League’ must be clearly visible on any issuer promotion creative
• Mastercard must be mentioned before the issuer i.e. “Use your Mastercard® card issued by Exim Bank and get a chance to enter into
the UEFA Champions League ticket draw!”
• The promotion creative should include (i) an image of the Mastercard product and (ii) a mention of its benefits.
• The promotional material should include appropriate disclaimers to advise that the promotion is only targeted at consumers located in
the target territory.
Communication Channels
• In all countries, promotions carried out with issuers can be conducted via all channels: print media, radio, Internet, POS, TV, outdoor,
social media platforms (approved platforms only), etc.
• The promotion can be placed on a third party (other than the issuer) website as long as no association between the third party and the
UCL is created (i.e. Promotional message must be appear “separated” from the content of the third party website).
Promotional Agreements
• Mastercard can, if it wishes to, offer the opportunity to an issuer to enter into an exclusive agreement or arrangement in their market.
• If Mastercard enters a promotional agreement in respect of a particular territory or region, Mastercard has the right to use the
following designation: “Mastercard, official sponsor of the UEFA Champions League, in association with (name of issuer), Mastercard’s
exclusive banking partner in (name of region or territory).
• Please contact the Sponsorships team if you are planning an agreement, as Santander must be notified.
Promotions can be run with all merchant partners apart from competitors of UCL partners, listed on p.11
Promotions with merchants must be built upon (i) usage and / or (ii) acqusition/issuance.
• Card usage and/or card acquisition promotions of a Mastercard product are allowed in all territories
• Card usage promotions with a merchant that is also an issuer are allowed
Communication Channels
• Promotions carried out in connection with merchants can be conducted via all channels: print media, radio, internet, point of sales, TV,
outdoor, social media (approved social media platforms only), etc.
Exclusive Partnerships
• Partnerships conducted exclusively with one merchant (except adidas) in one or more countries require UEFA’s prior approval and
must respect the following restrictions:
• In a promotion conducted in association with a group/conglomerate of Merchants (e.g. Payback, Thomas Cook Group in Germany), a
reference to the different Merchants being part of this group/conglomerate can be integrated in the promotional material in a text
form only (i.e. no third party logo’s can appear).
• MC/UCL Composite logo must be bigger or at or least equal to merchant logo. Also it is ideally placed on top the UCL background.
• Creating a new MC/UCL – merchant logo is not allowed and the merchant logo cannot to be close to the composite. Merchant logo
cannot be on top of UCL artwork
• Mastercard can run promotions in connection with newspapers/magazines, radio stations and bona fide news media.
• Promotions in association with media partners can be built on all kinds of promotion mechanics but should ideally focus on a clear link
with the Mastercard product (e.g. card usage, card acquisition, brand awareness campaign focussing on a particular Mastercard
product, etc.). A clear product link as part of the promotion mechanic is however not mandatory.
• Via the printed publication • On their Internet website, and must be approved by UEFA on a
case-by-case basis
• Via the website of the publication
• On the Internet: via the audio channel available on the website • Promotions with non-UCL broadcasters are not permitted.
of the radio station.
Mastercard has the right to develop an affinity card with issuers and merchants, in all territories.
Any name or logo of an issuer or merchant featured on an affinity product shall be positioned/used in such
a way so as to ensure that it is clear that Mastercard (and not the promotional partner) is the sponsor of
the competition.
Creative Guidelines
• The name or logo of the issuer or merchant is not bigger than the Mastercard logo and the UCL logo
• The name or logo of the relevant issuer or merchant shall not be positioned close or adjacent to the
Mastercard logo featured on the Affinity Product
• The following designation is always used immediately below the name or logo of the relevant brand
featured on the affinity product: “Mastercard is the Official Card of the UEFA Champions League”
• An appropriate composite logo shall be featured on the reverse side of the affinity product
• NOTE: Affinity cards with a merchant are now possible in all markets
• Please refer to the image toolkit for further guidelines and examples of artwork available or reach out
to sebastien.watteyne@mastercard.com
Digital Wallets are now exclusive to Mastercard’s product category agreement, Mastercard may:
• Refer to the Official Digital Wallet of the UEFA Champions League
• Mastercard can promote the Masterpass brand in connection with Digital Wallets in respect of both usage and issuance. Mastercard
can say:
– “ Use your Masterpass wallet wherever you see this sign, and win tickets…”
– “ Register your Masterpass and win tickets…”
• Any promotion related to usage can focus on payment/purchase functionality. Mastercard can say:
– “ Pay with your Masterpass wallet wherever you see this sign, and win tickets…”
• Mastercard can run a joint promotion with a bank to promote a Masterpass / bank Digital Wallet.
• Both Mastercard and a bank (e.g. Santander) can say: “Pay with your Santander Masterpass Digital Wallet and win tickets…”
• A bank can only promote its own non-Masterpass branded Digital Wallet if it references the Masterpass brand in the communications.
• A bank can say: “Pay with your Masterpass-enabled ABC Digital Wallet and win tickets…”
• Mastercard cannot promote banking products and / or services in connection with Masterpass / bank Digital Wallet nor make generic
reference to this Digital Wallet.
• Mastercard nor the bank can say: “Check your current account balance via your Santander Masterpass and win tickets … “
• Mastercard can, together with a merchant, carry out promotions for the issuance and / or use of a Masterpass Digital Wallet in
connection with merchants, expect with part of a merchant’s business which is also a financial institution.
• Both Mastercard and a merchant (e.g. Dixons) can say: “Pay for your purchase at Dixons with your Masterpass digital wallet for a
chance to win…”
• Mastercard cannot create a Masterpass Digital Wallet jointly with a merchant that features any UCL-related branding.
