http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/86071
Maybe the US gov't will force them to break their own laws and post the names of Americans that have accounts with them on the cars.
UBS' CEO resigned today. Allegedly he was instrumental in pushing for F1 sponsorship. It'll be interesting to see how long the contract with F1 runs, but I wouldn't be surprised if the UBS logo won't be there next year.
I realize that these things are worked out well in advance but given recent events I don't see this as a smart move. Haven't they had enough of back room deals and shady characters?
A rouge trader cost them a bundle large enough to effect their quarterly profit which lead to the CEO's resignation. Aside from my attempt at humor about associating with questionable characters I don't see the PR upside to being linked to a high profile sport with a reputation for profligancy.
Ah I see. I think they did the F1 sponsorship to get global name recognition, particularly in Asia. Might not be necessary anymore at this point. The former CEO of Credit Suisse was a big F1 fan and that led to the Sauber sponsorship deal. None of these deals last forever.
I think F1's global and high tech image goes well with investment banking. Aside from UBS and CS there was ING, HSBC and RBS in recent years as sponsors. F1's expansion into new markets fits the banks push into new markets. If it wasn't for the recent financial crisis I think we'd be seeing a lot more sponsorships by investment institutions.
I wonder how that class of sponsor feels about Bernie's moves to attract a broader audience by dumbing down aspects of F1? To a lot of older wealthier and more sophisticated fans (primarily European) F1 has lost cache and respectability. This much less of an issue in the new markets than in Europe so perhaps F1 still fits the marketing plans of certain companies in financial services looking at the Asian market.
The only "positive" that I see from the sponsorship is that they did not link/associate themselves with a specific team.
You must not be sophisticated, wealthy or old then Its not universal by any means but even here on F Chat there are many who find today's F1 a sad joke compared to what it was.
Old I am. Oh well. F1 has changed over the decades I have been following the sport, no doubt. And not all for the better. But it is still the undisputed king on the hill of motorsports, so to me there is no alternative. There was a lot that we lost over the years and I do think the seventies were the golden era, but similar comments can be said about our society, about music, about the arts etc etc. Life moves on. If you want global sports exposure that is sophisticated, high tech, has a long history and is the leader in its field, then there aren't many options. In fact only F1 comes to my mind.
I dont disagree (I follow it after all) but not everyone share's our enthusiasm. As I said if they're looking to Asia F1 is still a smart bet
Ok, it took a bit longer than I expected, but it looks as if they're finally there: Formel-1-Sponsor: Steigt die UBS aus dem Rennzirkus aus? ? Wirtschaft ? Blick The new CEO is considering the exit from F1.
