With its  design competition ‘Dress me for the finale’ to mark the 30^th anniversary of its  partnership,   fashion brand Hugo Boss and Formula One race team McLaren demonstrate  how sponsorship can be linked effectively and measurably to the point of sale and how brand marketing can be connected to the entire  retail chain.

It is not only since the recent credit crunch and economic crisis that the linking of sponsorship into sales and sales channels has become one of the most important topics in the sports marketing branch. In order to effectively achieve sales revenues through sponsorship, creative conceptions extending beyond logo placement and brand visibility are necessary.

The idea of using the 30^th anniversary of the partnership between Hugo Boss and McLaren for a sales and design campaign was submitted by Hugo Boss Sponsorship Director Till Pohlmann. The idea of creating a contest where fans and customers design race overalls that McLaren Formula One racers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button would wear throughout the qualifying sessions was submitted by Liganova and finalized by a detailed 360-degree-conception. “The whole activity wasn’t only meant to be a design push”, says Pohlmann. “We wanted to have a conception that we could use in our stores throughout the whole Formula One season and that is linked directly into the point of sale and furthermore includes all international Hugo Boss markets.”

The outcome was an integrated concept that included online and social media channels (www.hugoboss.com/mclaren; www.facebook.com/hugoboss), Guerilla Marketing, store events, dealer promotions, specially designed show windows and a season-concluding charity event in support of “Save the children“.

The concept’s focus is the global design and season-round contest ‘Dress me for the finale’ on the Hugo Boss website. Participants can use an online configuration tool to design a race suit that Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button wear at the season finale.  During the season, representatives from Hugo Boss and McLaren vote for a winner at every Formula One race weekend and the respective suit is worn by the drivers in the qualifying session of each race. From each weekend winner, the overall winning suit is voted for by the fans and both drivers wear it during the final race of the season.

The design contest is limited to the countries around every race location. The contest was announced via the Hugo Boss website (www.hugoboss.com/mclaren), a press release to all important fashion magazines and the Hugo Boss Facebook page (www.facebook.com/hugoboss). Furthermore, a youtube movie explains how it works. More than 7,800 designs were submitted to the jury in the first three races! The hugoboss.com/mclaren site registered more than 310,000 visits during the same short period of time.

The link into the sales channels occurs through a specially designed ’30 years McLaren and Hugo Boss’ collection that is not only sold online, but also in all participating Hugo Boss stores. Together with a special retail marketing package, window design and store events with and without driver appearances, Hugo Boss offers its retailers comprehensive advertising possibilities and a great story: “Our target was to establish an integrated and international activation concept with high customer retention and involvement. And to connect it into our retail channels. After only three races, we have already generated 2,500 leads”, says Pohlmann. The campaign has already proven its popularity in retail as many dealers already requested and organized store events with up to 200 guests. The Hugo Boss McLaren collection has currently achieved a 44% higher sales rate into retail than any other collection. “The integration of the drivers Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button into some of the big in-store events is obviously another highlight and catered for a high customer involvement.”

Further attention for the campaign is reached with some guerrilla activities with an oversized inflatable helmet prior to every race. The helmet announces the design contest and is frequently accompanied by sales promoters.

An event, at which all the suits designed by the fans throughout the year are auctioned for charity, for 500 to 800 invited guests concludes the campaign.  The proceeds will be donated to ‘Save the children‘. This activity cleverly integrates the trend topic ‘corporate social responsibility’ into the concept. According to Pohlmann the creative agency Liganova, with its expertise for fashion, automotive and lifestyle brands, has been the ideal partner for the sponsorship project. For many years, the agency has been known principally for the creative implementation and connection of visual marketing into the sales room, for merchandising, in-store and outdoor promotions as well as dealership architecture and brand events. However, under the management of Bodo Vincent Andrin and Michael Haiserit has developed into a valued consultant for integrated ‘through-the-line‘brand strategies and campaign creation.

“Our main area of expertise remains the transport of brand messages into retail and to let customers experience them“, says Michael Haiser. “The focus however has meanwhile moved from creative implementation into strategic planning. We are very proud that we have been included in this project for our customer Hugo Boss from the very beginning and consulted on strategy and idea. During the intensive cooperation with Till Pohlmann and his team, we have been able to create synergies and plan success. Although it has been sometimes uncomfortable for the Hugo Boss stores, we think it is a great success that the Boss Black McLaren Special Collection has sold out quickly.” With projects such as ‘Dress me for the finale’, the brand retail specialists proved also to be an expert for connecting sponsorships from fashion, automotive and lifestyle brands into the point of sale.

According to an interview from German website motorsport-total.com with Vodafone head of sponsorship Darag Persse, the most important target behind the Vodafone sponsorship commitment in Formula One is to interact with Formula One fans and Vodafone customers and to prove that the Vodafone communication services help the team in the championship: „Furthermore, we bring the Formula One passion to our customers. For us, it’s simply a great platform to talk and network, where we can show what we can.”

After having had a contract with Ferrari at first, Vodafone changed to McLaren in 2007: „At that time, Vodafone and Ferrari evaluated some possibilities to prolong the partnership beyond 2006. However, Ferrari wasn’t able to give us some suitable options.” So the mobile phone service provider changed to McLaren and Persse is more than sure: „The chance to become title sponsor of a successful Formula One team doesn’t open up every day.” And this is one of the reasons why the contract has already been prolonged until 2013, in order to create even more brand value.

All race related issues, however, still remain in the hands of the team: „We leave it up to McLaren who finally sits in the cockpit and brings the results. We don’t interfere in these types of decisions. The team is responsible for choosing the drivers and setting up the marketing strategy. However, we cooperate very intensively in order to help wherever possible.”

With regards to the activation of the sponsorship, however, Vodafone does not fail to bring in great ideas such as the “Vodafone VIP initiative” which gives customers access to the best of British festival, fashion and Formula 1 events. Vodafone VIP supplies customers with tickets and money can’t buy experiences. All Vodafone customers can register for Vodafone VIP by going online.

Part of the initiative was for example a fashion shoot, where McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton turned on the style with a British-themed fashion shoot in London for getting different photo material. But the bigger part of the program is the events, such as the run with the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 car through the streets of Manchester, to celebrate the sport and of course the sponsor services among a huge crowd.

The show run did not only include some laps with the F1 car on a Monday, but Vodafone customers and up to three of their friends were given the chance to access VIP fan zone in Albert Square from Friday through Monday. The installation contained bespoke go kart track and a number of interactive F1 experiences including a pit stop challenge a sit in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car, an F1 simulator and an exhibition of race suits and helmets. Throughout the weekend there was also a pit garage on the forecourt of the Hilton Deansgate in which customers could have garage tours.

All in all a great third party activation started by Vodafone and including the co-sponsors Hilton and Hugo Boss. The three day celebration was part of Vodafone’s initiative to give more people the chance to experience F1 first-hand. Previous Vodafone events had taken place in central London and at the McLaren Technology Centre in Surrey, so by staging this in the North West, Vodafone are looking to take the sport to a wider audience and reward as many of their customers as possible.