How does a major international bank use PR to benefit from its motorsport sponsorship? We asked Jon Tracey, Director of Press and PR for ING’s Formula One programme.
Why is ING sponsoring Formula One?
ING is ranked as a top ten global company by Forbes Magazine, but our brand perception lags behind the size and scope of our business. We’re particularly interested in reaching consumers in emerging markets, such as India and Asia, where F1 has a rapidly growing profile.
How do you evaluate success?
The key objective of our sponsorship is improving brand awareness and willingness to do business with ING. We track and monitor all our F1-related activities - during 2007, we surveyed 16,000 people in 32 countries before and after the GP season across 27 different metrics. The results exceeded our expectations, for example, we saw a 25% increase in positive perception of ING, and more importantly, 29% of non-ING customers surveyed were now willing to do business with ING as a direct result of our sponsorship.
Do you have a plan for how long the sponsorship might last?
For ING, this has always been a three year story - year one laid foundations through improved brand visibility and perception; year 2 will build on this with more Fl-related business activity and year 3 will be about making sure the whole ING Group is using F1 to sell ING services.
How do media relations support your sponsorship?
It’s essential for us to have a strategy to ‘activate’ our sponsorship in all 60 markets we operate in. That includes local media relations, hospitality programmes at races, special events, reports and research and most importantly, creating the specific key messages for our sponsorship that are communicated in everything we do.
Do you do anything away from Grand Prix races?
Yes - from city centre events and displays, to F1-themed product promotions, our focus is on doing business using F1, rather than getting deeply involved in the sport itself. I prefer to conduct most of our media interviews and activities away from the restrictions of a race weekend, particularly if it involves the Renault F1 team - they have other things on their mind on race day!
In these environmentally-conscious times, are the occasional negative impressions of motorsport of concern to you?
It’s something we considered very carefully before starting this sponsorship. All sports and businesses have a carbon footprint. To me, the good ones are those trying to understand it and minimise it For our part, ING is a carbon neutral 1 company and the FIA has ensured F1 is carbon neutral for the past 10 years. The Renault F1 factory also has robust waste management and recycling programmes in place.
What’s your biggest challenge in this role?
Probably finding time away from it! With 18 races a season, once it gets going, it can be difficult to find a good work-life balance.
