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 below.


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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