UPS replaces Acer at Ferrari

As the private tests in Barcelona kick off, Scuderia Ferrari has unveiled a new sponsor, UPS, replacing Acer. This agreement with the logistics giant is significant for the Italian team as it involves more than just placing a sticker on the cars of Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Indeed, besides the sponsorship aspect, UPS will gradually take over the transport of Ferrari’s entire racing department, a necessarily significant cost center for a company present on circuits all around the world. This also includes the World Endurance Championship and the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli.

UPS is therefore making its entry into a sport in which it was traditionally absent but has a direct link to its activities. Its competitor, DHL, got it right by becoming a sponsor and official supplier of F1 as a whole, resulting in significant advertising presence on the various circuits in the calendar.

The placement of the logo on F1 cars is not trivial as it is located at the back, near the exhausts. This spot had been occupied since the 2003 season by another sponsor, the Taiwanese PC manufacturer Acer. It has now vanished from all of the team’s communication platforms, even though it was the official partner for consumer electronics until last year. Computers in Ferrari colors were marketed by Acer.

Nevertheless, Ferrari is not lacking in sponsors as it has announced a series of agreements since the start of the winter private tests. The first involved Weichai Power, a Chinese specialist in civil engineering machinery. This partnership is significant as it marks the first appearance of a Chinese company as a sponsor of an F1 team, signifying that the sport is starting to interest the local population but, more importantly, is a testament to the global ambitions of companies from the Middle Kingdom. The logo of this company, which is among the country’s 100 largest, will be present on Ferrari’s cars until the end of the 2016 season.

In addition to this arrival, the Scuderia has managed to extend partnerships with already existing sponsors. For example, the watch brand Hublot, which has been in Maranello since last year as an official supplier in this sector, now becomes a full-fledged sponsor. This is realized by its presence on the car, close to the heads of both drivers, as well as on their helmets, two areas that are naturally highly exposed in the media. The subsidiary of the Swatch Group can afford this strengthening since it lost its place as the official partner of F1, a position now held by its competitor Rolex. This allows it to continue associating with F1 and thus reach its affluent clientele while being directly associated with one of the most famous and sought-after teams on the grid.

Similarly, Kaspersky, the famous Russian antivirus company that started providing for Ferrari in 2010, has decided to expand its visibility on the red cars. This will certainly be a payment in kind for the strengthened technical collaboration that has united the two companies since the beginning of their partnership.

Finally, Stefano Domenicali’s men will now fully benefit from the products provided by the Brazilian energy drink brand, TNT. It is the latest addition to this sector where many brands are already present (Red Bull, Lucozade with McLaren, Monster with Mercedes, and Burn with Lotus). It is interesting to note that the top five teams on the grid are now financially supported by a company in this sector. This shows a widespread alignment by these companies with the strategy implemented from the beginning by Red Bull, which aims to partner with extreme sports to highlight the dynamic qualities of their products.

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr