48 replies to this topic

[Zoony]

Well, no it isn't. It is really boring and features a title sponsor that no one's ever heard of.

 

F1 grids used to be lovely colourful things, full of instantly recognisable world-leading brand names. They were a microcosm of global brands in a glamorous setting, but now they are really dull affairs. Literally so as far as Ferrari, Red Bull and now McLaren are concerned.

 

Obviously a lot of title sponsor clout went missing with the banning of cigarette advertising, but couldn't the teams at least try a little bit to look familiar with major, well-known brands bedecking the bodywork? Maybe if they reduced the amount they charge per square inch for sponsorship, (which I think they probably could now they benefit so much more from TV revenues), some proper global brand names might appear on F1 cars again, and they wouldn't look quite so anonymous.

 

DP World? Never heard of 'em.

 

Jack & Jones? Who?

 

Huski Chocolate? Never seen any on any shelves I've browsed.

 

Petronas? They have some big towers in KL, but I haven't seen one of their petrol stations over here.

 

Red Bull? Yes, okay I've seen that about. But it just looks like the team is advertising itself really.

 

BWT? Nope. (But at least it is a big logo that sort of defines the team. And, yes, it is colourful.)

 

Dark Trace? Haven't a clue.

 

Rok-it? ???

 

Mission Winnow? Mission Lose-ow cigarette firm circumventing the ban.

 

I think the last really well-known title sponsor was Martini on the Williams in 2018, and it looked really good. But even they've now departed.

 

Just my two penn'orth.

[Stephane]

Well, if you already know them, what's the point in sponsoring ?

 

[Knowlesy]

Simmer down grandad!

[Sennasational]

Simmer down grandad!

 

Is that ye olde speak for 'OK boomer'?

[theflyingwheel]

In before the closure of the tread.

This is a full unfounded rant on some global brands since Formula 1 is a global brand not a British-European only sport.

If you cannot recognize most of the brands is not that the brands are not part of your environment rather how poorly informed some fans are outside their bubble.

DP world is one of the largest logistic companies in the world.

Jack & Jones I dont know about you but after living in Asia for two year you can see that brand of clothes in almost every corner in China

Petronas Is one of the largest companies not only in Malaysia but in southeast Asia region.

I know its hard to accept we don't live pre- July 1st 1997 but the world has moved on and so should we, brands come and go and we should get used to the idea of more global brands rather than the brands only boomers recognize nowadays.

[theflyingwheel]

Is that ye olde speak for 'OK boomer'?

The god old “Ok Boomer” keeps on giving.

[boomn]

Marketing, and therefore justifying marketing budgets, has always seemed to be largely guess work.  But to me it looks like there is some correlation with the increased ability to correlate marketing to results in our digital age, and the decrease of consumer brands being involved in this kind of marketing. 

 

Most of these companies aren't familiar to you or me because they don't sell to consumers but to other businesses.  Business to business marketing and the networking opportunities provided during a race weekend and other events appears to be the big money play for F1 teams right now

Edited by boomn, 11 March 2020 - 16:30.

[thegforcemaybewithyou]

Picture?

[Ross Stonefeld]

DP World is a weird sponsor, and is either not paying much or got screwed on their 'title sponsorship' deal because it took me a moment to figure out where they were. 

[PayasYouRace]

No clouds to yell at today?

 

We've actually got a really colourful and diverse looking field at the moment, livery-wise.

[Scotracer]

Jack & Jones are plenty recognisable. I have several of their T-shirts.

 

What a weird criticism though.

[Maustinsj]

Jack and Jones have a shop in Swindon!

And, as we know, if you’ve reached Swindon, you really have made it.

Edited by Maustinsj, 11 March 2020 - 16:46.

[HeadFirst]

Jack and Jones have a shop in Swindon!

And, as we know, if you’ve reached Swindon, you really have made it.

 

I wonder if Lewis avoids Swindon? 

[SilverArrow31]

I don't really get the point of what Renault did with their livery this pre-season, they had a filming day without their new title sponsor, then had the absolutely pointless testing livery (At least the red bull liverys were interesting camos that caught the imagination but there weren't much point in those either) Before teasing a new livery and title sponsor and showing the same testing livery with a few new white words. Surely they had better things to do with their time...

[danstheman]

Picture?

 

 

 

[Neno]

My mind telling me no, but my body....

[Burai]

I don't remember the grids of old being colourful. I remember them being a sea of white, black, red and blue with the occasional yellow car thrown in for good measure.

[DeKnyff]

Is it any different than before, other than the DP WORLD letters?

[TheFish]

We have the most colourful grid in years. Glad we left the period of grey cars. That was rubbish.

