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MARKETING and COMPANY NEWS - January to May 2010
15.06.10
Action Resources Ltd assists contracted race-drivers, riders and teams to compete by helping them with commercial and sponsorship matters and with generating sustainable strategic partnerships. This Section of "Late Braking News" brings to you some of the latest information regarding global business and marketing matters that may be of interest to you.
These are recent reports received from Benchmark Sport - 23-24 Henrietta Street, London WC2E 8ND and other Associates and industry informants and sources :
The American Insurance giant Aon - which is to be the shirt sponsor of Manchester United - has added the McLaren Formula One team to its sports partnership portfolio with Aon logos appearing on the race-suit sleeves of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton. Aon is also the title sponsor of the Arena Team's Ford Focus cars which run on LPG in the BTCC (May 2010).
The British multinational beer, wines and spirits brand Diageo (already involved with its Johnnie Walker label and McLaren in F1) has announced a new 3-year partnership with Lord March's Goodwood Estate for the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Glorious Goodwood (horse-racing), the new 'Vintage at Goodwood' event and the Goodwood Revival Meeting. The sponsorship is thought to be worth around US$400,000 per annum (May 2010).
The Williams F1 Team - powered by Cosworth racing engines - has signed a 3-year sponsorship deal with Power Plate, the fitness and training equipment brand (May 2010).
The NASCAR Hall of Fame has opened in Charlotte, N Carolina. The $200m facility is looking to attract 800,000 visitors in its first year; 4,500 are said to have turned up on the first day (May 2010).
The long-standing partnership between the McLaren F1 Team and fashion label Hugo Boss is about to enter a record 30th year; the German firm was floated in 1985 and the majority shareholder now is the Italian Marzotto textile group (May 2010).
Tokyo-based Yokohama Tyres are to be title sponsors of the Monza (Italy) rounds of the World Touring Car Championship (May 2010).
Richard Childress Racing and Lenox Industrial Tools have signed a sponsorship deal that will see Lenox back Jeff Burton and the No 31 Chevrolet Impala in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (May 2010).
The Italian FIAT group is being re-structured, with the Iveco Trucks, Case New Holland farming and construction equipment and the Company's industrial and marine engine business being spun off into a new entity (called 'Fiat Industrial') whilst Fiat Auto strengthens its links with Chrysler in the US and sets out to generate automotive sales of 6m cars by 2014. Within these plans, Ferrari is to broaden its customer base and Alfa Romeo may re-enter the North American market in 2/3 years' time. Luca di Montezemolo has relinquished his post as Chairman of the Fiat empire in favour of John Elkann, a grandson of the late Gianni Agnelli (May 2010).
Castrol has broadened its soccer marketing activity by signing up with Soccer United Marketing (SUM) to bring in rights to Major League Soccer and to both the US and Mexican national teams in a 2-year deal (May 2010).
Trina Solar Switzerland - a Chinese-owned enterprise which manufactures mono and multi-crystalline photovoltaic (PV) modules - is to sponsor the Renault F1 Team. "We are delighted to welcome Trina Solar on board as a new partner," said Renault F1 Chairman Gerard Lopez. "Trina Solar is the sport's first major sponsor from the domain of environmental technologies and we are also proud to welcome a global renewable energy company to the sport." Lopez, whose Genii Capital concern acquired a majority stake in the Renault F1 Team at the end of last year, has also said that his business associate Tarek E Obaid, the Founder and CEO of PetroSaudi International (a private oil and gas company based in Saudi Arabia), is to become a new Partner in the Enstone-based organisation (May 2010).
The Indy Racing League (possibly soon to be re-branded IndyCar) is set to stage a 'Grand Prix' in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, USA from August 2011 onwards after City Officials agreed a 5-year, US$7.75m deal with Baltimore Racing Development to fund the event. The circuit will measure 2.4 miles, running around Inner Harbour and Camden Yards (May 2010).
The Lichtenstein-based finance company Money Service Group (with their 'dragon' logo) has confirmed the signing of a long-term sponsorship deal with Scuderia Toro Rosso (May 2010).
