As part of the GPDA fan survey the following question was asked.
“Please name the first five brands or companies that come to mind who sponsor F1 Grand Prix races, teams, drivers etc.”
Here is the table of results.
1 Red Bull 46%
2 Shell 27%
3 Marlboro 24%
4= Martini 22%
4= Petronas 22%
6 Santander 20%
7 Pirelli 14%
8= Ferrari 13%
8= Mercedes-Benz 13%
10 Rolex 11%
If you view this from a ‘team’ perspective – this is rather disappointing for Ferrari and Mercedes who languish way below their recent quadruple winning rival based in Milton Keynes.
Ferrari sponsors Shell and Marlboro are though 2nd and 3rd – most probably due to their long historic association with F1.
Further, despite Infiniti despite supposedly received more than 1$bn in eyeball marketing dollars from their association with Red Bull – they appear nowhere in the list. Neither do Renault.
Santander are quietly withdrawing from F1 sponsorship of circuits as each contract runs down. Silverstone was the latest to suffer the loss of race sponsorship from Santander.
The big surprise is the positioning of Martini. They returned to F1 just 18 months ago as the Williams team title sponsor.
So Red Bull is top of the F1 branding pile. But the real question is ‘what values?’ – do the followers of Formula One perceive to be associated with the brand.
Being well known and recognisable is only part of the story.
The low ratings for Ferrari and Mercedes is possibly because people assumed the question was about sponsors rather than team owners.
Yeah I had the same thought and the question is quite specific.
Marlboro is very surprising though..! Subliminal marketing seems to pay off…
It’s not subliminal at all. Look at http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/wp-content/uploads/Screen-Shot-2013-01-17-at-11.46.30.png
He looks like a pack of Marlboro.
Looking at that list I clearly see that Ferrari sponsors are better known than any other. When they ask you “brands or companies that come to mind who sponsor F1” and you think about liveries you recall the sponsors of the team, not the team itself. I’m surprised Ferrari and Mercedes are given as answers. It’s not that surprising with Red Bull, because they are not car manufacturer, but a racing team sorta sponsored by a drinks company.
71% recalled Ferrari’s 3 big sponsors, mind you one of them doesn’t even have it’s name on the livery, and an additional 13% for the team, total: 90% !!!
Rolex and Pirelli are a bit no man’s land.
Mercedes: 13% + Petronas 22% = 35%
Williams 22%
Red Bull 46%
Seems to me like Ferrari are the BIG WINNER.
By the way, Ferrari are one of the most recognizable brands in the world. So it’s a bit funny to assume they are not “well known and recognizable” for Formula 1 fans.
I don’t know how 71+13=90 though! But you get the point…
Duffy, you cannot straight-up add percentages, well, you did, but it doesn’t work like that.
That’s like me writing that Shell has 28% because I recognized it.
I agree with mrfill.
The question was:
“Please name the first five brands or companies that come to mind WHO SPONSOR F1 Grand Prix races, teams, drivers etc.”
Red Bull not only owns two team, they own a race and sponsor more of them I think. Other brands on the list sponsor F1 teams, F1 as a sport and they sponsor races.
But Ferrari and Mercedes are not perceived as SPONSORS of F1, although they spend enormous amount of money on F1.
I was part of that survey too and I didn’t put Ferrari and Mercedes high on the list, although their brands are very much associated with F1. So maybe it was just that the question was not formed properly.
Is it the state of the sport that I still think JPS, Camel, Marlboro, Canon and Longines?????
Along with Rothmans, Benson and Hedges, and lucky strike
No, just the state of the graphic designers who come up with the liveries. The older liveries stood out way more than most of the current breed. They become memorable and iconic, and consequently you’re able to remember the names that were emblazoned on there more.
Not one product on that list will ever be purchased by me. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that I’m not on my own in that regard. I didn’t bother with the survey, but I know I would have struggled to answer that question, with the exception of naming Red Bull.
If the Dwarf places any value in that list, he should be concerned that possibly the largest advertiser he promotes isn’t there. Practically every corner on every track has a huge banner advert for a middle eastern airline – I can’t for the life of me remember who they are either !!
Who did they ask??and what age group?? The question was very poorly outlined. Any team that is a part of F1 could be classed as a sponsor but that wasn’t really what they wanted to know. The people who thought up that little exercise need sacking. It’s probably the same people who thought that fan boost was a good idea. Is there any wonder that our sport tends to head down wrong roads at times. Since when has Redbull ever been ahead of a heritage team like Mchonda,Williams or Merc let alone Ferrari and as for a title sponsor,who can forget Yardley or Penthouse 😉 or the very bad ad featuring Michael Schumacher with a dubed voice promoting a shampoo (only shown once in the UK)..sorry for the rant chaps,its that I have a real problem with Ad and PR speak..its just so blue sky thinking 😉