Tuesday, December 2, 2008

F1 Global branding

Well, interestingly, while every bodies screaming for cost savings (Especially Sir Maxxum and the FIA!) Emperor Bernardo has decided to seek new revenue streams and has just landed a sponsorship alliance with Korea's LG Electronics;
“As LG will become the official Consumer Electronics, Mobile Phone and Data Processor of Formula 1, beginning in January 2009.

As the deal is for multiple years, one must wonder if Bernie’s seeking to replicate the IOC and FIFA Global alliance/partnership deals is to simply increase FIA’s coffers. (And ultimately his, as Messer Ecclestone is in need of cash infusion upon his wife seeking divorce...) Or is this a strategic move to cover the costs of paying off the interest owed to the banks by CVC whom currently own Formula 1, and could potentially be forced into bankruptcy if the Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) manages to successfully increase its percentage of capital doled out by the FIA from 50% to perhaps as much as 80%.

Global partnerships and F1