Epson joins Mercedes
Mercedes begins to reap the benefits of its 2014 successes: the world champions have entered into a multi-year partnership with Epson, which gains significant visibility on the race cars of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
During its presentation on February 1st, the Mercedes W06 Hybrid will have a new sponsor compared to its predecessor. The presence will be significant as the Japanese brand’s logo will be visible not only on the car but also on the visor of the helmet and the suits of both drivers.
Nevertheless, the relationship between the two partners will not be solely tied to a visibility agreement but also to the provision of services by Epson. It has become an increasingly common practice in F1 agreements: sponsors also want to be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of their products by appearing as a supplier to the team, rather than just a logo on a car.
Epson will therefore bring its expertise in the field of printers and scanners but also in wearable technologies. In this latter category, one can think of smartwatches, which represent a new development sector for high-tech companies, and on which the Japanese company has positioned itself. However, since Mercedes already has a sponsor in the watch sector, IWC, it is unlikely that the two drivers will be seen wearing an Epson watch on their next podiums…
On the other hand, it is interesting to note that Epson has chosen to partner with Mercedes, while another major Japanese company, Honda, is also making its return this year with McLaren. This challenges the long-standing tradition of grouped sponsorships typically observed from Japanese companies, as was the case with Panasonic at Toyota.
With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr
