Castrol has secured a deal to become a global sponsor of UEFA Euro 2008 in a bid to modernise the brand and reach millions of its target reseller and manufacturer audience.
Castrol – the lubricant brand owned by energy group BP – aims for the deal to provide a route to a mass football target audience that overlaps strongly with the brand’s 45 million customer base. This includes consumers, workshop manufacturers, and its reseller audience of senior retail buyers/managers and bike/truck retailers.
Vijay Solanki, head of marketing services for Europe at BP Castrol, claims, “It is a massive global event to be part of. We have a history of taking out sponsorships in motor sports, such as Formula 1. However, this is definitely the biggest sponsorship we have embarked upon so far.”
The sponsorship deal commenced in mid-November and runs until July 2008, when the tournament ends. It will allow Castrol the opportunity for extensive hospitality, branding on the ground perimeters, website branding and to be featured on back-boards when they speak to the players in between matches.
Solanki adds, “We aim for this [football sponsorship] to modernise the brand and make the brand more about a whole lifestyle and less just about engines. We want to differentiate ourselves from others on the market.”
This follows a recent trend of B2B marketing football sponsorships. Back in August British Gas Business also confirmed a three year deal with The Southern Football League, in order to reach out to the local SME market.
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