Vodafone To Sponsor McLaren Mercedes F1 Team

Posted by www.eMercedesBenz.com on December 14, 2005 at 10:20 AM CST

The McLaren Mercedes F1 team is announcing today that Vodafone will  
be their title sponsor for the 2007 race season.

Benefits of the sponsorship include branding on the the new 2007  
cars, drivers' and pit crews' overalls and helmets, as well as other  
supporting elements. In addition, the new team name will be changed  
to "Vodafone McLaren Mercedes."

Customers of the Vodafone network will also benefit from the  
sponsorship. Members of the 3G network will be brought exclusive  
behind the scenes access to the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing  
team, allowing them to "live the motor racing experience" and feel  
like part of the racing team.

According to Peter Bamford, Vodafone’s Chief Marketing Officer: "We  
are excited about this new phase of involvement in motor racing. As  
Title Sponsor of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team it raises our  
association with Formula One to the ultimate level. The new agreement  
delivers a fantastic marketing platform; the associative rights we  
acquire as a result of this new sponsorship provide us with  
additional opportunities to continue to raise brand awareness, build  
brand preference and drive revenue. It will also provide our  
customers with unique and exciting content through Vodafone live!  
with 3G.”

Needless to say, I'm not a Vodafone customer, so the news really  
doesn't affect me... although, I wouldn't mind a little cut of the  
Vodafone action, if you know what I mean.

For more info, you can check out the full press release by clicking  
the link below.

http://emercedesbenz.com/Dec05/14VodafoneSponsersMcLarenMercedes.html

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Vodafone Will Be McLaren Mercedes Title Sponsor

Stuttgart, Dec 14, 2005

The sponsorship demonstrates Vodafone’s ongoing commitment to the  
Formula One World Championship, a sport which continues to deliver  
massive global television coverage and which has significant appeal  
for Vodafone’s consumer and business customers around the world.
The title sponsorship includes a number of benefits:

The team name will be ‘Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’.

Vodafone will be the ‘Official Mobile Partner’ of the team.

Dominant Title Sponsorship branding on the new 2007 cars, drivers'  
and pit crews' overalls and helmets and other ancillary elements.

Significant marketing activation opportunities including hospitality,  
merchandising, and promotional rights including access to drivers and  
track days.

Behind the scenes access to the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing  
team, enabling Vodafone to bring exclusive content to Vodafone live!  
with 3G customers, allowing them to ‘live the motor racing  
experience’ and feel part of the racing team.

Additional content will include Vodafone McLaren Mercedes racing news  
updates, test results and full team biographies, the McLaren story,  
exclusive Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team games, videos, ringtones,  
wallpapers and screensavers.

Commenting on the agreement Peter Bamford, Vodafone’s Chief Marketing  
Officer said, "We are excited about this new phase of involvement in  
motor racing. As Title Sponsor of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team  
it raises our association with Formula One to the ultimate level. The  
new agreement delivers a fantastic marketing platform; the  
associative rights we acquire as a result of this new sponsorship  
provide us with additional opportunities to continue to raise brand  
awareness, build brand preference and drive revenue. It will also  
provide our customers with unique and exciting content through  
Vodafone live! with 3G.”

“This is only the third time for more than 30 years that the  
opportunity to become the team’s Title Sponsor has existed," said Ron  
Dennis, Chairman and CEO of the McLaren Group and McLaren Mercedes  
Team Principal. "The status of the brand and the level of activation  
in support of the sponsorship were key criteria for our choice of  
Title Sponsor and Vodafone over-delivers in all respects. In  
addition, as our agreement is long-term, this provides important  
stability within the Team, allowing us to focus fully on our  
objective of winning races and Championships together. We are  
delighted to welcome Vodafone to the team and look forward to many  
future successes."

"We welcome Vodafone as the new title sponsor to the team," said  
Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. "The fact  
that a world-renowned brand like Vodafone with such an impressive  
market performance has joined us is of significant importance not  
only for the team but also for all our world class sponsor partners.  
I am sure that each one will benefit from the respective activities  
of the other, which is a first class prospect for everybody involved."


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