Virgin Racing has signed an F1 sponsorship agreement with the online poker site Full Tilt Poker (May 2010).
The Spanish franchise of Burger King has agreed to sponsor the Ferrari-powered Sauber Motorsport Team at both the Spanish GP (Barcelona) and the European GP (Valencia) - (May 2010).
Haymarket's "Autocar" Magazine is carrying a story that TVR's Russian Owner, Nikolai Smolenski, is working on a plan to bring the marque back into production (in Germany) utilising Corvette power. The idea is apparently to secure a deal with Gullwing (the maker of the current AC MkVI, the successor to the Cobra) to produce the car, which could well be a development of the Tuscan (April 2010).
The latest edition of BTCC-sponsor Dennis Publishing's EVO Magazine takes the lid off the Formula One industry and says that 80% of the F1 grid is built in the UK. The article goes on to suggest that some 40,000 people are currently employed by 4,500 companies in UK motor-sport as a whole, generating £8billion for the British economy. The organisations involved in Formula One in Britain include race teams (Force India, Lotus, McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Renault, Virgin Racing and Williams), chassis component suppliers (AP Racing, McLaren Electronic Systems (ECUs), Tony James Component Wiring and Willans (seat belts)), engine suppliers (Cosworth and Mercedes Performance Engines (formerly Ilmor)), composites company MCT, engine component manufacturers (Capricorn, Grainger & Worrell, Premier Bearings and Vandervell), gearbox component maker Xtrac, platings and coatings companies (Eltro, Oerlikon, Protech Finishing and Sandwell), fabricators (AJ Fabrications, Good Fabrications and Stable Fabrications), machine shops (AEM Products, Brineton Engineering, Columbia Precision, Peter Jay Engineering, PJM Precision and Taylor Knightley) and hydraulics and hoses manufacturers (Earls, FHS and Goodridge) - (April 2010).
Lawrence Tomlinson's Ginetta Company has bought the Bath-based Farbio specialist sportscar manufacturer. What was known as the Farboud and, more recently, as the Farbio GTS is to be re-named the Ginetta F400, a range-topping 410bhp supercharged 3-litre V6 with a price tag of around £95k. Production of 50 cars a year is planned (April 2010).
Santander has insured former World Champion Fernando Alonso's thumbs for almost £9m - apparently, the Spanish banking giant believes that Alonso's thumbs "represent a sign of victory and that everything is under control and well protected" (April 2010).
Reigning IZOD IndyCar Series Champion, Dario Franchitti, a resident of both Nashville and Edinburgh, has agreed to endorse the Dutch TW Steel watch brand (April 2010).
BMW has extended its sponsorship deal with the golfing PGA European Tour until 2014 - this year's BMW International Open will take place at Golfclub Munich Eichenried from 24 - 27 June (April 2010).
The two British Formula One aspirants that were disappointed in their applications to join in last year - Prodrive and Lola Cars - have decided against having another go in 2011. Both have taken a look at the three teams who have come in this year (Virgin, Lotus and HRT), and the failure of USF1 to materialise, and have concluded that it can't be done. David Richards's Prodrive will concentrate on its return to the WRC (with MINI) and its Aston Martin racing programmes (prototypes and GTs). The Durango Team and Stefan GP are currently the only operations known to have thrown their hats into the ring for entering F1 next year (April 2010).
The German car-maker Audi has extended its title sponsorship of Australia's premier keelboat regatta - the Hamilton Island Race Week - for a further 3 years (April 2010).
McLaren Automotive is to establish an office in Bahrain in order to promote sales in the Gulf Region of its new MP4-12C road car (April 2010).
The FIA GT1 World Championship has secured two deals ahead of its inaugural season. Bloomberg Television has agreed with the Promoters, SRO Motorsports Group, to present worldwide coverage of the Series for the next two years. Swiss luxury watch brand Blancpain has been signed as the official timing partner for the 2010 Championship which comprises 10 weekends and features four cars each from Aston Martin, Corvette, Ford GT, Lamborghini, Maserati and Nissan GT-R (April 2010).
