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."
