By Craig Zammit
AMSTERDAM: Philips has signed an agreement with the WilliamsF1 Team to increase its sponsorship by over 50 per cent and include on-car branding, following on from the successful trial conducted in 2006.
Philips saw a global turnover increase on its shaver business of 15 per cent year-on-year for 2006, spurring the increased sponsorship deal.
“Our primary objective in 2006 was to bring innovation to the category and we did this via two strong electric shaver launches – the Smart-TouchXL and SpeedXL, and also by investing in the WilliamsF1 Team sponsorship,” said Philips CEO – domestic appliances and personal care, and Royal Philips Electronics chief marketing officer, Andrea Ragnetti.
“We want consumers to know that Philips leads the way in terms of technical and product innovation for this category. In 2006, the WilliamsF1 team sponsorship platform underpinned all our activities for the shaving business and has created great results.”
In addition to Official Sponsor branding, Philips will be granted increased advertising rights including Official Sponsor designation, use of logo and team imagery, as well as endorsement rights of Nico Rosberg and Alex Wurz – the team drivers.
“It was a calculated risk to develop a formula one specific shaver, but our consumer research tells us our target consumers are focused on product design as much as other considerations such as brand name and price when choosing an electric shaver,” said Philips DAP business manager – shaving and senior vice president, Nico Engelsman.
According to the statement released on Friday, Formula One has become the world’s most popular annual televised sporting event, averaging 162 million television viewers per Grand Prix worldwide.
“We’re delighted that our partnership has been sufficiently successful to grow, extend and increase the program. Both Philips Shavers and the WilliamsF1 Team share a philosophy of advances in innovation, design and technology,” said WilliamsF1’s Team principal, Frank Williams