TAG Heuer is supporting Audi Sport's efforts in the Le Mans Series and in the 2010 Le Mans 24-Hour race, the 78th running of the great French classic; Audi has already achieved 8 victories in 11 appearances in the event. Audi will roll out 3 R15+ TDI machines for McNish, Capello, Kristensen (an 8-times winning driver), Fassler, Lotterer, Treluyer, Bernhard, Dumas and Rockenfeller. Audi Sport's long-distance drivers will join the likes of Leonardo di Caprio, Maria Sharapova, Tiger Woods, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in promoting TAG Heuer's 'timekeeping technology' (April 2010).
An interesting point concerning the British economy - in the run-up to the General Election on 4 May - is that the State now accounts for 53.4% of GDP, compared to just 40% when Tony Blair's New Labour came to power in 1997. Britain's public-sector is therefore even bigger than the average for the Member States of the European Union (50.4%), according to OECD figures (April 2010).
General Motors has resumed its sponsorship of the centre field fountain at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball franchise - GM's initial sponsorship of the fountain, which will carry Chevrolet branding in due course, originally dates back to 2001 (April 2010).
The Renault-Nissan Alliance is agreeing a tie-up with German vehicle manufacturer Daimler [Mercedes-Benz]. The two groups are to co-operate on developing small car technologies for the future and each is to take a 3.1% equity share in the other. The French Government currently holds a 15% stake in Renault. The Alliance came about in 1999 and Renault-Nissan sold 6.1m vehicles in 2009, some 10% of the global market. Renault owns 44% of Nissan whilst Nissan has 15% of Renault. Daimler merged with American manufacturer, Chrysler, in 1998 but the partnership was disbanded in 2007 when Cerberus Capital Management took on Chrysler (which now has strong links with FIAT of Italy). This new alliance is bound to have some implications longer-term for motor-sport; Renault and Mercedes are the only two major Manufacturers left in F1 and will be keen to secure synergy eventually (April 2010).
The Czech car-maker Skoda (part of the VW Group) has extended its sponsorship of the prestigious Tour de France cycle race for a further 2 years, until 2013. Skoda has been a main sponsor since 2004 and supplies over 200 cars for the race as well as supporting 8 professional cycling teams. The 2010 Tour de France will be the 97th edition of the great race, which begins in Rotterdam (Holland) on 3 July (April 2010).
US company Hennessey has launched its 1,000bhp supercar, based on the British-built Lotus Elise, with beefy Corvette twin-turbo V8 power. The Venom GT is said to be able to do the 0-60mph dash in just 2.2 seconds (April 2010).
The Lotus F1 Team has confirmed that Malaysian mobile network Maxis is becoming a sponsor (April 2010).
T W Steel, the international watch brand, has announced a strategic partnership with Virgin Racing F1 driver Lucas di Grassi (April 2010).
Formula One Team Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has renewed its technical and commercial partnership with Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell for a further five years. The deal is reported to be worth some US$32 million per annum. The announcement was timed to coincide with Ferrari's 450th Grand Prix using Shell fuels and lubricants (March 2010).
The American Le Mans Series has landed the Patron Spirits Co. as its first ever 'presenting sponsor' - the title American Le Mans Series Presented by Tequila Patron will be used this season (and the following two seasons) and the firm will increase its advertising and hospitality activities at ALMS events. Well placed industry sources claim that the deal is worth around US$500,000. Patron has been associated with Highcroft Racing's Acura prototype programmes (David Brabham notably being their highest profile driver) and Patron will continue to back Highcroft in 2010 as well as Scott Sharp's new Extreme Speed Ferrari GT2 Team (which has Patron boss Ed Brown on its driver strength, partnering Guy Cosmo) and the GT Challenge Porsches run by Alex Job Racing and Velox Motorsports (March 2010).
The designer watch and jewellery brand Thomas Sabo has decided to sponsor Mercedes F1 driver Nico Rosberg in a personal deal thought to be worth some US$300,000. The firm is also the title sponsor of the German ice-hockey team, the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers (March 2010).