[GoldenColt]

[Knowlesy]

Is it any different than before, other than the DP WORLD letters?

Rear wing is now black.

Those kerrazy creatives at Renault have blown the game wide open.

[P123]

I didn't know we were obliged to know who sponsors were.  I doubt I could say what quite a lot of them do, from any era.   And as Zoony can list quite a lot of them, I'd say the sponsorship is working, at least from a brand recognition standpoint.

 

Livery looks fine too.

 

DP World agreement is probably similar to Williams with AT&T.  Team naming rights, but limited on car presence.

[Zoony]

And as Zoony can list quite a lot of them, I'd say the sponsorship is working, at least from a brand recognition standpoint.

 

As it happens I had to refer to numerous articles on the Autosport site merely to find what the sponsors were! So brand recognition is not working for me.

 

What I was meaning in my OP was simply that the cars of yore were more sort of 'friendly familiar faces' to race fans and non-afficiandos alike. I just think that those huge big firms that we all know about gave one some kind of psychological reassurance. Even the most non-race fan would recognise Marlboro immediately and know he was looking at a McLaren.

 

I know it is all very subjective, and I accept that perhaps I'm not as brand-aware as I once was, so I accept most of the points above.

 

But I do very definitely dig my heels in over matt paint finishes. Whoever came up with that idea needs their head examining. Ugh!

[Knowlesy]

I kind of see what you're saying Zoony, but no doubt people had similar gripes when they ditched the national colours and stuck fag logos on the cars.

[PayasYouRace]

As it happens I had to refer to numerous articles on the Autosport site merely to find what the sponsors were! So brand recognition is not working for me.

 

What I was meaning in my OP was simply that the cars of yore were more sort of 'friendly familiar faces' to race fans and non-afficiandos alike. I just think that those huge big firms that we all know about gave one some kind of psychological reassurance. Even the most non-race fan would recognise Marlboro immediately and know he was looking at a McLaren.

 

I know it is all very subjective, and I accept that perhaps I'm not as brand-aware as I once was, so I accept most of the points above.

 

But I do very definitely dig my heels in over matt paint finishes. Whoever came up with that idea needs their head examining. Ugh!

 

I think if you actually went back to those days you'd find a similar mix of familiar names, big names in other countries that you yourself wouldn't be familiar with, and dodgy or ambitious "no name" sponsors. It's just that you've got your rose tinted glasses on.

[pitlanepalpatine]

I read the thread the title and thought "this better need a /sarcasm tag". I'm glad I was correct    Technically Renault could be sponsored by Google and could adopt the Google colour schemes since both follow a pattern of promising game changing features for them to be underwhelming/not work and then having them deprecated 

[ARTGP]

Can you atleast put a poll? How are we going to determine if the forum thinks it's stunning or not.

Edited by ARTGP, 11 March 2020 - 19:07.

[Mat13]

all very subjective

It is, isn't it.

[Zoony]

I kind of see what you're saying Zoony, but no doubt people had similar gripes when they ditched the national colours and stuck fag logos on the cars.

 

You're absolutely right of course. I remember it well... 

[Zoony]

I think if you actually went back to those days you'd find a similar mix of familiar names, big names in other countries that you yourself wouldn't be familiar with, and dodgy or ambitious "no name" sponsors. It's just that you've got your rose tinted glasses on.

 

Yep. Guilty as charged. Touché.

[427MkIV]

Glad to see new companies or any companies sponsoring racing. A while back I started making a list of the brands I first was made aware of through racing sponsorship. But since I started paying attention to racing as a kid in the 1970s, the list got too long. John Player, Gitanes, BP, Elf, Candy, Parmalat, Agip, Magneti Marelli, Melling, STP, Rothmans, and on and on. However, again, as a kid in the 70s, I was already aware of Hesketh's sponsor Penthouse.

[Jovanotti]

Dude, I saw this thread title and excitedly went to check for pics Needless to say, I was bloody disappointed.

[PayasYouRace]

Dude, I saw this thread title and excitedly went to check for pics Needless to say, I was bloody disappointed.

 

To be honest, I was expecting a thread on how Renault haven't actually got a new livery.

[Burai]

We have the most colourful grid in years. Glad we left the period of grey cars. That was rubbish.

Five years ago we literally had a grid of silver, dark blue and black cars. Sauber dared to paint their car bright blue and everyone moaned about it.

[chrisj]

I thought "DP World" was a porn site.

[midgrid]

Rather than let the Renault RS20 hog all of the fun, I've started a thread where you can discuss (and vote on!) the aesthetic appeal of the whole field.

[Sterzo]

I think if you actually went back to those days you'd find a similar mix of familiar names, big names in other countries that you yourself wouldn't be familiar with, and dodgy or ambitious "no name" sponsors. It's just that you've got your rose tinted glasses on.

