The Big Interview: Mercedes-benz

As the Open Championship gets underway at St Andrew’s once again, Rob Halloway, communications & events director for Mercedes-Benz UK, speaks to sportindustry.biz about the brand’s global sports strategy and it’s involvement in this week’s tournament.

How does golf fit into the overall global sponsorship strategy for Mercedes-Benz in sport and other areas?

In many ways the sport and our brand are similar in that the old-fashioned perceptions of golf and Mercedes-Benz are perhaps something that appealed to a mature, affluent, predominantly male audience. Increasingly though, both have made enormous progress by reaching out to a younger, far wider group of people whilst still retaining those fundamental values of prestige, technical excellence and heritage. Alongside motorsport and fashion, our activity in golf allows us to keep talking to this growing audience and speaking to potential customers in a number of different ways, where we know mutual interests are shared.

What approach does Mercedes-Benz take to golf with respect to sponsorship of players and events? What are the criteria for sponsoring players and events?

The brand has built a reputation through its long history with its simple promise of ‘The Best or Nothing’ across the product range. Our strategy in golf reflects this brand promise, so within the UK we are a proud Patron of The Open, the oldest golf competition in the world. This sits alongside Mercedes-Benz’s partnerships of two of the other three Majors, namely The Masters and the PGA Championship. Our golf ambassadors reflect the same approach to the ‘Best or Nothing’. As an example, Martin Kaymer has been setting and breaking records since he turned pro and as a two-time Major winner before the age of 30, emulating the incredible achievements of his good friend Bernhard Langer, also a long time Mercedes-Benz Ambassador. What really appeals to us however is that both individuals are respected as much for how they carry themselves away from the golf course, as their reputation in tournament play.

Mercedes-Benz is a supplier and patron of The Open, what does that mean for the brand?

The Open creates many money-can’t-buy opportunities for our customers both in the UK and globally. We run the popular ‘Drive to the Major’ competition during the MercedesTrophy, our international amateur tournament involving more than 60,000 golfers from over 60 countries. The winners of the longest, straightest drives from each nation earn the chance to play The Open venue on the Monday after the tournament, which is an unforgettable experience. We can’t drive a grand prix circuit the day after a Formula One race!

At The Open itself, our display in the heart of the tented village allows us to connect with golf fans and create unique product experiences with information and data gathering opportunities, and we also run a world-class hospitality programme with the R&A, entertaining key international clients with the iconic and unique backdrop of The Open. Behind the scenes, we provide a fleet of more than 100 Mercedes-Benz cars for tournament week, which are available for players, coaches, caddies and other VIPs.

Is there the opportunity for Mercedes-Benz to cross-promote sponsorships between golf and other sport/activities (e.g. tennis, F1, fashion, entertainment)?

We are always looking to build on all aspects of the brand and our engagement with different audiences, and mixing our sporting properties is always very compelling. As an example, we recently hosted Martin Kaymer and our MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS F1 driver Nico Rosberg at Mercedes-Benz World in Surrey, creating some terrific content which appeals to golf and motorsport fans alike. Obviously both Martin and Nico are hugely talented within their respective fields and share the same passion for perfection, dedication and competitive drive, as was evident when they went head to head! We’re in a great position where we have several fantastic sponsorship pillars to work with – as well as one of the world’s iconic brands – so to treat them in isolation would be missing a huge opportunity.

How does Mercedes-Benz work with their ambassadors such as Martin Kaymer and Bernhard Langer?

We work with our ambassadors broadly in three key ways. Firstly, we create interesting and exclusive video content in order to give an insight into how our players approach the sport, both technically and psychologically. We love to illustrate the personalities, passions and drivers of our ambassadors so that golf fans can connect to the individuals in an emotional and human way. In recent years we’ve built up a huge audience across our own social platforms, so we’re constantly able to listen to what our fans and followers want, then create content accordingly.

Secondly, we use our ambassadors for traditional media relations, connecting them with golf journalists from our target markets at key periods throughout the golf calendar. And thirdly, we regularly use the Ambassadors for internal activation, principally the MercedesTrophy, our global amateur competition which culminates with the World Final in Stuttgart each Autumn. Our Ambassadors are always on hand to make sure the finalists have an experience they will never forget – Martin Kaymer flew to the tournament last year the day after helping Europe win the Ryder Cup – which showed remarkable dedication!

Is Mercedes-Benz interested in growing the stable of ambassadors, especially with any British talent?

We are always looking at ways to grow our presence in golf, but it needs to be in keeping with our core brand values and vision. There is of course a fantastic pool of golfing talent in the UK and we are certainly keen to support young golfers who are on a path to success.

What is the sponsorship, activity or new idea that you are most excited about?

My colleagues at our Formula One team have devised a brilliantly simple way of engaging with F1 fans around the world, with a regular YouTube upload called the “Weekly Studio Show”.  One of their most active social media users, a lady called Leandra, is now presenting regular updates that give fans behind-the-scenes access to the team, the factory, and to places that most of us armchair fans don’t get to see. 

It’s a great activation using established channels and techniques in an interesting to give people something extra.  Getting into a factory during the season, or into the otherwise-secret areas is a brilliant idea.

The team’s cheeky tonality and way of expressing the highs and lows of this highest level of motor racing is also something I admire. Yes, I’m slightly biased, but knowing the folk at the team as I do – they really give “nothing held back” content, which is great to see as a fan. And sometimes a little worrying as a communications director!