The Indian Grand Prix is around the corner and brands are gearing up to make a splash. The three-day affair gets F1 fanatics to hoard tickets or tune into their TV sets from around the globe and the F1 cars are not just mean roaring machines but also turn into priceless branding opportunities.

The F1 is a unique occasion for branding. Reaching out to viewers through on-ground sponsorships and F1 cars is just one aspect. It’s not just for the business-to-consumer companies but B2B companies also leverage it to wow their vendors, enterprises and employees. For instance: From corporate box tickets to the coveted Paddock Club, from where viewers can get the best view of the races, meet the racers and walk on the track, all are used to either score brownie points with clients, reward vendors or offered as incentives for employees.

Vodafone is trying to cut through the clutter through a unique marketing initiative that offers firms an opportunity to own nothing less than a piece of the F1 car itself.

As the title partner of McLaren Mercedes team, the telecom major believes the initiative helped it bond with medium and small enterprises in the country since the past two years. Through its initiative, Drive into the Big League (DiTBL), it offers an opportunity to one firm to have its logo placed on the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes cars. The Indian Grand Prix 2013 is slated to be held in Delhi from October 25 to October 27.

The selection process of the ten finalists is packaged as episodes shot in the game show format and aired on a business news channel. The short-listed firms present their business case to a jury panel.

Talking about the initiative, Deepak Pande, Executive Vice-President - SME Sales, Vodafone Business Services, said, “Drive into the Big League (DiTBL) Season 3 is an initiative to partner with medium-sized enterprises (MEs) generating annual revenue between Rs 100 crore and Rs 500 crore in their next phase of growth, by helping them take their brand to newer heights. “ He added that being on national television helps the ten short-listed finalists get some exposure and an opportunity to discuss their business plans with a distinguished jury who guides them to the next level.

So how does this help Vodafone? Vodafone Business Services is using this marketing exercise to create awareness about its products for medium enterprises. Pande said that after focusing on SMEs for the past two years, this year the company sharpened its focus to medium enterprises.

“This initiative helps us understand the goals and challenges of enterprises in the mid-segment and in turn helps us to provide them with business solutions that meet their needs and expectations,” said Pande. The winner in turn gets visibility for its brand on a global scale as millions of viewers tune in from across the world through the F1 weekend.

At the same time, the company ran a parallel on-ground activity interacting with SMEs across nine cities through a series of business seminars.

While ABC Consultants won the first edition which evinced interest from 80,000 firms, last year Sequel Logistics got to display its brand on the McLaren Mercedes team's car and compete with a whopping 2.70 lakh firms.

While brand managers are always looking to connect the dots from marketing spends to their translation into actual sales, Sequel Logistics believes it generated real-time business opportunities for them.

Talking about his experience last year, Rajkumar S., COO & Founder Director, Sequel Logistics, said, “The impact of seeing our brand displayed on the F1 car has been significant. Especially in the segments that we operate, considerable interest was generated, a lot of which also translated into business opportunities. The positive impact on our employees, customers and vendors was tremendous.” The company recently entered into a strategic alliance with one of the largest global secured logistics company.

He added, “While most people would assume that B2C companies would benefit from this, the impact of seeing the company’s logo up on a platform like this is a great boost for all stakeholders, especially the employees, as well as customers and vendors.”

Vodafone signed the F1 deal in 2007 for this global association with the McLaren Mercedes F1 team. “As part of the sponsorship, each country’s operating company gets to select any small business’ logo to be put on the race car when it races in that country. Most markets give this space to a small business. In India, we select the company through DiTBL and hence provide the space to a deserving business who is working towards driving into the big league,” adds Pande.

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