Aarhus GF
40% increase in new sponsorships in just 12 months
Background
AGF is a football club located in Aarhus, Denmark's second-largest city. The club plauts its home matches at Ceres Park Arena, one of the country's largest stadiums, with a capacity of approx. 20,000 spectators. Founded in 1880, AGF is among the oldest football clubs in Denmark and has built a strong a recognisable brand across Scandinavia. The club is also one of the most sucessful in Danish football hisotry, having won five national championships and a record nine Danish Cup titles.
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AGF's most notable European achivements came in 1961, when the club reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, before being eliminated by SL Benfica, and again in 1989, when AGF reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup of Winners' Cup, where they were knocked out by FC Barcelona.
Torben Nygaard
Sales Director, AGF / Aarhus Elite
Digital transformation is the right word to use after having implemented Clubtimiser.
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We have gone from numerous manual processes to having automated large parts of our value chain. We now have an overview of our sponsors, we know them better and know exactly when to re-sign sponsorships.
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Our sales staff have more time for selling. And after implementing Clubtimiser, we have seen an increase of 40% in new sponsorships just within 12 months.
The Challenge: A Successful Business Requires More Structure
In recent years, AGF has experienced strong commercial growth and today works with more than 400 sponsors. While this growth is a success, the increasing number of sponsors also introduced significant operational challenges.
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At AGF, the large sponsor base resulted in vast amounts of data. One of the main challenges was gaining a clear and shared overview of sponsors. Some account managers managed sponsor information in Excel spreadsheets, while others relied on Microsoft Outlook. Over time, sponsor data became scattered across the organization.
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As a result, information was not shared consistently, knowledge about sponsors was fragmented, and the club faced serious challenges when it came to tracking contract durations and knowing when sponsorships needed to be renewed.
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Additional challenges included managing pre-game events and handling sponsor exposure, such as fixed boards and LED boards in the stadium. The club struggled to maintain an overview of which sponsors would attend pre-game events and which sponsors were allocated exposure through various advertising assets.
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Together, these challenges highlighted the need for a more structured, centralized, and professional approach to sponsor management.
The Solution
Digital Transformation with an Industry-Specific CRM Solution
​Clubtimiser is an industry-specific, end-to-end solution designed for professional sports clubs. Built on the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform, it helps clubs address common challenges across the commercial value chain, including sponsor management, sales processes, events, and exposure planning. The solution integrates seamlessly with existing systems such as ERP platforms and webshops.
“After implementing Clubtimiser, we have taken a major step forward in our digital transformation. We now have a complete overview of our sponsors, with all data managed and stored in one central system and shared across the entire organization. This has given us far better insight into our sponsors and their different types of sponsorships. We know exactly when sponsorship agreements need to be renewed, and we have full control over how sponsor exposure is managed during matches.
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In addition, we have eliminated the logistical challenges related to pre-game events. We now use the marketing automation tools in Clubtimiser to send invitations, allowing sponsors to log into a portal and register themselves. This gives us a precise overview of attendance and catering needs for each event, enabling us to optimize logistics and significantly reduce costs”
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- Torben Nygaard, AGF
This transformation has enabled AGF to professionalize its sponsor management, improve internal collaboration, and operate more efficiently across commercial and event-related activities.​
Increased sales efficiency
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Freeing up time for sales staff
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40% increase in new sponsorships within 12 months
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Direct effect of positive impact on earnings
Improved sponsor management
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Complete overview of sponsors in single system
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Improved knowledge-sharing on sponsor mgmt.
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Improved handling of sponsorship renewals
Results
Optimised event logistics
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Personalised event invitations to sponsors
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Better overview of participants and logistics
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Reduced procurement costs
Automated processes
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Automation of numerous manual process
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Improved overall business operations
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Modernised workflows
