Drawing on her background, Hutlassa explains how sports differ as marketing ecosystems and why the Machineseeker EHF Champions League provides a unique and powerful stage for brand visibility, fan engagement, and cross-border brand building.
eurohandball.com: You competed in basketball at a high level, even in the U.S. How has that experience shaped your perspective on sports marketing, and do you see differences in how basketball and handball are positioned as marketing platforms?
Hutlassa: As an ex-professional player, I see many opportunities to implement sports marketing strategies that benefit for all parties like federations, teams, players, and sponsors as well. I believe basketball and handball differ in many areas regarding marketing, largely due to their global reach, audience demographics, commercial structures, and media visibility. However, handball provides a more significant platform if we only consider the European market.
Basketball is one of the world’s most globalised sports, with major leagues like the NBA, EuroLeague , and growing participation in Asia and Africa. The NBA’s media deals and digital presence make it a premium platform for international brands. That being said, handball has the same potential on the European market, with individual athletes being powerful brand ambassadors.
eurohandball.com: From your point of view, what made the partnership with the Machineseeker EHF Champions League the right move for MOL?
Hutlassa: The EHF Champions League is a prestigious league, which gives significant brand visibility and exposure in countries that are important to MOL. This partnership was the right move for MOL as handball is one of the pillars of our sports sponsorship strategy. Based on our research, handball is within the top 3 most popular team sports in the countries of interests to MOL. In Hungary, we also make sure to support both women’s and men’s teams, which has a good effect on our brand image communication.
eurohandball.com: In what ways does this partnership help strengthen MOL’s presence in key regional and international markets, and which aspects of MOL’s identity and values do you feel are most strongly reflected through handball and the EHF club competitions?
Hutlassa: Handball is one of Europe’s most locally rooted sports, especially in MOL’s core markets across Central and Eastern Europe. The EHF represents unity, cooperation and shared passion — values that align with MOL’s identity as a regional champion with European ambitions. Both the EHF and its competitions reflect discipline, resilience and excellence, mirroring MOL’s focus on performance and operational excellence.
The partnership strengthens MOL’s presence by providing consistent visibility across countries where it already operates or plans to grow, creating a strong link between business presence and marketing activity. It also enables local activations that bring the brand closer to communities, enhances trust and corporate responsibility, and delivers significant cross-border media exposure. Internationally, connecting the handball partnership with MOL’s sustainability initiatives reinforces leadership and commitment to responsible mobility.
eurohandball.com: Which handball activations work best for you?
Hutlassa: The best impact of our activations depends on our goals. The most successful activation seems to be the SEYU selfie camera activation that can be accessed on site and online as well, while also growing a significant database. The social media contest and other half-time activations and contests for merchandise or ticket prices also proved to be popular.
eurohandball.com: What aspects behind the different activations reflect your personal approach to sport and community best?
Hutlassa: I certainly hope we helped expand the reach and passion for handball, creating unforgettable experiences that bring fans closer to the game by our half-time contests, or the selfie camera activation. We aimed to create emotional connections by making fans actively participate, that make them proud, passionate, and loyal — that’s the true power of sport. We plan on continuing to come up with newer initiatives through handball, that can be organized across borders and promote unity and responsibility for future generations.
eurohandball.com: How are you using this partnership to connect not just with fans, but also with your employees, business partners, and customers?
Hutlassa: Occasional distribution of tickets provided by EHF Marketing are perfect to nurture stakeholder and partner relationships and gives opportunities for employee appreciation. Sponsorship today goes far beyond logos and boards.
eurohandball.com: What kind of content, innovation, or services is MOL actively bringing into this partnership?
Hutlassa: Together with the EHF Marketing team, we are constantly working on improving our on- and off-site activations, involving new technologies to increase positive fan experience. MOL is not only present with logos, but we are actively promoting the “Fresh Corner” with all of its benefits, and also the MOL MOVE application, which offers many discounts, deals, and prizes for both gas and retail products across multiple countries.
The partnership allows MOL to highlight its environmental and social initiatives, promoting green mobility and deeper community engagement. It also accelerates MOL’s digital brand growth by boosting consumer interaction and overall brand awareness. In addition, the collaboration helps position MOL as an appealing employer for young, value-driven talent while strengthening internal pride across the organisation.
eurohandball.com: From your perspective, what outcomes or indicators define success for this partnership?
Hutlassa: The main goal is to broaden brand awareness in markets where MOL operates, enhance brand recall linked to handball, and improve perception. Other goals include higher traffic and sales at local retail outlets, successful content collaborations with EHF and handball players, and to generate high levels of fan engagement via digital and social activations.
eurohandball.com: Thinking about the U.S basketball and the sponsoring culture there, what do you think European sports marketing can learn from it or what are we doing better than them?
Hutlassa: I think Europe could learn from the entertainment culture that surrounds each event, while the U.S. can learn to create more loyal fans by focusing more on the club’s identity and building connection with the different communities.
