Formula 1 is a good investment

“Is sponsorship worth the cash?” (MW February 28). You may well be right in stating that ten of the eleven companies which “sponsored” Euro 96 were wasting their money. They were not sponsors, but merely perimeter advertisers.

A very different picture would emerge if RSL interviewed spectators (or even television viewers) following a Formula 1 Grand Prix. “Heart-of-the-action” sponsors, whose logos feature on the cars and on the drivers’ race-wear, evince a very high level of spontaneous recall. Formula 1 sponsors also benefit greatly for business initiated – often with other sponsors – at the world’s race circuits.

These factors, plus the added impetus provided by the switch from BBC to ITV, make sponsorship of front-running Formula 1 teams a really good investment.

David Phipps

Sponsorship consultant

Diss

Norfolk