Sponsorship costs
Discussion
Just wondering - on an F1 car how much do sponsors pay for those tiny stickers ? Basically I was wondering what's the minimum amount a team would charge to put a wee sticker on a car ?
I presume its quite chunky and obviously there are more prime spots on the car than others..For the minimum amount what do those companies get in return ?
I presume its quite chunky and obviously there are more prime spots on the car than others..For the minimum amount what do those companies get in return ?
Edited by juice on Tuesday 16th March 18:38
I was asked if I would like to sponsor an F2 car last year (son of Mr M B,) and turned it down as the amount for a small space on the car, helmet and overall was several 10's of £000's. Granted this was for the season and he is a fair driver, but by no means brilliant with average results and I just wasn't convinced so I decided against it.
I would suggest to get onto an F1 car even on a very small scale would cost as much per race as I needed to pay for the entire season on an F2 car, and probably a whole lot more than that.
One of my customers sponsors the Williams car and although exact figures have never been discussed, if you need to ask, apparently you can't afford it
I would suggest to get onto an F1 car even on a very small scale would cost as much per race as I needed to pay for the entire season on an F2 car, and probably a whole lot more than that.
One of my customers sponsors the Williams car and although exact figures have never been discussed, if you need to ask, apparently you can't afford it
During free practice someone mentioned that one of the teams was charging $2.5 Million a year for sponsorship on the rear wing endplates. They didn't mention the team but as has already been mentioned different teams can demand different levels of sponsorship. I did some work with Jaguar around 2 months before they got bought out by redbull and all the other sponsors had to be informed of any new deals and I think if they felt there was a conflict of interest they could veto the new sponsor trying to come on board. So the people looking for new sponsors have to take into account the current ones which can make it difficult.
My understanding is that it depends on many thinks, including timing
Most teams don't present it as a sponsorship cost; it's built up as a value proposition with many facets based on the brand values of each company and will take the form of joint events, PR, campaigns using key aspects of the team, reciprocity (e.g., supply of computer systems/advice from a major company as part of the deal), access to key team members (and to other sponsors and their guests), etc, or as creative as you can be... (eg Virgin)
I understand that deals can start as little as £100k, but that won't get you anything on a car, except with the lower teams that do race by race deals. It might get you something on their web site or use of their brand in some way.
Most teams don't present it as a sponsorship cost; it's built up as a value proposition with many facets based on the brand values of each company and will take the form of joint events, PR, campaigns using key aspects of the team, reciprocity (e.g., supply of computer systems/advice from a major company as part of the deal), access to key team members (and to other sponsors and their guests), etc, or as creative as you can be... (eg Virgin)
I understand that deals can start as little as £100k, but that won't get you anything on a car, except with the lower teams that do race by race deals. It might get you something on their web site or use of their brand in some way.
On car branding only works if you are a global business that will benefit from TV exposure. There are a number or research organisations that will calculate for both teams and investors what their return is per season when compared to trackside, athlete, TV and web rates.
The on car branding is usually linked to factory tour opportunities, driver appearances, on truck / motorhome branding, media and additional spinoffs. Usually only those who are cash contributors go on car beyond the engine manufacturers. Official suppliers of equipment, stuff at the factory and clothing etc do not usually get on car recognition unless a seven figure euro amount changes hands in addition to computers, machines, shoes, watches etc.
F1 is seriously expensive when you take into account hospitality at around U$ $ 5000 per weekend per person for Paddock Club passes and then additional amounts for hotels, gifts etc.
Race sponsorship used to cost upwards of US $ 4,000,000 per race with hospitality costs etc in addition and driver appearances away from the circuit at US $ 15,000 per day plus travel.
For a TV commercial a few years ago showing NON race footage but shot on track FOA was charging upawards of US $8,000 per second for worldwide broadcast rights if shot during the season at a test event!!
The on car branding is usually linked to factory tour opportunities, driver appearances, on truck / motorhome branding, media and additional spinoffs. Usually only those who are cash contributors go on car beyond the engine manufacturers. Official suppliers of equipment, stuff at the factory and clothing etc do not usually get on car recognition unless a seven figure euro amount changes hands in addition to computers, machines, shoes, watches etc.
F1 is seriously expensive when you take into account hospitality at around U$ $ 5000 per weekend per person for Paddock Club passes and then additional amounts for hotels, gifts etc.
Race sponsorship used to cost upwards of US $ 4,000,000 per race with hospitality costs etc in addition and driver appearances away from the circuit at US $ 15,000 per day plus travel.
For a TV commercial a few years ago showing NON race footage but shot on track FOA was charging upawards of US $8,000 per second for worldwide broadcast rights if shot during the season at a test event!!
juice said:
So its not really about the TV exposure at all then, as there's going to be sweet FA coverage of your logo at 200MPH..rather its more about the ability to in effect..sell on the experience of F1 to your clients ?
