kicker business solutions

What kicker business solutions does

kicker marketing solutions GmbH (kms), formerly kicker business solutions, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Olympia-Verlag GmbH headquartered in Nürnberg, Germany. The company provides strategic marketing services, creative campaign development, and partnership and account management for the kicker and kicker-sportsworld media brands within the Olympia-Verlag portfolio. Following a January 2026 restructuring, the firm discontinued its external agency operations and refocused exclusively on internal marketing services for Olympia-Verlag brands, while continuing to manage select high-visibility external partnerships such as the Torjägerkanone® für alle campaign with Volkswagen, DFB, and fussball.de.

The business is operated through an in-house Partnership & Account Management team led by Tobias Steinbach, working alongside kicker Media Sales under Director Taygun Karakas. The offering centers on three service modules: core marketing services for Olympia-Verlag brand positioning, Kreativlösungen (creative campaign concepts that extend beyond traditional media bookings), and flagship partnership activations. CEO André Tzschaschel, who concurrently serves as CEO of kicker sportsworld, leads the firm with Director Marketing Stephan Kaban responsible for strategic brand positioning. The firm holds a registered trademark (Torjägerkanone®) tied to its flagship campaign.

The revenue model is sales-led and based on professional services, generating income through creative campaign development, partnership activations, and media bookings for brands seeking to reach German sports audiences. Primary customers are now Olympia-Verlag's internal brand portfolio, with a narrow set of named external partners. With 9 employees and no disclosed revenue, funding, or external investors, the firm operates as a cost-center-style internal marketing unit rather than an independently scaled commercial entity.

Name

kicker business solutions

Legal name

kicker marketing solutions GmbH

Website

https://kicker-business.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

kicker marketing solutions GmbH is a wholly-owned Olympia-Verlag subsidiary that delivers strategic marketing services, creative campaign development, and partnership management for the kicker and kicker-sportsworld sports media brands in Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Media Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Brand Strategy & Creative Services (Design, Content, Social) (MPAKAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creator Partnerships & Sponsorship Sales (Brand Partnerships) (MPAAAHAK)

Keywords

• Sports media marketing
• Brand partnership services
• Creative campaign development
• Partnership account management
• Sports advertising solutions

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Marketing Services Revenue: Revenue generated through marketing and advertising services for brands seeking to reach sports audiences through kicker media properties. Includes creative campaign development, partnership activations, and media bookings.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

kicker marketing solutions GmbH (formerly kicker business solutions) provides strategic marketing services, brand positioning, and creative campaign development for the kicker and kicker-sportsworld media brands within the Olympia-Verlag portfolio. The offering combines an in-house Partnership & Account Management team with kicker Media Sales to design individual cooperations and lighthouse campaigns (such as the Torjägerkanone® für alle initiative) that connect external brand partners with engaged sports audiences.

Product overview

kicker marketing solutions (kms), formerly kicker business solutions, is a marketing services division of Olympia-Verlag that provides strategic marketing services and partnership management for kicker and kicker-sportsworld brands. The offering centers on the core kicker marketing solutions service for brand positioning, supported by Partnership & Account Management for partner relations and Kreativlösungen for creative campaign development. The company also executes flagship campaigns like the 'Torjägerkanone® für alle' with partners including Volkswagen, DFB, and fussball.de.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Partnership & Account Management service

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• VolkswagencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partnership for the 'Torjägerkanone® für alle' campaign - a lighthouse marketing action bringing together Volkswagen, DFB, and fussball.de under the kicker brand umbrella. Volkswagen serves as the main sponsor for this initiative targeting football fans.
• DFB (German Football Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDFB is a key partner in the 'Torjägerkanone® für alle' campaign, providing football federation endorsement and access to German football ecosystem. The partnership enables activation of football-related content and audience engagement.
• fussball.decoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital football platform partner in the 'Torjägerkanone® für alle' campaign, providing digital ecosystem access and online audience reach for partnership activations within the German football community.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• SPORT1: SPORT1 is a German sports media platform operating TV, streaming, and digital channels with significant advertising sales and partnership operations. Its in-house marketing and sponsorship sales functions are comparable in scope to kicker marketing solutions' services.
• DAZN Germany: DAZN is a major sports streaming platform in Germany with its own advertising sales and partnership capabilities. As a broad incumbent in German sports media, it competes for advertising and sponsorship revenue that kicker marketing solutions also targets.
• SPORT BILD (Axel Springer): SPORT BILD is Germany's largest sports media brand and a direct competitor to kicker in football coverage. As a brand with comparable scale and advertiser pull, it anchors the advertising market that kicker marketing solutions sells into and competes with for sponsorship budgets.
• Sky Deutschland (Sports Marketing): Sky Deutschland operates major Bundesliga broadcast rights and runs its own sports advertising and partnership sales operation. It is a broader incumbent that competes for the same sports advertising budgets and partnership opportunities in Germany.

Direct peers

• Infront Sports & Media: Infront is a major sports marketing company that handles media rights distribution, sponsorship sales, and event marketing for football and winter sports properties. Infront's Bundesliga and DFB-aligned work makes it a direct functional peer to kicker marketing solutions' football partnership business.
• Sportfive: Sportfive is a leading global sports marketing agency that sells media rights, sponsorships, and creates brand partnerships for sports properties. It is the most direct comparable to kicker marketing solutions' media sales and creative partnership activation model, with many partnership structures analogous to the kicker/Volkswagen/DFB template.
• Octagon: Octagon is a global sports marketing agency specializing in sponsorship strategy, creative campaigns, and athlete/brand partnerships. Its creative-led sports campaign development and sponsorship activation services directly mirror kicker marketing solutions' Partnership & Account Management offering.
• UFA Sports (UFA Group): UFA Sports operates within the UFA Group handling sports content, marketing, and rights exploitation in Germany. It represents a comparable German-market sports marketing and content monetization operation, particularly around football media.

Regional players

• SPORTTOTAL/ Sporttotal Marketing: Sporttotal is a German sports media and marketing company that combines content production with sponsorship activation. It competes in the same regional German sports marketing ecosystem and operates comparable partnership-driven monetization models.

Others

• DFL (Deutsche Fußball Liga) Marketing: DFL is the organizer of the Bundesliga and itself a major rights and partnership seller. While structurally a league rather than an agency, its sponsorship and brand partnership operations are a key part of the ecosystem kicker marketing solutions serves and monetizes alongside.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kicker-business-solutions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about kicker business solutions