FEBRUARY 8, 2007

ING going the full nine yards

Renault F1 sponsor ING has understood that for its size it is not well known around the world and it is planning to use F1 to fix that problem. Not content with having its livery all over the two Renaults and the two drivers, the Dutch finance house is going to have a major presence on the trackside signage as well, with plans for hoardings at no fewer than 15 of the 17 races, including the title sponsorship of the forthcoming Australian GP. In addition to that the firm will have signage at Sepang, Bahrain, Barcelona, Monaco, Canada, Magny-Cours, Nurburgring, Hungary, Istanbul, Monza, Spa, Fuji, and Shanghai. The company will use both trackside banners and bridges where available but it is not letting on how much this will cost. Given the scale of the programme it is fair to say that it has to be in the region of $30m a year - probably more.