Q+A Michel Tilmant of ING

After the departure of Mild Seven, the Renault F1 Team had to find a new sponsor and teamed up with ING. Michel Tilmant, the Chairman of the Executive Board of ING Group explains why ING choose F1 as a sponsorship sport and why they choose Renuault.

"The ING brand is one of our most valuable assets; it stands for the quality of our people, products and services. ING is already a well established brand in the world. We are one of the top 100 brands in the Interbrand list of Global Brands. Still, we want to further invest in brand awareness to bring ING’s image more in line with our reach of 60 million customers worldwide. F1 is currently the most suitable platform for a global sponsoring initiative, because it has the potential to reach a broad customer base. Grand Prix races take place in 17 countries, of which ING is active in 15. With a global audience of 850 million people per year, it is the only truly global platform that can boost our brand awareness internationally."

"While our headquarters are in the Netherlands, we are not exclusively a Dutch company; much of our staff and client base is in other countries around the world, including the UK, the US, Central and Eastern Europe, Asia and the Americas. For this reason ING wanted to sponsor an International top team with a proven higher global media value. After much consideration, we concluded that the Renault F1 Team was the best fit for the ING brand. We are a global company focused on perfecting our winning performance culture. The Renault team is a twotime world champion, and our sponsorship links ING with their international success."

"As title sponsor, the ING name and brand will be prominently displayed on ING Renault F1 Team cars, the livery of ING Renault F1 Team drivers, mechanics and other team staff. Our logo will also be displayed prominently on all F1 marketing and advertising materials. At several events, we’re also an on-track sponsor, which will make us even more visible to millions of TV viewers and live spectators worldwide."

"No, on a national level we are an active sponsor of various sports like marathons, soccer and waterpolo, which - with the exception of the New York marathon - generate mostly local media coverage. Formula 1, is a global sponsor initiative which will give us extensive international coverage, making these sponsorship opportunities the perfect complement for each other."