No, it's all about TV exposure, brand and marketing.Even at 200mph, you still notice Vodafone, Mercedes, Lada (in the case of Renault this year) for example. You can calculate the amount of TV coverage and based on rate cards calculate how much your name on TV would cost being seen for as long as it wss (is etc). Last year from memory, the Brawn car had so much TV coverage that the amount it cost to advertise on the TV was outweighed by the amount it cost to actually advertise on the car by some factor. Bear in mind the F1 'show' is seen by millions and millions of people all over the world and there are few sporting events that draw such huge number of fans.
That's my 2p worth and understanding of it
It is all well and good comparing TV exposure to the cost, but unles you back that up with additional product activation and F1 related off track marketing you are wasting your money. The best sports marketing campaigns involve people who are not actually fans or customers but are made aware of your product and then try or start buying them. Advertising alone will not work.
Would you go on an MSC cruise because you have seen it on an F1 car or on tracklside signage?
Would you buy a Philips electric razor becuase it is associatd with Williams F1...unlikely.
But if these were presented to you elsewhere via magazines, the web, product trials, competitions, radio, viral marketing etc you may be tempted.
TV exposure alone does not sell, it reinforces an image that is all.
Would you go on an MSC cruise because you have seen it on an F1 car or on tracklside signage?
Would you buy a Philips electric razor becuase it is associatd with Williams F1...unlikely.
But if these were presented to you elsewhere via magazines, the web, product trials, competitions, radio, viral marketing etc you may be tempted.
TV exposure alone does not sell, it reinforces an image that is all.
belleair302 said:
It is all well and good comparing TV exposure to the cost, but unles you back that up with additional product activation and F1 related off track marketing you are wasting your money. The best sports marketing campaigns involve people who are not actually fans or customers but are made aware of your product and then try or start buying them. Advertising alone will not work.
Would you go on an MSC cruise because you have seen it on an F1 car or on tracklside signage?
Would you buy a Philips electric razor becuase it is associatd with Williams F1...unlikely.
But if these were presented to you elsewhere via magazines, the web, product trials, competitions, radio, viral marketing etc you may be tempted.
TV exposure alone does not sell, it reinforces an image that is all.
As I mentioned - it's about brand.Would you go on an MSC cruise because you have seen it on an F1 car or on tracklside signage?
Would you buy a Philips electric razor becuase it is associatd with Williams F1...unlikely.
But if these were presented to you elsewhere via magazines, the web, product trials, competitions, radio, viral marketing etc you may be tempted.
TV exposure alone does not sell, it reinforces an image that is all.
Slinky said:
Conversely, what's the return on that "investment"..
A few years back, I had a client who worked in the field of CAD design for automotive production mapping. They were looking to expand their client base and we looked at F1 as a means to do this.We engaged in discussions with a number of the smaller teams and ended up talking with Minardi.
£250,000 was the budget and for this, they’d have got a business card size sticker on the lower part of the side pod. However, what the deal would have done is enable our client to gain direct access to appropriate senior management across pretty much the entire global automotive industry. They were effectively buying a place in the “inner sanctum” and meeting these potential clients over a glass of wine in nice surroundings.
A way of looking at the deal was to say it was a very expensive networking exercise.
We worked out a ROI based upon the cost of travelling, pitching, re-pitching and following up leads in the tradition manner to this group and demonstrated a saving of over £200,000. This is assuming they would have gained accessed to the key buyers in the first place, which was (and still is) very difficult.
Annoyingly, our client decided at the last minute to run a couple of golf days instead! None of them attracted the people they wanted to engage with and the company went bust three year later due to lack of contracts.
£100k might just get you a very small sticker on one of the new teams for the season, although for that money you might do better with a partnership (no branding on the car, but the ability to use the relationship in other materials).
£250k will get you a small position on a midfield car.
For McLaren or Ferrari, add a nought. At least. Schweppes sponsorship of the frivers' drink bottles ran well into 7 figures, a decade ago.
£250k will get you a small position on a midfield car.
For McLaren or Ferrari, add a nought. At least. Schweppes sponsorship of the frivers' drink bottles ran well into 7 figures, a decade ago.
juice said:
So its not really about the TV exposure at all then, as there's going to be sweet FA coverage of your logo at 200MPH..rather its more about the ability to in effect..sell on the experience of F1 to your clients ?
For the smaller sponsors, TV is almost irrelevant. The image will only be seen occasionally (grid walk, dedicated pieces). Their return is likely to come in different ways:- The special hospitality at the circuit for most favoured clients, access to the other sponsers at the same.
- Access to drivers, staff, show cars and the factory for business matters (e.g. sales conference, product launch)
- The hook for a marketing campaign - consumer or trade. That may mean use of images in ads, as the theme for a promotional campaign, PR opportunites (all potentially with additional costs, but that's like any marketing/sponsorship package).
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