The Indian Grand Prix has become the new star attraction for brands in India, right from telecom to automobile everyone wants to be a part of this young sport which looks very promising for the brands to advertise. Earlier we reported that Mahindra is going to give support vehicles for the event and bigger names are attached to the event namely Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari. All the three big wigs have a special game plan made to connect with their target audience at the event. Ferrari which has a huge fan base all over the world and in India will be working on promotional events and has not disclosed any more information. We will have to wait and watch what Ferrari has planned for the Indian GP.
Speaking about Mercedes, it wants to target the younger generation crowd with disposable income which prefer using BMW over Mercedes. Mercedes-Benz has gone ahead and signed a contract of two years to be associated as a automobile partner for the Indian Grand Prix. The safety vehicle used for the races will be the flagship sportscar SLS AMG. Also all the 30 Mercedes showrooms will be selling the GP tickets all throughout the season. On the television front Mercedes has tied up with MTV to host an event called date with speed. Mercedes is also incentivising buyers to buy its cars in September and October by offering them a free drive on the Greater Noida circuit in the days after the F1 race. And a week before the race, 125 Mercedes car owners will drive in a convoy, behind the SLS AMG and the Mercedes F1 car, in Mumbai in an invitation event. Finally you will find the merchandise of Mercedes GP F1 team in small kiosks called pit-stops. In short Mercedes is all set to sizzle at the Indian GP.
Talking about Renault, the company made a solo re-entry in May with the Fluence so Renault will be making use of this event to create awareness about the brand by advertising it with intensity. In a few days Renault will display its F1 ‘show car’-basically, the actual F1 Lotus Renault car minus the engine-in 8-10 cities. The F1 car will be displayed at malls, airports and dealerships, along with Fluence and Koleos, the two models it launched recently in India. “The plan is to continue with F1-related activities till January 2012,” says a Renault India spokesperson. Renault has also involved it’s dealers in the programme where the dealer selling maximum vehicles will get a pass to the ‘paddock club’ which is considered VIP as it’s the closest one can get to see the race and the entry costs $4000 per person.
