Ferrari sponsorship question...

Now this makes sense, thank you

 

Since I live and breathe this stuff....

The dumbasses who actually sign-off on sponsorship of third-rate teams aren't basing their decisions on business needs. Typically, they have a huge hard on for F1 and it's their ticket to the F1 circus. Low price of entry, that, to buy your way into becoming an F1 "insider".

Advertising is plain, old, boring media. Advertising uses print, television, radio, web banners, billboards, whatever, and uses pretty creative to communicate the brand message.

Marketing is an all-encompassing discipline and uses a more strategic approach. Marketing uses tactics like events, PR, SMS, direct mail, email marketing, whatever, and directly engages the customer in some type of measured response while attempting to solve a customer's problem.

Obviously, motorsport sponsorship is predominantly tied to event-related marketing. However, a big portion of sponsorship performance is related to media mentions and photos (this, however, is a PR function).

When I sell motorsports sponsorship packages, it is primarily marketing-driven, designed to elicit some type of measurable response from my sponsors customers. My day-to-day business is all about eliciting consumer responses. (And, boy, do we love consumers.)

Not quite. Ever heard of Google? My company has a brilliant marketing strategy for itself, but uses zero advertising.

Unfortunately for those brands, their marketing activity is so highly regulated, racing cars are one of the few remaining places they attach their brand. As well, these brands are stuck in that more-eyeballs-on-the-logo-is-best hell that afflicts old brands.

 

Thats great but, the smaller companies sponsoring the slower teams don't have any PR, e-mail or other fancy avenues of marketing their product, they would use the "plain old, boring" way of advertising, which is all they can afford. We also forgot to mention the mechanical sponsors, companies that supply the teams with parts and tools, they "donate" their products to the teams and only recieve a small conspicuous sticker on the car itself, I think that would be advertising as well.
My company used to sponsor some F1600 and F2000 cars, I never had any flashy tents or blonde models wearing my companies name on a bikini, I just wanted to show a logo or two, and get people interested in the name.

Advertising and Marketing is such a huge animal, and I'm sure you know more than I do.

 

We're on two different playing fields here. Marketing is my business. It's not something I observe while watching F1 coverage on Speed.

A sticker on a car is not advertising. A sticker on a car is marketing. Advertising is advertising.

There is no such thing as a "donation" in F1. F1 is serious business, not charity. Even the smallest suppliers have contracts with the smallest teams.

Until last year, an old vendor of mine still supplied equipment to Sauber. He supplied that equipment because 1) he's an old friend of Peter Sauber and 2) for the PR value. In his marketing communications, he's been permitted to say that Saubers have been built using his equipment. That's marketing. He sells his equipment to perhaps less than 2,000 people on the planet, so his brand on the race car is totally irrelevant. What's the point of having 500,000 impressions of your logo when no one knows what it means? No one freaking cares! What you do with your sponsorship of a race car/team/driver/whatever IS marketing.

With that, I realize this is not an intelligent marketing discussion, but one of fans discussing stickers on cars, so I must depart from this thread.

 

Do tell!

 

Mario Andretti began a long-term sponsorship with Viceroy Cigarettes Tobacco Company in the early 70's, when he was racing with Lola and Parnelli.

The Famous Blue/Red/Silver combo was part of that logo, and his helmet design.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Interesting views, but then I too run a marketing business! I'd say stick around in this thread - I expect you're imparting expert knowledge to most who read this...

I agree with pretty much everything you've said - the logo on the car is simply the tip of the iceberg - most of the activities of sponsorship occur below the waterline (or out of view of most people).

Back at university I conducted a thesis about the value and measurement of sponsorship in sport. It's really more art than science, as the application of sponsorship strategies are not consistent; this is evidenced by current F1 teams, who use sponsorship in very different ways.

One interesting point that's as a complete aside to the argument about purpose is are the logos actually 'stickers' at all? For example, I know that the drivers' helmets (replete with logos) are hand-painted. I remember reading about this in F1 mag years ago - apparently this is to balance the weight of the shell - at high G loadings a few grams either way can make all the difference to the driver's endurance.

So, anyone know if the logos are laminates or painted onto the bodywork of an F1 car?

Ben.

 

Ben, they are most definetely stickers. Drivers helmets are carefully painted.

 

Did you know that F1 driver's helmets are usually done with stickers and tape under the clearcoat? Makes sense if you're painting 20 of them for a single season... that's right! See the info at http://atlasf1.autosport.com/98/bel/preview/helmet.html

I've seen a photographic series of Schumacher's helmets being done -- in those photos it specifically showed the painter applying the prancing horse and Marlboro logos in vinyl stickers.

Of course, if you're having your own helmet custom painted, your painter may use stickers -- which look fine from a distance anyway -- or he may instead use stencils and paint all the custom logos, which is what I do...

Here's a couple of pictures of one of Kimi's helmets -- in the close-ups you can see the raised areas from the stickers and tape layers underneath the clear.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

please stick around this thread, b-mak. you are imparting more insight than the rest of the comments here put together.

 

And the really clever painters, drop the (specially made wafer thin stickers) into a painted "hole" so the clearcoat is smooth...some bits need to be stickers but Kimi's / Mclaren's stuff is now painted by a production line rather than the world's best helmet painter (who used to do their stuff).

 

Here is an interesting article about team colors of different countries.. It appears as though Bernie was one of the culprits who was behind changing out the national colors after many years of use. Read all the way to the bottom of the article and view the national color chart.....

www.motorsport.com/magazine/feature.asp?C=Kerbs&D=2000-08-13

This is a long article but has a lot of historical sponsorship data and how it has impacted F1 over the years and how much Bernie has been a part of it......

 

I agree fully. When presenting your company to the world on racecar, a ski boat, a motorcycle, tenniswear or whatever, you are marketing your company. Advertisements you will hear, see in print or on TV. For some there is a pride thing in being a part of that team. For others it is strictly a business strategy that happens to involve that team or company. Whichever they choose, it is marketing.

BTW, I have been involved in marketing also and that is what I went to college for............Marketing/Retail marketing research analysis..........
Not really involved in it now but that is a whole different story.