Never did find out what a Nichibutsu was, and seem to recall T-minus was a "brand" but the owner hadn't decided what to sell before publicising it.

[NikL]

The livery is utter garbage and looks like they have put absolutely no effort into this whatsoever. I recon any one of us on this forum could have done better. As for the title sponsor it looks like they have done a similar deal to what Williams did with AT&T some time ago, barely any presence on the car but still title sponsor.

[Dratini]

The purpose of sponsorship is so that you know who these organisations are. I'd never heard of the likes of BWT, Petronas, Jack & Jones etc until I saw them in F1. Now, if I do see them in my every day life, they are familiar to me and have an impression. I tell you that if you are searching for teams who are sponsored only by brands you are familiar with, we are going to have a pretty bare grid.

[Frood]

To be honest, since the demise of Rich Energy, it's Red Bull who have the dodgy sponsors. The rest of the grid seems pretty legitimate.

They have myWorld, who've been discussed elsewhere and had several odd things about them. Then they have PayVoo, a Lithuanian company providing a "digital wallet" service that appears to be connected to their old sponsor Futurocoin, who apparently had some legal issues. They also have a Chinese gambling site about whom information is very scarce; though appears to be registered in the Philippines via a company that doesn't seem to exist.

[Paco]

And why is this a seperate thread from the Renault team one?

[Myrvold]

Obviously a lot of title sponsor clout went missing with the banning of cigarette advertising, but couldn't the teams at least try a little bit to look familiar with major, well-known brands bedecking the bodywork? Maybe if they reduced the amount they charge per square inch for sponsorship, (which I think they probably could now they benefit so much more from TV revenues), some proper global brand names might appear on F1 cars again, and they wouldn't look quite so anonymous.

You mean like they used to do, like Ursus of Iceland? Or what about Broker that was the main sponsor of Sauber (what was it?). The infamous T-Minus? Lucchini? Arisco? Were SAP that known when they joined McLaren in 97? Incidentally I saw my first Alcatel this year! I also refuse to believe that Morse was a global brand, or that European Aviation was well known around the world, same with Gruppo Doimo or Valleverde.

DP World? Never heard of 'em.

Neither had I, but damn they pull in money. 3.3 billion USD? They could run a 2-team operation without giving it a second thought!

Jack & Jones? Who?

Clothing Company, richest man in Denmark owns it. Personal sponsor of Magnussen.

Huski Chocolate? Never seen any on any shelves I've browsed.

Take a trip to Milwall I guess ;)

Petronas? They have some big towers in KL, but I haven't seen one of their petrol stations over here.

 

Western world are not their focus. But after being in F1 for 25 years they are quite well known?

Red Bull? Yes, okay I've seen that about. But it just looks like the team is advertising itself really.

Unlike Benetton did? Or Footwork? Andrea Moda(I know...), Fondmetal? Or so many before. It's just that F1 isn't that attractive, and no other company are willing to spend that much money.

BWT? Nope. (But at least it is a big logo that sort of defines the team. And, yes, it is colourful.)

If you don't know, you are not in the group they are advertising for. They don't sell water in bottles, but products that enhance the water, and pool water treatment and much other.

Dark Trace? Haven't a clue.

Isn't that cyber security for businesses? Probably not too relevant for the average person.

Rok-it? ???

Cheap phones, isn't this a UK company that only sells on the web if your outside UK?

Mission Winnow? Mission Lose-ow cigarette firm circumventing the ban.

Well, isn't that fair game, at least it is a global firm behind it as you asked for?

[Baddoer]

Looks like a jordan from 2005

[TennisUK]

DP World is a weird sponsor, and is either not paying much or got screwed on their 'title sponsorship' deal because it took me a moment to figure out where they were. 

Mark Gallagher mentioned on Twitter that having a title sponsorship with little actual sticker coverage is not a bad option for a company investing a midfield team  -they won't get a huge amount of TV time (so stickers aren't much use), but being title sponsor means they get mentioned quite a bit.

[CoolBreeze]

Well, no it isn't. It is really boring and features a title sponsor that no one's ever heard of.

 

F1 grids used to be lovely colourful things, full of instantly recognisable world-leading brand names. They were a microcosm of global brands in a glamorous setting, but now they are really dull affairs. Literally so as far as Ferrari, Red Bull and now McLaren are concerned.

 

Obviously a lot of title sponsor clout went missing with the banning of cigarette advertising, but couldn't the teams at least try a little bit to look familiar with major, well-known brands bedecking the bodywork? Maybe if they reduced the amount they charge per square inch for sponsorship, (which I think they probably could now they benefit so much more from TV revenues), some proper global brand names might appear on F1 cars again, and they wouldn't look quite so anonymous.