• Mastercard can leverage social media platforms that are approved by UEFA:
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Foursquare
Tumblr
Google+
Instagram
WeChat
• Should you wish to leverage a channel that is not in the above list, please inform the
Approvals team via the following address: uclapprovals@octagon.com
• Note: use of social media to conduct a UCL promotion must always include a composite logo
• The official UEFA Champions League name can be shortened on social media, i.e. @Championsleague, #UCL and #uclfinal
• The official club names must be used at all times except on Twitter official club Twitter accounts designation can be used, i.e. @PSG
• The UEFA Champions League competition name cannot be used in a different language
• Mastercard can run a UCL promotion on the following Social Media channels/pages:
– Dedicated Mastercard page or channel
– On a page or channel of another official UEFA Champions League rights holder, e.g. broadcaster or licensee
– On a page or channel of an approved promotional partner
• The use of UEFA.com XML feed on Approved Platforms is not allowed, however, Mastercard may post links to content on UEFA.com and
associate this link to a relevant thumbnail image (e.g. linking to the latest Play of the Day video voting poll on UEFA.com)
Use of UCL match footage is allowed providing the following conditions are adhered
to:
• Use of footage has to be directly linked to a promotion, e.g. ‘’Check out our Player Mascot
experience at last night’s game!”
• All film / video footage needs to be shared with UEFA for approval and include “©UEFA.
2018 all right reserved”
• Clearance of IP rights for players, clubs, stadium is the responsibility of Mastercard
• Mastercard/UEFA Champions League composite logo must be added
• New: If a video is under 2 minutes match footage can make up 100% of the video. If the
video is over 2 minutes match footage can only make up 50% of the overall video.
Use of UCL imagery is allowed providing the following conditions are adhered to:
• Clearance of IP rights for players, clubs, stadium are the responsibility of Mastercard
• Mastercard/UEFA Champions League composite logo must be added
• Images of Player Mascots can only be used providing signed approval of a parent/guardian
• Images from the official photographer Getty can also be used for promotional purposes
providing:
– “©UEFA. 2018 all right reserved” must be added
– Pictures featuring an action between two teams or a general stadium view with more than 4
player don’t need image right clearance (for player, team and stadium)
– No third party brands can be visible, only other partners
• A premium is an item bearing the Mastercard logo together with the UEFA Champions League logo or a
composite logo which is given away free of charge or sold at or below cost price for advertising and/or
promotional purposes. It must be approved by UEFA and Mastercard must receive the creatives/BAT for
approval before the production can be launched.
Official Sponsors may use premiums free of royalty fees, subject to the following guidelines:
• All conditions regarding the use of the UEFA Champions League logo shall apply
• Official Sponsor shall not use products from competitive companies of other Official Sponsors as premiums
• Official Sponsors shall prevent the premiums from being used by third parties including companies
competitive to Official Sponsors
• The manufacturer of premiums and other third parties shall not be entitled to any identification on premiums
Asset Overview
Asset Guidelines
Player Escorts
• Asset available as of MD1, home regions strongly encouraged to fill in all 22 spots for
each match - for promotional purposes only
• The market can choose either 2 either 22 PE spots.
• Available to all regions upon request and availability (hosting region to secure enough
tickets in case of activation by other regions).
Memorabilia Kit
The Mastercard Memorabilia Kit programme offers two UCL branded bags with items which otherwise cannot
be purchased. The bags need to be collected from UEFA at the UCL office onsite, post-match. May be exploited
by Mastercard across 20 matches per season. The list of items could include but are match dependant:
• UCL branded water bottle
Theatre of Champions
UCL HD movie spectacle including the best clubs, best players, champions and most touching moments of the UEFA Champions League history
lasting for app. 30min. An exclusive event needs to be created with supporting programme in suitable setting . Upon request, UEFA can make
memorabilia items available to support the overall Theatre of Champions movie experience. The Theatre of Champions cannot be:
• Presented as a Tour
• Only relevant costs to activate the Trophy is transportation of the Trophy. Backdrop & Plinths are available for usage but shipment cost
must be covered by markets
• Security is not mandatory (depending on the context of the activation, but if hired, this would be an additional cost as well as any
damages).
Appendix
Official UCL Broadcasters
UEFA are in the process of updating their official broadcasters. Please contact uclapprovals@octagon.com
UEFA are in the process of updating their official broadcasters. Please contact uclapprovals@octagon.com
• Affinity Product: a sponsor product which : bears or incorporates (to the exclusion of all other logos or brands): (i) a Logo and / or any
UEFA-approved Competition-related branding elements; (ii) a Sponsor Brand and / or Sponsor Logo; and (iii) the name and / or logo of
a Financial Institution or merchant
• Composite Logo: any logo combining (i) a logo of UCL (ii) a Mastercard logo and (iii) a Designation
Payment System :
• (A) any payment instrument (e.g. any ATM card, Charge card, credit card, debit card, stored-value card, electronic benefit transfer
card, pre-paid card, or payroll card), whether in physical form ( such as plastic or, a smart-wear device whose primary functionality
is payment related) or in intangible form.
• (B) any Sponsor-controlled network (e.g. any transaction communication network), Sponsor-controlled network system (e.g. any
card authorisation / acceptance system), Sponsor-controlled network service (e.g. any ATM Network service , charge card network
service, credit card network service or debit card network service), which, in each case, enables the holder of the payment
instrument to:
– Effect the transfer of funds to make a payment or purchase and / or
– Access the relevant payment instrument account (e.g. for the purposes of making a deposit, withdrawal, payment, balance
enquiry or inter-account transfer)
– Payment System excludes any hardware platform or device (e.g. mobile telephone , personal computer or tablet) or
telecommunications platform (e.g. a mobile telephone network or the internet) on or via which any Payment System operates.