Five months before the opening on 19 June 2010, it is still not clear who will join HSH Nordbank as another premium partner of the world's biggest sailing event.
On 10 November 2006, BMW announced its renewed commitment as a "presenting partner" for a period of three years. This contract expired at the end of Kiel Week 2009, leaving BMW and Kieler Woche Marketing GmbH in a de facto state of no contract.
BMW, however, seemed confident that it would continue its involvement this year, albeit with a limited shuttle service, and somewhat belatedly submitted a draft contract to Kieler Woche Marketing GmbH in November 2009, which was largely similar to that of the previous year. In December, according to BMW, they were informed that there was a counter-offer from a car manufacturer with which the Munich-based company was in direct competition. BMW, who have been using Kieler Woche as a "presenting partner" for marketing purposes since 2003 and have a certain special status due to this title, were deeply irritated by this process, especially as they had enormously increased their presence in the form of a lounge in Schilksee for the last Kieler Woche in order to make the most of the publicity.
Other car manufacturers have also discovered the positive public image of sailing and are trying to utilise the clean and ecological image of this sport for their own purposes. This includes Audi - title sponsor of the Audi MedCup since 2008 and a competitor with whom BMW will probably also be in direct competition for the Kieler Woche advertising platform in the future. In this context, the car manufacturer from Munich has already signalled its willingness to make improvements and refers to a certain loyalty bonus that it has earned in the seven years of cooperation.
It now remains to be seen how the negotiations between Kieler Woche Marketing GmbH and the two car manufacturers will develop. The new or old car sponsor should then be presented by the end of January at the latest, at the Kieler Woche 2010 trade fair appearance at the "Boot" in Düsseldorf.