 

DP World? Never heard of 'em.

 

Jack & Jones? Who?

 

Huski Chocolate? Never seen any on any shelves I've browsed.

 

Petronas? They have some big towers in KL, but I haven't seen one of their petrol stations over here.

 

Red Bull? Yes, okay I've seen that about. But it just looks like the team is advertising itself really.

 

BWT? Nope. (But at least it is a big logo that sort of defines the team. And, yes, it is colourful.)

 

Dark Trace? Haven't a clue.

 

Rok-it? ???

 

Mission Winnow? Mission Lose-ow cigarette firm circumventing the ban.

 

I think the last really well-known title sponsor was Martini on the Williams in 2018, and it looked really good. But even they've now departed.

 

Just my two penn'orth.

 

You either need to travel more, or read more. 

 

The world is as such the big boys are playing things cautiously. There's no need to advertise when the name is already all out. Coke doesn't even advertise in any form of sport, IIRC. 

Thus, the smaller boys and mid size fellas are now taking the opportunity to do so. 

[taran]

Mark Gallagher mentioned on Twitter that having a title sponsorship with little actual sticker coverage is not a bad option for a company investing a midfield team  -they won't get a huge amount of TV time (so stickers aren't much use), but being title sponsor means they get mentioned quite a bit.

 

Title sponsors never get mentioned. They only appear in official written statements and official entries etc. No journo refers to the Mission Winnow Ferrari, they say Ferrari. No one is ever going to say DP Renault, it will always be just Renault.

Title sponsor used to mean the biggest sponsor with the most signage on the car and they'd get named as part of the official entry. While this has gotten blurred over time, for example with Mercedes buying the colour rights to McLaren in 1997 (hence West running in silver instead of their own red-white), BMW buying the colour rights at Williams and then Marlboro buying the entire Ferrari and parceling it out to sub-sponsors but it always meant paying a lot of money for a visible presence on the car. 

 

The fact that you have to find this DP on the car with a magnifying glass tells me they're paying peanuts and Renault is desperate for money, even at discounted rates.

[taran]

Never did find out what a Nichibutsu was, and seem to recall T-minus was a "brand" but the owner hadn't decided what to sell before publicising it.

 

T-Minus was obviously not helped by being created and run by a fake "Nigerian Prince" but the business idea was quite novel. It was supposed to be an umbrella brand name for companies which didn't have the money/global reach to market their products under their own name. T-Minus would do the major advertising and these subordinate companies would then benefit from general brand awareness.

 

I don't know if it could have worked, I don't know any modern version of this practice unless you consider on-line sellers like Amazon selling stuff for other companies to be similar but trying to get the brand off the ground through F1 marketing is not that uncommon (Rok-it and Rich Energy anyone?).

 

But it helps if you have the seed money to build that awareness until you have actual products to sell.....

 

[LoudHoward]

Dunno if I want my race cars to all look like a slide from some famous companies power point presentation. The Renault livery might be a bit same old same old for the last couple of years now, but I still think it looks pretty nice.

[DeKnyff]

Well, no it isn't. It is really boring and features a title sponsor that no one's ever heard of.

 

F1 grids used to be lovely colourful things, full of instantly recognisable world-leading brand names. They were a microcosm of global brands in a glamorous setting, but now they are really dull affairs. Literally so as far as Ferrari, Red Bull and now McLaren are concerned.

 

Obviously a lot of title sponsor clout went missing with the banning of cigarette advertising, but couldn't the teams at least try a little bit to look familiar with major, well-known brands bedecking the bodywork? Maybe if they reduced the amount they charge per square inch for sponsorship, (which I think they probably could now they benefit so much more from TV revenues), some proper global brand names might appear on F1 cars again, and they wouldn't look quite so anonymous.

 

DP World? Never heard of 'em.

 

Jack & Jones? Who?

 

Huski Chocolate? Never seen any on any shelves I've browsed.

 

Petronas? They have some big towers in KL, but I haven't seen one of their petrol stations over here.

 

Red Bull? Yes, okay I've seen that about. But it just looks like the team is advertising itself really.

 

BWT? Nope. (But at least it is a big logo that sort of defines the team. And, yes, it is colourful.)

 

Dark Trace? Haven't a clue.

 

Rok-it? ???

 

Mission Winnow? Mission Lose-ow cigarette firm circumventing the ban.

 

I think the last really well-known title sponsor was Martini on the Williams in 2018, and it looked really good. But even they've now departed.

 

Just my two penn'orth.

 You forgot to mention Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin, two brands that you probably know.