Henkel will be a prominent name at the men’s 72nd World Ice Hockey Championship in Canada from May 2 through to May 18, 2008. The competition involves 16 national teams competing with one another in Halifax and Québec. The German team is playing in Group C together with Finland, Norway and Slovakia. The first game for the German national squad is scheduled for May 3. This year, Henkel will be represented on the hoardings by not only its corporate brand but also the product brands Purex (Laundry Care) and Right Guard (Cosmetics). On view behind the players’ benches, Henkel’s exclusively Canadian brand Le Page (Adhesives) will be particularly closely associated with the fan’s idols.

Last year marked Henkel’s first sponsorship of the International Ice Hockey Federation when it supported the men’s World Championship in Russia. Ice hockey is particularly popular – and widely played – in countries such as record world champions Canada, in Russia and the USA, in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and also the Nordic countries, especially Sweden and Finland, not to mention in Germany. The total number of ice hockey spectators attending games during a season in these countries often well exceeds the number of soccer spectators.

The Ice Hockey World Championship is currently Henkel’s most internationally aligned sponsorship. The wide interest generated among fans throughout the world makes this sport particularly attractive for Henkel.

In line with the company’s sponsoring strategy, it offers an excellent platform for increasing the awareness of the Henkel corporate brand and further expanding Henkel’s prominence, especially in North America this time around. Hence, the product brands Purex, Right Guard and Le Page, well known in North America particularly, are appearing in an important supportive role.

For many years now, Henkel has been involved in a range of sporting events at national and international level. This manufacturer of branded consumer goods is also a sponsor of the DEG Metro Stars in Germany’s top ice hockey league, a club that it has been supporting for over 12 years. And Henkel is involved in more local activities in the Düsseldorf area of Germany, sponsoring for example the Henkel Race Day, and specifically the “Preis der Diana” [Diana Oaks], as well as the Tennis World Team Cup. Other international sporting events that this brand marketer has put its name to include the World Handball Championship and the Beach Volley Ball Grand Slam Tournaments in Paris and Klagenfurt (Austria).

With the Henkel Smile corporate sponsorship program, Henkel also regularly supports projects, organizations and initiatives in the sporting arena. This year, for example, Henkel donated 15,000 euros to the Canadian aid program KidSport™. The program was established in 1993 in order to enable financially disadvantaged children to participate in organized sporting events. To date, KidSport™ has helped more than 50,000 children in this way.

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA
Head of Corporate Communications
Ernst Primosch, Corporate Vice President