Ep.001 Athlete Story Podcast

How to get sponsored – for athletes. A chat with international sports marketing expert to uncover what companies want from a sports sponsorhip.

What are the most common mistakes that athletes make when pitching a sponsor? And what are companies actually looking for when deciding whether or not to sign a sponsorship deal? Those are some of the questions you will get the answer to in this episode of the For Athletes series. You will meet a real sport marketing expert from the corporate world who’s been dealing with world class sponsorships for the past 30 years, Keld Strudahl.

There is so much great information and insight in this interview, but don’t worry about taking notes okay, I’ve done it all for you. All you have to do is head on over here where you can download an overview of all the main takeaways about how to get sponsored from this session delivered to you as part of Athlete Story.

Today’s guest is former Global Marketing Director for the Carlsberg Breweries- Keld Strudahl. He took the Carlsberg brand into sports marketing way back in the early 1990s and then for the following 22 years, together with the marketing team, he fulfilled and nurtured their international sport marketing strategy.

Now, for the past six years he’s been acting as an independent sports marketing strategist and consultant through his own company called Brand Activators. He uses his unique experience to help sports properties – that’s what you call things like the UEFA, international clubs, federations and athletes on the one side and then big brands and corporations who need advice in executing a sponsor strategy on the other side.

I was lucky to meet Keld in one of his favorite places on a beautiful day in this world rowing club of Humlebæk just North of Copenhagen Denmark. A short break he had just after the World Championships in ice hockey, and the Champions League… which are just some of the clients that he’s working with!

If you like this show, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review. I also invite you to come over to my blog at https://www.anjabolbjerg.com/blog

You can also watch a (somewhat shorter) version of this interview on video here.

Keld Strudahl is a sports marketing and sponsorship strategist. He works as a consultant for either side of the sponsorship contract (sponsor or sports property/athlete) from a company he founded in 2012, called Brand Activators.Before that, he worked as the Global Marketing Director for the Carlsberg Breweries for 22 years and was the prime motor behind Carlsberg’s international sports marketing strategy and sponsorship activation and execution.