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The Many Faces of Formula One Sponsorship

Sponsorship | Sport

Today’s official announcement that Japanese car manufacturer Infiniti has become a significant sponsor of reigning Formula One world champions Red Bull Racing is a well timed good news story for the sport after a turbulent start to 2011.

The postponement of the Bahrain Grand Prix has reshuffled Formula One’s deck for 2011 with the start to the new season now in the final weekend of March, affording teams a few weeks of extra time preparing for the year ahead.

Attention on Formula One has grown exponentially since pre-season testing got underway in February. The obligatory new car unveilings have been largely dismissed in favour of lower key rollouts in the pitlane – with only a few exceptions – and the focus on minimising costs is having a noticeable impact on marketing activities.

Sponsorship in motorsport seems to be in a state of consolidation following the years of economic difficulties with some brands leaving the sport and some new arrivals. What has changed more significantly are the demands on teams to put tangible business benefits onto sponsorship opportunities. The recent influx of manufacturers back into F1 is heartening, particularly with Infiniti/Nissan with Red Bull in light of the Japanese exodus at the end of the last decade (Honda, Toyota, Bridgestone).

Infiniti’s comments today reaffirm the benefits that some brands derive from Formula One’s vast worldwide audience and an alignment with high technology. Formula 1 = Audience + Technology Showcase is a winning formula for automotive and tech brands when the partnership is activated correctly and across all facets of the marketing mix, especially with a front-running team like Red Bull.

When TV exposure is harder to come by, say in the case of 2010 rookies Hispania Racing, there is a missing piece to the equation that massively negates sponsorship acquisition. HRT has drafted in Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan for its sophomore campaign, in turn generating support from Indian firm Tata, but the livery of its new F111 race car boldly highlights the deeper tribulations of income generation. Unfortunately “Your logo here” and “This could be you” signs are not as appealing to brands as they once were.

This is perhaps better showcased by the Sauber F1 team who have tried a more innovative ploy to lure financial backing from brands or individuals who do not want exposure. Speaking to Reuters a few weeks back, the team’s CEO Monisha Kaltenborn said: “We sensed in a lot of talks that it is an issue these days that not many famous brands maybe want to be associated so openly with Formula One. They don't want to see their brand plastered all over the area. Some may have internal issues with it and some feel it's not environmentally friendly enough and things like that.” Not exactly the sort of positive thinking you’d normally associate with sponsorship but under the team’s generic “Sauber Club One” banner, the team boasts a number of private investors. Proof that global exposure is not a pre-requisite for sponsorship and that other benefits such as corporate hospitality can be just as lucrative. For high worth Formula One fans, an association with the sport is enough.

Existing F1 brands are also looking to generate closer relationships with Formula One’s legion of fans around the world. The Marussia Virgin Racing team invited a few dozen lucky competition winners to attend its launch at the BBC Studios last month, while Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes incorporated the human factor in its own car unveiling in Berlin.

Vodafone have done some clever things with their F1 activities in the past but with the recent extension to their contract until 2013 the company is planning to engage its customers even more in its F1 campaign. The telecoms firm has launched a $10,000 crowd-sourcing opportunity via Idea Bounty called Power To You, which is intended to help reinvigorate its F1 sponsorship and to put Vodafone customers at the centre of its activation strategy. The over-riding objective for the open brief is “We want everyone to realise that everyone can enjoy F1”. A brilliant initiative and another example of how Formula One (and indeed any sports) sponsorship continues to evolve with business imperatives firmly in the driving seat.

Chris Hughes

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