Alonso is the most marketable F1 driver globally

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1 PRESS RELEASE EMBARGOED UNTIL GMT ON TUESDAY 11/03/14 Alonso is the most marketable F1 driver globally Cologne, 11/03/14 Globally, Fernando Alonso is the most marketable driver ahead of the start of the 2014 F1 season. Public perception of Alonso ranks him higher than any other F1 driver, Repucom s Celebrity DBI finds. Great Britain s Lewis Hamilton is the second most marketable whilst the Brazilian, Felipe Massa, four time world champion, Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari s Kimi Raikkönen make up the top 5. Globally, Alonso is known by 71.14% of people and in his native Spain, 98.35% of the population know of the former F1 champion. In the US, only 12.76% of the population are aware of the driver. However, of the US population who do know of the Spaniard, 84.5% like the driver and 76.74% say that he has some influence over their purchasing intent. Alongside his deal with Oakley in the US, Alonso s endorsements with Viceroy and Eurocar all add to his international exposure and appeal. Lewis Hamilton s new deal with Bombardier in Canada shows too just how far the sport is now reaching. The British driver is known by 63.65% of people globally, almost 10 percentage points more than the four time and current World Champion, Sebastian Vettel (54.3%). Indeed, in his native Germany, Vettel is known of by 97.58% of the population and is seen by Germans as the fourth most marketable person in the world. Nigel Geach, Senior Vice President of Motorsport, Repucom, said: It may be a surprise to some that globally, Sebastian Vettel does not score as highly in terms of public opinion as the likes of Alonso, Hamilton and Massa. Alonso s dominance in the rankings is down in large part to his international deals and association with the Ferrari brand. Despite Red Bull s recent successes, globally, 59% of F1 fans have an interest in the Ferrari team, representing the highest levels of interest in any F1 team and with races screened across 160 global markets to a cumulative global TV audience of 1.8 billion, one can see the importance this can have on perception. Take the US market as an example, avid fans of F1 are growing, up from 15% in 2011 to 19% in Alonso is a very likeable driver and as the global appeal of the sport increases, people seem to be rooting more and more for a new F1 champion and as the results show, Alonso is starting to edge ahead as the fans favorite. For domestic markets, these rankings shift somewhat. Alonso scores highly in his native Spain and in Italy, the home of Ferrari, whilst Vettel, Hamilton, Massa, Nico Rosberg and Jenson Button are all good examples of the difference domestic perceptions play in local markets. The new F1 season is sure to excite and with new car designs and the double points rule coming into play we could well see Vettel s recent dominance on the track challenged and new audiences thanks to new races playing a pivotal role in global consumer perceptions. 2014

2 Domestically, these scores are slightly different. Remarkably, in Massa s home country of Brazil, he is known by 99.2% of the population, illustrating the highest levels of awareness of any driver based on domestic results. Massa actually only ranks as the 40 th most marketable person in the world based on Brazilian perceptions. Indeed, levels of awareness are not everything. The overall DBI scores are based on eight metrics and although awareness does play a vital role, accounting for 60% of the overall score, how the driver is seen publically by those that know of them produces a final indication of their marketability. -ENDS- Notes To Editor Nigel Geach, Senior Vice President of Motorsport, Repucom is available for interview. Nigel will also be in Australia next week for the start of the 2014 F1 season and is available for interview during race weekend in Melbourne. If you would like to contact Nigel in Australia during this time, please him at ngeach@repucom.net or contact Tom Scott on the contact details provided at the end of this press release. 2014

3 GLOBAL RANKINGS BY DBI SCORE RANK DRIVER TEAM DBI SCORE AWARENESS 1 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari % 2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team % 3 Felipe Massa Williams Martini Racing % 4 Sebastian Vettel Infiniti Red Bull Racing % 5 Kimi Raikkönen Scuderia Ferrari % Source: Repucom s Celebrity DBI Base: Global scores illustrate combined Celebrity DBI results of 500 representative views of people aged between16-69 from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, United States, China and India

4 DOMESTIC RANKINGS BY DBI SCORE RANK DRIVER TEAM DBI SCORE AWARENESS 1 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari % 2 Felipe Massa Williams Martini Racing % 3 Sebastian Vettel Infiniti Red Bull Racing % 4 Jenson Button McLaren Mercedes % 5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team % 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team % 7 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 Team % 8 Sergio Perez Sahara Force India F1 Team % 9 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber F1 Team % 10 Adrian Sutil Sauber F1 Team % Source: Repucom s Celebrity DBI Base: Domestic scores illustrate Celebrity DBI results of 500 representative views of people aged between16-69 from the drivers home country *Note, scores exclude Kimi Raikkönen as Finland is not covered as tested country

5 WHAT DOES REPUCOM s CELEBRITY DBI MEASURE? AWARENESS APPEAL BREAKTHROUGH TRENDSETTER INFLUENCE TRUST ENDORSEMENT ASPIRATION Indicates the percentage of people who are aware of the celebrity either by name or face. Awareness is the baseline. If the target doesn't know a celebrity, the other attributes are meaningless. Measures likeability of the celebrity. Indicates the degree to which people take notice of the celebrity when they appear on TV, film or print. Reflects opinion on the celebrity s position with regards to trends in society. Measures the degree to which people believe the celebrity is an influence in today s world. Does the celebrity impact brand consideration & purchase intent? Indicates the level of trust that the people place in the celebrity s words and image. Reflects the degree to which people identify the celebrity as being an effective product spokesperson. Measures the degree to which people feel the celebrity has a life to which they would aspire. To learn more about CelebrityDBI, visit

6 FURTHER INFORMATION About The Celebrity DBI, Powered by Repucom The Celebrity DBI is an independent global index that quantifies consumer perceptions of more than 5,000 celebrities, including film and TV stars, musical performers, athletes, business leaders, news pundits, personalities and more. Launched in 2006 by The Marketing Arm, the largest celebrity talent buyer in the U.S, the index helps brand marketers and agencies to determine a celebrity's ability to influence brand affinity and consumer purchase intent by evaluating celebrities across eight key attributes: Appeal, Aspiration, Awareness, Breakthrough, Endorsement, Influence, Trendsetter and Trust. The Celebrity DBI tracks celebrities in Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Users can evaluate overall celebrity impact in a local market, across multiple markets and globally; track fluctuations in influence of a celebrity over time; compare multiple celebrities across multiple markets; and view the aggregate global influence of celebrities. About Repucom Repucom is a global leader in sports marketing research. Utilizing the leading technology and facilities for market research, media evaluation and commercial auditing, Repucom has created the industry s first global, full-service portfolio for sports marketing research and consultancy. The company provides a single, independent source of holistic market data and insights to help its clients achieve value in their marketing and sponsorship activities. Since its founding in 2004, Repucom has become established as the research provider of choice for over 1,000 of the top rights holders, brands, agencies and broadcasters in sports and entertainment worldwide. Repucom merged successfully with SPORT+MARKT in 2010 and later completed the acquisition of fellow industry pioneers IFM Sports, including IFM Sports Marketing Surveys. In 2013, the companies were united under the Repucom brand, bringing together over 1,400 employees in more than 20 wholly-owned and operated offices worldwide. Later that year, Repucom acquired Milan-based sports marketing agency Immagine & Sport, which was renamed as Repucom Italia. The combined business draws on more than 25 years of experience and accumulated insights. Your Contact: TOM SCOTT Global PR Manager Tel.: +49 (0) Mob: +49 (0) tscott@repucom.net