German GP - The commercial side of Formula 1
Talk about preparations for this weekend's German Grand
Prix and the natural tendency is to think of the work carried
out at last week's test at the Paul Ricard circuit or developments
coming out of the factory in Maranello. However, Formula 1
is very much a commercial sport these days and, away from
the technical side, other members of the team have been preparing
as usual to meet the needs of commercial partners, for whom
every grand prix is a chance to promote its products through
association with Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro.
The main point of contact for these partners is the team's
Sponsor Manager, Massimo Cusimano. "My role is divided
in two: one part is liaison with existing sponsors and by
liaison that means to ensure that contracts are respected
and to coordinate with the other areas involved, which are
merchandising, communications, licensing and even internet,
making sure everything is managed properly," he explains.
"The second part is to find new sponsors: carrying out
market research, evaluating sponsorship proposals, looking
at legal aspects such as marketing rights and so forth."
The planning of sponsor events and requirements is carried
out a long time in advance. "Before a grand prix we meet
with all the sponsors via conference calls, with most of them
mainly based in UK," says Cusimano. "We prepare
and plan all the marketing activities at the circuit for the
local market involved. Usually, we start with a yearly plan
in order to share the time fairly. When we say 'time' this
means mainly the drivers' time as they are the most requested
elements of our package. Senior management, for example Jean
Todt are also requested to take part in some sponsor activities."
Ferrari's sponsors are international companies, which means
they have pretty much an equal interest in all the grands
prix around the world: in other words, Bridgestone for example
is interesting in promoting its products at all the grands
prix, not just in its native Japan. "It is crucial therefore
to plan in advance and to try and combine all the requests
to satisfy them all," reckons Cusimano. "There is
no need for example to have two media press conferences on
the same day at one race.
"Hockenheim is a very important race for us and our
sponsor Vodafone as Germany is a very big market for both
of us and the Vodafone subsidiary is very active. On the Thursday
before the race, they have organised an event involving Michael
Schumacher and Felipe Massa. Because it includes the drivers
and because its location is quite a long way away from the
circuit, which is our base for the weekend, it involves quite
a bit of organisation. The event takes place in the city of
Heidelberg, around 20 minutes away by helicopter. The drivers'
logistics have to be perfectly organised, coordinating Felipe's
and Michael's arrival. Usually, they tend to arrive at the
very last minute, so as not to waste time. We will organise
a helicopter to a spot near the venue and then a car will
be available to ferry them to the square where the event takes
place." The FIA always organises a Press Conference on
the Thursday afternoon at 3 pm at the circuit and the team
is not informed until a couple of days before if either of
its drivers is required to attend. They therefore also have
to be prepared to change logistics plan if one of the drivers
is summoned to the FIA event.
"Historically, Ferrari tended to be rather conservative
in its approach to this type of event," comments Cusimano.
"The one sponsor that has come up with ideas that have
really pushed us in a new direction is Vodafone. The purpose
of their sponsorship is to be known all over the world and
they want to enlarge their community. Their events are purely
commercial, so it is important to them to have an "attraction"
for their events, such as beach soccer in Spain or rugby with
the Australian team or beach volleyball in another country.
Before we reached an agreement regarding the Heidelberg event,
some ideas were rejected by us as we are conscious of having
to manage the image of the drivers and the team. We tend to
suggest to our sponsors the type of events that we know our
drivers like, so football is a safe bet! And the public likes
it too!"
To put the sponsor's viewpoint across, we spoke to Vodafone's
Global F1 Sponsorship Manager, Aled Rees. "Vodafone is
launching a product called "Radio DJ" in Germany
which enables users to select a music genre from a WAP site
and find tracks that can be downloaded onto their phone,"
explains Rees. "We wanted to use the opportunity of the
German GP to promote this product, which is being launched
at around the same time as the race, using the Ferrari drivers
in a consumer-based event in the centre of Heidelberg. Michael
Schumacher and Felipe Massa have already selected about ten
songs each and they will each be paired with a professional
DJ and the theme of the event is a "battle" between
the two drivers in the style of DJ competitions."
It is not unusual for companies to take their product to
the people with city-based events, however, the link with
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro is what makes this particular event
in Heidelberg stand out from the crowd. "We can bring
the event to life using the drivers to show what the consumer
can do with this product," says Rees. "The purpose
of having the Ferrari drivers there is that this of course
will generate a great deal more publicity and media coverage
than a straightforward product promotion. To start with, the
German TV company RTL will be involved in hosting the event,
while footage will be syndicated to other stations. Using
the drivers in this way will achieve two things for us: firstly,
it will meet our specific German PR objectives and secondly,
from a brand point of view, the drivers' presence involved
in fun activities that are of interest to consumers, spectators
and television stations produces a positive story about our
sponsorship and the products and services we are trying to
push using the sponsorship as a marketing tool."
Just getting the Formula 1 drivers to attend is in itself
a draw for the general public, but according to Rees, Schumacher,
who is now a veteran of these events having been involved
since Vodafone first appeared on his race car five years ago,
is the perfect promotional tool! "Michael is a consummate
professional. Whenever he is called upon to take part in these
events, the beauty of using him is that you only have to explain
everything once. He immediately understands what is required
and likes to be briefed in advance as to what is expected
from him and what we want to get out of the event. He always
completes the tasks in a very professional manner and we are
happy with his ability to endorse our products."
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