It's the F1 Countdown

It's a fact that associating with F1 is perfect for brands targeting the youth, given the profile of the motor sport's followers. But there's opportunity to go beyond. Because F1 reflects lifestyle, and because F1 is a manifestation of technology used to create automotive perfection that marries speed, safety and style.

Ecclestone & Co have added to the property over the years glamour, fashion, travel, music and the works, making F1 much more than a set of fast cars racing for - and before - millions. The hugely popular Amercian heavy metal band Metallica will open the inaugural edition of the Airtel Indian Grand Prix in end-October. Can it really get any bigger than this? Apparently it can for brands, along different tangents.

For Vodafone, reaching out to SMEs through its Vodafone McLaren Mercedes (VMM) team was one such opportunity beyond the core youth target. A contest allowing SMEs to put their logo on the race car during the Indian Grand Prix invited them to ‘Drive into the Big League'. Yes, before we forget, the profile of brands associated with F1 will literally mean the SME logo will be among the corporate giants in the big league. What's in it for Vodafone? It's not an add-on promotion – there's a business case for it.

“In India, we started the enterprise (segment) journey around two years ago, and have significantly expanded products and services for this segment. Of the 10,000 corporates we cater to, a large chunk would be SMEs. Everyone goes after the big companies – everyone is chasing the same consumers. We genuinely believe the SME segment is under-served,” explains Naveen Chopra, Director – Enterprise and Carrier Business, Vodafone Essar.

The contest had elicited over 30,000 entries, encouraging Vodafone to extend the last date. A series of three television commercials to invite entries from SMEs is on. As with most F1 promotions, while the winning SME's logo will be on the VMM cars, there are the added thrills of driver interactions and the experience of being part of the racing team.

Equally or more significantly, 20 shortlisted SMEs will be on television as part of a reality show, explaining to a jury why they deserve to win.

The connect with motor sports is made more robust by the qualifying parameters – it has to be an organisation that has raced up the growth path over the last three years; and more importantly, it should have used technology to drive growth.

Vodafone CMO Kumar Ramanathan notes that the other sponsor logos on F1 cars - the ones that money can buy - would cost €100,000 or thereabouts.

Even as Vodafone builds on its VMM consumer promotions of the last few years (including a new reality show), Airtel, the title sponsor of the Indian Grand Prix, is busy screening Grid Girls across the country, among other promotions. Add to this Force India's second season of The Fast and the Gorgeous , and we have four reality shows by three brands, of which two own F1 teams. The reality shows are by themselves admittedly an amplification device at this stage, providing return on investment (RoI) through air time value. They are more a lure for participants than content guaranteeing appointment viewing, say television industry watchers.

The first ‘Indian' team, Force India, isn't fazed by more brands in the fray. On the contrary, it is hoping for more brands to ride the premier F1 event in India, leading to increased popularity of its team. For the team of course, the core audience is youth. But for the brands associated with its team, it might not be.

Force of the Followers

Ravikant Sabnavis, Vice President – Marketing, Kingfisher Airlines (which handles marketing for Force India), notes, “I wouldn't really view competition as who is making more noise. Each of the brands is in a different category except for Vodafone and Airtel. For Force India, we have brands including Kingfisher Airlines, United Breweries and United Spirits leveraging their association with the team in their own way.”

Reebok, which makes the apparel of the Force India team, continues its association, and will understandably benefit from the Indian Grand Prix. Reliance Industries Ltd was a team sponsor in its initial days, but chose to move away midway.

With the Indian Grand Prix, Sabnavis notes that there is increased interest in the ‘Indian' team among brands. This too, we are told, is not just among brands targeting youth.

“We definitely see more sponsor interest in brands wanting to associate with Force India because of the Indian Grand Prix,” he explains, without going into further detail.

While Red Bull and Vodafone have built on their more high-profile teams (with more podium finishes), Force India has relied on the ‘Indian-ness' of the team from its inception. If it was Shah Rukh Khan launching the team's (ongoing) campaign, businessman and team owner Vijay Mallya is the corporate and lifestyle face of the team.

Also on the lifestyle end, Sabnavis and his team have driven salience for Force India with a slew of events ranging from five-city Speed Nights to Octane Nights at upmarket clubs such as F Bar. One remembers the involvement of dignitaries from foreign embassies at Force India screenings on race days in the past. Clearly, that's well beyond the youth target group too.

Led by youth though, Force India's Web site ClubForce boasts over one million members, and the average time spent on the site last F1 season was six minutes, reveals Sabnavis.

COMMENT NOW