Tata to Sponsor Ferrari F1...........

[JohnDotCom]

On the day that Jaguar LandRover go to the Government with the begging bowl,
Tata the owners of Jaguar LandRover announce they are to be one of the main new Sponsors and advertisers of Ferrari F1,
the first such financial backing by an Indian Company of the F1 team.
Could just be me,
But doesn't that sound wrong/strange that they have Mega Millions for Ferrari but not Jaguar LandRover................
I will of course await all the Financial details not yet announced.

ROME: Ferrari have bucked the global economic crisis squeezing Formula One by agreeing a sponsorship deal with carmaker Tata.

"For the first time an Indian brand will appear on the Ferrari," president Luca di Montezemolo told Italian media. "It's historic."
A Ferrari spokesman confirmed a deal had been reached and said the details and duration would be announced shortly.

[GERFIX]

It certainly will be "historic" if Jaguar & Landrover get bailed out now by the government. What a joke.

[Pete]

It would be better if this was reported by news agencies a bit more accurately.

TATA is a major organisation with divisions involved in technology, industry, commerce and consumer products and and services. The Jaguar Land Rover division is but one of them. The sponsorship will be through another division, which I would guess (as I have not read the full report yet) is via their technology wing. The deal will also be far from a simple transfer of some wheelbarrows full of cash. It may involve the use by Ferrari of the expertise within TATA for technical developments at reduced fees (which will help them slide nicely under the operating budget restrictions being imposed soon while still having a huge amount of resources to develop their cars) - so there's a fair degree of horse trading going on here which clouds the figures up a fair bit.

Now you could of course argue why doesn't a group like this itself simply ensure that the divisions making a profit prop up those that are struggling in the short term - which is a reasonable enough question. In reality there can be a number of reasons preventing this from happening. You can also argue why should a successful division in a group see itself go without the means to develop in order that another business area is not doing so well. I will also point to the same wheelbarrows of cash the Government has enjoyed from the sales success of JLR over the last 10 years. Is a Government loan therefore considered unreasonable?

TATA are not the only company announcing new sponsorship deals by the way. Lenovo have moved their tie-up with Williams to McLaren for example.

Another point to think about too. In what are challenging trading times do you think firms should try to advertise their brand name more to avoid sales slumps, or slash their advertising and sponsorship budgets instead? Of course, F1 may not be the first choice for the majority of organisations to promote themselves but the same principle applies on a smaller scale too.

[JohnDotCom]

Further to above is this Statement:

Tata signs sponsorship deal with Ferrari

Thu 18 Dec,

MUMBAI (AFP) - Indian technology giant Tata Consultancy has announced a sponsorship deal with Formula One team Ferrari, bucking predictions that the sport could collapse in the global economic crisis.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will display its logo on Ferrari cars during the 2009 season, a company statement released in Mumbai said.
"TCS has entered into a historic agreement with Ferrari for an enhanced technology and marketing partnership," it said, without giving financial details of the deal.
Last week Formula One agreed cost-cutting measures following a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco.
The sport's governing body is clamping down on costs as it struggles to survive the global credit crisis.
Honda's recent shock withdrawal from the Formula One raised fresh fears over the future of the multi-million dollar sport.
TCS has been a technology partner of the Ferrari team since 2005.

Cheap car firm to sponsor Ferrari


The Nano was made to be "smaller, lighter, cheaper"


Tata, the Indian company which produces the world's cheapest car, will sponsor Ferrari from next season.
"For the first time an Indian brand will appear on a Ferrari," Ferrari chief Luca di Montezemolo said. "It's a historic event."
Tata and Ferrari's parent company Fiat already have a joint venture to produce cars in India.
Tata is most famous for producing the Nano which, at £1,325, is believed to be the cheapest car in the world. The sponsorship deal comes at a time when Formula One has announced a series of cutbacks to ease financial pressures, which were highlighted by Honda pulling out from the sport earlier in December. From next season, savings equating to at least 30% of total budgets will be made on engines, training and staff numbers. Further cuts will then be made for the 2010 season, including an end to refuelling in races.

[tourerfogey]

Originally Posted by Pete

It would be better if this was reported by news agencies a bit more accurately.

TATA is a major organisation with divisions involved in technology, industry, commerce and consumer products and and services. The Jaguar Land Rover division is but one of them. The sponsorship will be through another division, which I would guess (as I have not read the full report yet) is via their technology wing. The deal will also be far from a simple transfer of some wheelbarrows full of cash. It may involve the use by Ferrari of the expertise within TATA for technical developments at reduced fees (which will help them slide nicely under the operating budget restrictions being imposed soon while still having a huge amount of resources to develop their cars) - so there's a fair degree of horse trading going on here which clouds the figures up a fair bit.

Now you could of course argue why doesn't a group like this itself simply ensure that the divisions making a profit prop up those that are struggling in the short term - which is a reasonable enough question. In reality there can be a number of reasons preventing this from happening. You can also argue why should a successful division in a group see itself go without the means to develop in order that another business area is not doing so well. I will also point to the same wheelbarrows of cash the Government has enjoyed from the sales success of JLR over the last 10 years. Is a Government loan therefore considered unreasonable?

TATA are not the only company announcing new sponsorship deals by the way. Lenovo have moved their tie-up with Williams to McLaren for example.

Another point to think about too. In what are challenging trading times do you think firms should try to advertise their brand name more to avoid sales slumps, or slash their advertising and sponsorship budgets instead? Of course, F1 may not be the first choice for the majority of organisations to promote themselves but the same principle applies on a smaller scale too.

Very well put (and re the last part re advertising, similar to the point I made yesterday about Vauxhall). It's all too easy to 'jump the gun' on news like this without knowing the full facts.

[Tim]

How about this being the prelude to Tata buying Ferrari in a couple of years...........

Stranger things have happened.

[pondweed]

it depends on who has been affected by the slump. Bearing in mind 50% of advertising is useless (but that we never know which 50% it is), is this marketing in a slump going to be preaching to the converted, or converting those who happen to be open AND still have cash.

I personally think that it would be a bit rich giving JLR support, but then as with the US, there is going to be a huge lag in ditching the old unpopular models and building new ones - and there is no such thing as a 'managed' decline. So we are in for some pain, sadly, whether we bail 'em out or not.

[StevenWilliams]

This is something that really annoyed me for a bit.

Why on earth can Tata go sponsoring a race team while then failing to provide funds to one of it's companies. Tata are not in any financial difficulties as a group (or so they say).

My personal feeling is that if Tata are not willing to provide the necessary funds then they should be considered abandoned and shares forfeited. That way both Jaguar and Land rover can be nationalised. Then get rid of most of the models they produce and concentrate on making 2-3 very, very good models. IMHO Jaguar produce to many models and Land Rover have stopped ann innovation. They need to both get back to what they were great at.