Octagon Marketing have secured a major renewal contract with Europay International to manage their European sponsorship properties.

Under the Europay MasterCard brand, Octagon will provide a complete strategic sponsorship, consultancy, management and exploitation service for Europay International for the company’s sponsorships in the UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup 2002 and Formula One with Jordan Grand Prix team.

Specifically Octagon will construct, develop and implement Pan-European and global promotions for the Europay MasterCard brand which are both solus and in tandem with other partners, as well as servicing all regional markets for the UEFA Champions League and the Jordan Grand Prix project. The build up to and exploitation of the FIFA World Cup 2002 programme will be spearheaded by the management of the Europay ‘World Cup Spokesman’, the most famous name in football-Pele.

Patrick Simeons, Sponsorship Manager of Europay International said, ‘This announcement is confirmation of our belief in strategic marketing through sports and it follows our unqualified success in Euro 2000 and already in this season’s UEFA Champions League. The renewal of our contract with Octagon is a reaffirmation of our confidence in their ability to create, service and deliver real business benefits to our brand’.

Paul Vaughan, Executive Senior Vice-President of Octagon Marketing said ‘Europay MasterCard is a major blue chip brand. We are not only delighted to be retained by them but are excited by the prospect of guiding their Formula One and Football activities through to the 2002 World Cup’.

For further information, please contact:

Jolyon Armstrong. Tel: 0207 862 0105. Fax:0207 862 0001. E-mail: jolyon.armstrong@octagon.com.

Patrick Simeons. Tel: 00 322 352 5918. Fax: 00 322 352 5645. E-mail: psi@europay.com.