How much do you reckon it is to sponsor Manor-Marussia?

[Alex Caffi]

Just out of interest as a friend of mine wants to branch out and get her music events name logo on sports teams i.e. F1 cars, football shirts etc. I did contact Marussia via their website but haven't had a reply, I see they are sponsorless and could do with something on their car. What do you guys think they charge to have a logo on their sidepods?

[AustralianStig]

This article suggests quite a lot.

[UncreativeUsername37]

This is my favourite topic title in any forum's history.

[AndreaModa]

Not sure if any of this stuff still works but it might be worth trying these contact details which I found:

Team's phone number: +44.190.956.0331

And some email addresses of relevant people:
[email protected] - Mike Scudamore - Sponsorship Acquisitions Manager
[email protected] - Tracy Novak - Public Relations and Communications Director
[email protected] - Rebecca Aris - Finance Manager

If you get through, let us know as I'd be fascinated to know if they are after sponsorship, and if so, how much!

[Wallio]

Good Luck. PA made gambling legal about 10 years back, and when Indycar came back to Pocono the local casino bought a spot on one of Special Ed's winglets. Now this casino pays enough in taxes that the town's budget ha literally more than doubled, so they paid a moderate six-figure price.

The decal was so small I didn't even notice it, my buddy did during the pit walk, and when the cars were moving, it was impossible to see. Ditto TV. And that was for a mid-pack Indycar. I hope our friend's company was a 9 figure net worth.....

[Spectoremg]

So McLaren are holding out for seriously big bucks then? Or is it more of a 'partnership' thing with them?

[dinizintheoven]

If I was in charge at Manor, I'd take a leaf out of Top Gear's book and invent some sponsors for the car.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go down to Lidl so I can take great advantage of their deal on Larsen's Biscuits, who make the crunchiest and chocolatiest Bourbon Creams out there. They might even be offering some usually-expensive French cheeses for a discount as well, generously supplied by Amerdea du Fromage.

[Salamander]

So McLaren are holding out for seriously big bucks then? Or is it more of a 'partnership' thing with them?

Ron Dennis believes that title sponsorship is an outdated concept, and that no company can supply the amount of money that McLaren requires. Or something.

[dr-baker]

If I was in charge at Manor, I'd take a leaf out of Top Gear's book and invent some sponsors for the car.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go down to Lidl so I can take great advantage of their deal on Larsen's Biscuits, who make the crunchiest and chocolatiest Bourbon Creams out there. They might even be offering some usually-expensive French cheeses for a discount as well, generously supplied by Amerdea du Fromage.

The oil going into their Ferrari engine is supplied by Penistone Oils, isn't it?

[Alex Caffi]

Just seen the replies to this, will try the contact details up further in this post. My friend has gone with the other idea for sponsoring football teams for the moment, but will contact Manor and ask them how much as their car looks devoid of anything on there. I dont know why they don't add something like Jordan used to when they either ran out of sponsors or had to make variations of Benson & Hedges name in the races where cigarette sponsors were banned.

EDIT: The email bounced back so I guess Mike doesnt work there now? or the website has changed.

[DemocalypseNow]

So McLaren are holding out for seriously big bucks then? Or is it more of a 'partnership' thing with them?

Some nonsense about how the philosophies of McLaren and any of its potential partner companies must be aligned. Ron is obsessed about creating a very specific brand identity for McLaren, and associating itself with a sponsor that doesn't adhere to his strict, controlled manner of working is apparently bad for the company's image, so bad apparently it's not worth the £60 million cheque.

The way F1 sponsorship works in this day and age, the era of paying for a sticker on a car is finished. Deals are done so that it's a combination of providing services, and advertising on the car that the service is being provided to that team. Most of the time when you see a tech company plastered on an F1 car, that company in question is providing much of the technical infrastructure to the team in question - e.g. Microsoft with Lotus GP for the last couple of seasons, and in the past Acer with Ferrari. Things like logos on the car, collaborations on jointly-branded retail products, are merely bonus spin-offs to the main part of the deal.

I can only assume Ron is much more picky than other team principals about who he does business with, and feels this is justified given McLaren's position in the market (a high-end sportscar manufacturer with a decades long track record of success at the top level of motorsport, with an unrivalled excellence in engineering yada yada yada).

Even the less obvious sectors of business create deals with the teams in the same manner - when McGregor was a partner with Williams, they were also their clothing and teamwear supplier. I imagine Puma is paying a somewhat hefty sum to be the teamwear and leisurewear supplier to Ferrari. Sportswear companies like having these "flagship" collections to enhance the reputation of their own brand, so you end with a bizarre situation where a company is stumping up cash to be a provider of a product, rather than vice-versa.

I think with Ron the question isn't about an outright figure, but rather he isn't happy with other parts of the deal. Just look at their choice of IT supplier and contrast it with Lotus - do you think Microsoft and McLaren would be a good fit? I don't think Ron would see the value in the link-up. Instead they go with SAP, a more enterprise-focused business in contrast to Microsoft's somewhat consumer-facing image, and to exploit a basic stereotype, a business possibly obsessed with ze German efficiency, ja?

Notice also how teams that sponsor McLaren do not sign with McLaren-Honda, the Formula 1 team, but rather with McLaren Technology Group. Ron's agenda is to sign with companies that are capable of contributing something all (or at least most) divisions of the McLaren Group, rather than something specific to the F1 team.

He is likely being so picky because he feels the sponsors he has talked to thus far don't bring enough to the table in terms of expertise, market position in their field, and so on.

Despite Manor being in the position of barely having enough money to get by, their approach may well be similar. Taking cash for a logo on the car might help them pay their overheads, but it doesn't enhance the team's performances.

[Wallio]

There's also the fact that Honda is paying most of the bills. They are basically a title sponsor, like BMW was for Williams for awhile.