SectorOne wrote:dans79 wrote:GitanesBlondes wrote:
Except F1 doesn't attract any sponsors selling products to the average person.
Bernie, is that you?
The following is a short list, if you dig deeper, I'm sure you will find a lot more.
*) Mercedes - A c class is easily obtainable for the middle class
*) Petronas - Depending on where you live you might buy gas at one of their gas stations
*) Blackberry
*) Redbull - even children can buy this
*) Infiniti - another middle class car company
*) Renault - a cheap car company
*) Martini - Anyone of age can buy a bottle
*) Santander - anyone can walk into a bank and open an account
*) Shell - another gas company
*) UPS - need a package delivered for cheap
*) Mobil - another gas company
*) hugo boss - some of the clothes aren't that bad
*) Royal Challenge - another alcohol company
Allianz
Puma
Advanti
Monster Drinks
Spies Hecker
Kaspersky
FIAT
Claro
TNT Energy drink
Smirnoff
Roshfrans
Kingfisher
TW STEEL
Alpinestars
Gatorade
Petrobras
BancodoBrazil
Chelsea (yes even a football game is a product)
Singha Beer
Siemens
AT&T
Pepe Jeans
Casio
TAG Heuher
Rexona
Randstad
Oris Swiss Watches
ESQUIRE
CLEAR
Burn
OZ
Henri Lloyd
...yup F1 does not attract any sponsors selling products to the average person.
Because everyone knows only companies buy deodorant, liquor, watches, shampoo, football games, cars, energy drinks, bank accounts, fuel for their car, anti-virus programs, clothes, etc etc.
The trouble with this line of thought is that you, and Dans essentially argued against yourself with the listing of a number of companies that have minimal to no relevance to most fans. Here's the big kicker that I'm not sure either of you are getting, the exposure the companies receive now is...
terrible for what has to be paid to the teams for small signage. This is to say nothing of how McLaren has no title sponsor. Williams may have gotten Martini, but relative to the overall costs in F1 these days, it was not a high dollar deal.
Remember in 2009 when Brawn GP was running away with everything and yet they were running a nearly bare bones car devoid of any real sponsors?
Philip Morris may still be Ferrari's title sponsor till the end of 2015, but they have been using the whole thing as a business-to-business platform.
The sponsors receive far less exposure than they ever did due to less overall track time due to the ban of in-season testing as well as the reduction in overall time on a grand prix weekend. That doesn't even get into the change of broadcasting methods where far less zoom shoots are shown that show all of the sponsors.
In addition a number of those sponsors both of you guys listed are country specific.
Good god, sometimes I think I'm the only one who remembers the old days when you had tons of sponsors all over the place. When FOM started controlling the track signage at all grands prix with the exception of Monaco, you saw the pool of sponsors dwindle even further. The claim was that having sponsors all over the sides of the track made it bad exposure for everyone as no one would be able to focus on who the sponsors were. What we got were endless Pirelli signs, or Rolex signs which made opportunities for visibility even more greatly reduced.
If you talk to the more well known ex-F1 sponsors, they will all tell you the same thing, the advertising value of F1 in the 21st century is an exercise in pissing money away. Sure you've got the supposed marketing analysts making claims that via RBR, Infiniti received over $1 billion in advertising exposure thru the 2013 season. But you can justify anything you'd like depending on how the metrics are developed.
Ratings plummeting is another interesting factor that will impact how sponsors feel...especially when you have TV broadcasters rethinking their F1 involvement.
Point is gentlemen, F1 sponsorship is less about actual value and more about the benefits that come from many sponsor execs being able to hobnob and rub elbows with the rich and famous. Bernie's goal always has been to make every grand prix appear in similar stature to Monaco.
Keep in mind to when you have driver specific sponsors such as Santander, their long-term involvement once Alonso no longer drives in F1 is dubious. Shell, Mobil, and the other fuel sponsors are there so long as they can do further R&D. Had F1 gone the route of spec fuel, they would have all disappeared as there would be nothing of benefit for why they are there.