Former F1 and IndyCar driver Robert Doornbos has had his endorsement deal with flogs.com extended into 2010 as he competes for the Brazilian Team, Corinthians, in the 2010 Superleague Formula Championship (Doornbos competed in the same series for AC Milan last year). The partnership is said to be worth around US$270,000 (March 2010).
Mercedes-Benz USA has announced that it has secured title sponsorship, for its AMG Division, of the 2010 Miami Beach Polo World Cup - the event will form the backdrop for the launch of the AMG SLS supercar (March 2010).
Monster Energy, the energy drinks brand, has increased its involvement in motor-sport by entering into a new partnership with the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team - the Monster Energy 'M-claw' logo will adorn the helmets and race-suits of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher (March 2010).
Swiss brand Hublot has become the "Official Watchmaker of Formula One" (March 2010).
The Thai beer brand, Singha Beer, has enhanced its status within Red Bull Racing from Team Supplier to Team Partner. Singha Corporation Thailand is owned by the Bhirombhakdi family (March 2010).
The luxury Japanese car manufacturer Infiniti has expanded its presence in College Basketball in the USA after announcing it is to become an Official Corporate Partner of the 2010 NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Championship (March 2010).
The AT&T Williams F1 Team has agreed a licensing deal with personal aviation specialists Cloud 9 International Limited. As the exclusive personal aviation provider to the Team, Cloud 9 will launch the AT&T Williams Grand Prix Experience. The new package will allow invited guests to travel by private jet to selected Grands Prix and will include a catered in-flight service, chauffeur transfers to the circuit and entry to the AT&T hospitality suite for the race. A bespoke concierge service will provide customers with a personalised experience (March 2010).
The Renault F1 team has secured two new sponsors: Technology firm HP, previously a supplier to the team, has agreed to increase its sponsorship for the next two seasons and will have extensive branding on the car. High-performance brake system manufacturer Mov'It will also sponsor the team and have branding on the nosecone of the team's all-new R30 chassis (March 2010).
The drinks brand Monster Energy is to be the title sponsor of the French MotoGP held at Le Mans for the next two years in a deal said to be worth around US$2m per annum - the Company is already a personal sponsor of Valentino Rossi and the title sponsor of the Yamaha Tech 3 MotoGP Team (March 2010).
The 2008 Accounts of Vijay Mallya's Force India Formula One Team have at last appeared (filed four months late) and show a post-tax loss of £33.4m; it was revealed that Mr Mallya and the Team's co-Owner, Michiel Mol, gave it a loan of £27.6m to keep its head above water. Auditor Grant Thornton expressed some anxieties as to the company's future financial health (March 2010).
Vodafone has overtaken HSBC as the UK's "most valuable brand" (March 2010).
American news broadcaster CNN has agreed a sponsorship deal with F1 newcomer, Lotus Racing. The long-term agreement will see the CNN logo appear on the front wing of the T127 race cars, the drivers' overalls and visors and on all Team clothing. It's unclear as to whether there is cash involved or whether the value lies in the provision of CNN advertising for Lotus and associated brands (March 2010).
The NASCAR Sprint Cup has been at least partially saved for the British tv viewer; there will be race highlights screened on the Open Access 3 Channel in the UK in 2010. Sky Sports, the previous broadcaster of NASCAR in Britain, did screen the Daytona 500 in February but it has now ended its live coverage and Open Acccess 3, which is available on Sky, has taken up the challenge (March 2010).
The Aldar Properties company has sold the Yas Marina Circuit to the Abu Dhabi Government (February 2010).
The UK Division of Italian car-maker Fiat will supply British Cycling with cars for the next 3 years (February 2010).
FC Sochaux-Montbeliard of French Ligue 1, the highest tier of French professional soccer, has agreed an 18-month shirt sponsorship deal with Peugeot, the majority owner of the Club (February 2010).
The Automobile Racing Club of America and Aaron's Inc. have agreed a deal that sees Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership division partner the ARCA Racing Series for a third year. Interest in the Series is likely to be particularly strong this year with Danica Patrick competing in selected races ahead of her expected future move to NASCAR (February 2010).
