He operates at the intersection of sales, management, and marketing, strengthening brand recognition among existing audiences while discovering new ways to connect with younger generations. Meet Daniel Blümel, Sponsoring and Business Relation Manager at legacy footwear brand ELTEN, who strategically leverages 3D models of their safety shoes to explore new contexts and audiences through sponsorship initiatives—most recently, in gaming.
– I continuously look for partnerships and collaborations to increase our brand exposure in different contexts to reach our target groups. We sponsor Dart players during the World Championships to reach trade workers, and the German Bundesliga team Borussia Mönchengladbach. Most recently, we successfully placed a 3D model in the popular game Farming Simulator to reach an entirely new audience, says Daniel Blümel as we catch up with him at ELTEN’s HQ in Uedem.
The German safety footwear brand ELTEN is Europe’s leading manufacturer of high-quality safety and work shoes, producing approximately 3 million pairs annually. The brand is known for staying attuned to the times and delivering innovative solutions. However, creating buzz around your brand is one thing; making people understand what you are doing is another.
– In Germany, more and more people are recognizing our brand but they don’t always know what we are doing. Obviously, it’s important that they know that we are selling shoes and we need to show the product. Especially for new audiences, says Daniel and continues:
– We got the opportunity to put in six different shoes in Farming Simulator 254. Players see our brand and immediately recognize that we are specialists in safety footwear. It’s an excellent product placement, showcasing our product in a context where it serves its purpose perfectly. The safety aspect aligns well with farming, which can often involve hard and dangerous work.
In his role, Daniel Blümel keeps a finger on the pulse to ensure the ELTEN brand reaches new audiences and maintains strong brand recognition. Interestingly, new insights about audiences sometimes stem from his colleagues’ leisure interests.
– It was one of my colleagues who asked me if I have ever played Farming Simulator. I hadn’t heard about it and looked it up to see how many people were playing. I think the first video I found on YouTube had more than 1 million clicks. I got curious and wanted to learn how the game worked. When I learned that you chose an avatar in the game and must go to a virtual shop to dress it. I realized that it could be a good opportunity for us to add our products in this shop in the game, Daniel explains.
Today, ELTEN also utilizes 3D and AR at scale on their eCommerce. Besides that and the product placement of 3D models in Farming Simulator, Daniel mentions that international trade fairs are an important arena to expose the ELTEN brand. An attention-grabber at these trade fairs is a giant 3D-printed ELTEN shoe, created using the original 3D model as the template.
ELTEN is looking into the Nordic markets to expand their brand recognition, and keep on building their legacy. The timing and specifics are yet to be decided, but don’t be surprised if they take a three-dimensional approach moving forward.
