Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks "took their
global technology rivalry to the Grand Prix racing scene
early last year" by sponsoring Formula One teams, according
to Jeff Pappone of the OTTAWA CITIZEN, who notes that Nortel
sponsors the Williams team while Lucent sponsors the Jordan
team. Neither company "will divulge the amount spent" on
Formula One sponsorship and Grand Prix-related research, but
both "say it is in the millions of dollars." John Hughes,
President of Lucent's England-based GSM/UMTS wireless
division: "I think both of us saw the opportunity -- there
was a move away from tobacco (sponsorship) and the
telecommunications, and high-tech companies are moving into
the store. ... The biggest opportunity is the business
dialogue that we get to have with clients here. Not only do
we see it as an ideal vehicle for the kind of brand building
and business-to-business communication that we want, but
also because technology is important in Formula One -- it's
becoming much more of a technology business." Pappone wrote
that only F-1 sponsors "may invite guests to watch the
spectacle from the exclusive paddock" clubs. Nortel Dir of
Global Sponsorships Paul Meulendijk, on the company's
interest in Formula One: "It's a business that can leapfrog
you ahead of the competition" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 6/26).
FINE TASTE: In Indianapolis, Bill Koenig wrote that F-1
teams and sponsors who want to "entertain guests drop
thousands of dollars a race to rent F-1's pricey paddock
clubs." Hewlett-Packard F-1 Program Manager Rick Parfitt:
"We're using Formula One to get across that (Hewlett-Packard
provides) leading edge technology" (INDY STAR, 6/26).
