Abstract

Sponsorship has in recent years become a recognized strategy of marketing comunications. Since its earliest days Grand Prix motor racing has been a showcase for motoring-orientated products such as cars, fuels and tyres, but it is only comparatively recently that a wider selection of companies have involved themselves in Formula 1 sponsorship as the sport evolved into a world-wide series of media-orentated hallmark events. This working paper looks at the contribution of sponsoprship to marketing communications and how this has been applied to sport in general. The history of sponsorship in motor sport is examined and the current situation is outlined. The increasing importance of television broadcasting to Formula 1's existence is then examined. This paper forms an element of the literary search undertaken for an on-going research project, the theme of which will be an examination of the reasons why organizations sponsor Formula 1 as well as an analysis of the effectiveness of the various television broadcastigng options to the sponsor.