British slot-car maker Scalextric has agreed to be a sponsor of the Mercedes GP Petronas F1 team which will give Scalextric the image rights to Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. The Company previously supported Brawn GP before Mercedes took control of the 2009 Championship-winning Team. Scalextric has a similar partnership in place with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes for Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, so the brand can boast connections with no less than three World Champions (February 2010).
Oil Company BP has signed a deal during the Winter Olympics in Canada that will see the Company pay an eight-figure sum to be a partner of the US Olympic Committee for the next 4 years; BP will be a sponsor of the 2010 and 2012 US Olympic and Paralympic Teams as well as the 2011 US Pan-American Team (February 2010).
Carchex has become an official sponsor of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No 88 Chevrolet in the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series (February 2010).
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes has entered into a partnership with Processia Solutions, "a Canadian product lifecycle management implementation specialist" that will work alongside the Team to improve the software associated with the design, build and integration of its F1 cars (February 2010).
It has been confirmed that Mercedes GP will allow Michael Schumacher to do deals with personal sponsors ahead of the 2010 season - Jet Set and Navyboot, two fashion labels owned by the Gaydoul Group, will adorn Michael's race-suit this year and the combined value of the deals is thought to constitute a 7-figure sum. Philippe Gaydoul chairs the Group and commented: "Michael has a sense of style, a winning modesty and, as a brand ambassador, he has a great radiance". Meanwhile, over at Ferrari, Michael's old Employer, new driver Fernando Alonso has been allowed to renew his personal partnership with kitchen supplier Silestone to the tune of a 6-figure sum (February 2010).
BMW Sauber has extended its partnership with Swiss sports watch brand Certina, which has been in place since 2005. The Team has also signed a new deal with Pilatus Aircraft whereby Switzerland's sole 'plane-maker will make a 9-seater PC-12NG, in Team livery, available for all the Team's European flights (February 2010).
Saab - the Swedish manufacturer being sold by General Motors - seems set to be rescued by the Dutch specialist car-maker (and former F1 entrant) Spyker, whose largest investor is Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov. Spyker made 43 cars in 2009 whilst Saab turns out around 90,000 each year. The Bernie Ecclestone/Genii Capital Consortium has pulled out of the bidding for the Company, which employs 3,400 people (February 2010).
The AT&T Williams F1 Team is extending its 7-year association with Swiss watch manufacturer Oris (February 2010).
According to the "Sunday Times" newspaper, HM Revenue & Customs in the UK is set to impose a new tax regime on the world's top sports stars who compete in Britain. There is a danger that some events hosted in the UK will suffer from a fallout from stars who simply refuse to compete. A visiting Formula One driver will be required to pay tax on one-nineteenth (there being 19 races a year) of their annual overall income to the UK Exchequer. That's fine until a driver actually does the British GP and, say, only one other race - then that driver will pay tax on 50% of their income (February 2010).
A Volkswagen Polo Cup race series is to be run in India for the first time this year. Apparently, anyone from the general public aged 16-24 may apply to drive, with the best candidates selected via a 'screening process', according to VW India's Head of Motor-Sport, Prithviraj Siddappa (January 2010).
Nigel Mansell has bought into the Beechdean Motorsport operation, run by Andrew Howard, to run a factory-backed Ginetta-Zytek Z09R in the Le Mans Series and in the 24-Hours with sons, Greg and Leo (January 2010).
Powerboat P1 Management Ltd. is to integrate the Honda 4-Stroke Association (F4SA), the largest off-shore powerboat championship in the world, into this year's Powerboat P1 SuperStock Championship, starting with the Grand Prix of the Sea off Split in Croatia, 16-18 April (January 2010).
Truck-maker Scania has received its largest ever order in the UK - 1,000 vehicles for Stobart Group and A W Jenkinson - to be delivered from March; that's a heck of a lot of girl's names to think of (January 2010).
Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision Company is investing in its Brands Hatch facility by resurfacing the Circuit from mid-way down Cooper Straight around Clearways and down the Brabham Straight to the centre of the pit complex, using Prixmat surface material. New curbing is being installed at the exit of Druids, the kerb at the exit of Graham Hill Bend is being reinforced and the width of the tarmac run-off at the bottom of Paddock Hill Bend is being reduced (January 2010).
MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd. has renewed its association with the AT&T Williams F1 Team and will provide 11 MAN tractor-units and one rigid truck (it being estimated that each vehicle will travel some 180,000km a year) to deliver 35 tonnes of freight for the Team to each of the 9 European destinations on the 2010 Formula One calendar. MAN bought the British Cheshire-based truck-maker ERF some years ago (January 2010).
Grahame Chilton - the father of Tom and Max Chilton - has formed a Company called Capsicum Motorsport in order to make a significant investment in Trevor Carlin's Carlin Motorsport operation. Chilton Snr. has made his money from Insurance, selling his Benfield business to Aon last year for a sum reputed to be around $1.5billion. The Aon brand adorned the 2009 BTCC Ford Focus of Tom Chilton and the F3 car of Max (January 2010).
German manufacturer ATS is a new official supplier to the FIA World Touring Car Championship after signing a multi-year agreement to provide "specially designed lightweight alloy wheels" to competing teams (January 2010).
London-based PR Agency Sidhu & Simon Communications has been retained to oversee the UK F1 sponsorships for Santander in 2010, including the Formula One Santander British Grand Prix to be held at Silverstone (January 2010).
Thomann Nutzfahrzeuge AG has become an official supplier to the BMW Sauber F1 Team, providing 13 Renault Trucks branded semi-trailer tractor-units and 2 lorries (January 2010).
The Renault F1 Team has signed a new 3-year technical partnership with OMP Racing. The Italian clothing and equipment company will supply Renault with ultra-light seatbelts for the race-cars as well as race-suits, boots, gloves and underwear for drivers and technicians (January 2010).
The Morgan Motor Company, located at Malvern in Worcestershire, set a production record for the firm in 2009 despite the credit crunch. Output was 690 units, as opposed to the historic average of some 400 cars a year. Demand from Europe proved particularly strong, with sales in France and Germany well up, whilst sales in the UK itself stayed constant at 280. Thanks to the new SuperSports (the open-topped version of the Aeromax) to be launched shortly, production in 2010 is heading for 750 vehicles and the £125k SuperSports is to be engineered for sale in the USA (January 2010).
Nissan North America (NNA) has signed a long-term deal with Team RadioShack, the cycling team established by seven-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong (January 2010).
Tickets to the British GP at Silverstone are likely to double in price during the Circuit's 17-year tenure; by 2014, ticket prices are set to rise 22.5% and by 50% by 2020 and 100% by 2026. Silverstone agreed to pay an estimated £12m annually to host the British round of the F1 World Championship, with the fee set to escalate by 5% per annum, rather than the 10% which Bernie Ecclestone has established as the norm (January 2010).
Donington Park is said by its administrators to be currently "in a state of disrepair, unfit to stage any form of motor-sport event." The Circuit has been handed back to the Wheatcroft Family after the administrators of the now defunct Donington Ventures Leisure Ltd. (which had debts of some £20m) failed to find a buyer for the 150-year lease once the deals to host the British GP, MotoGP and British Superbike Championship events had all been lost (January 2010).
The Malaysian-owned oil and gas Company Petronas has been announced as the title sponsor of the new Mercedes GP Team; it is expected that the agreement will run for 3 years. The announcement is a blow for the new Malaysian-backed Lotus F1 Team and is something of a coup for Mercedes-Benz as Petronas has recently been involved in F1 with arch rival BMW (who pulled out of Grand Prix racing at the end of last season). The Brackley-based former Brawn GP outfit will be known as the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team (January 2010).
Formula One will continue to be shown in the United States on the Speed cable channel, after a deal was reached for the 2010 season between executives from the Channel and Formula One Management (January 2010).
The Indy Racing League has extended their partnership with Old World Industry's Peak Performance Motor Oil brand for another year. The sponsorship includes funding the Izod IndyCar Series' Peak Performance Pole Award (January 2010).
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