HiQ Looks Forward to Further BTCC Success

HiQ is promising to continue its good work throughout the length of its three-year sponsorship of the British Touring Car Championship, having been praised by organisers for its “brilliant” first 12 months with the UK’s premier motor racing series. The final round of racing at Brands Hatch in September signalled the end of a first year of partnership with the BTCC, which HiQ has branded “extremely fruitful”.

BTCC series director Alan Gow said: “HiQ and the BTCC is developing into a brilliant relationship. The company has been extremely pro-active from the first race back in March and we have received a great deal of feedback praising the company’s energy and enthusiasm. A lot of time and effort has gone into engaging with the fans of the series, who are reaping the benefit of having HiQ as the title sponsor and the introduction of this clever Champagne Moment initiative is giving those watching both trackside and live on television yet another chance to get actively involved in the championship.”

The Champagne Moment competition asked raceday crowds to visit its website www.hiqonline.co.uk and vote for their favourite driver at each round, embracing the BTCC’s approach of interacting with the public. HiQ also arranged Fans Forums to give fans a chance to meet the BTCC’s teams and drivers at its local stores ahead of each race meeting. Both initiatives helped the company to raise awareness of the HiQ name among thousands of new potential customers.

Taking over title sponsorship from Dunlop

HiQ took over from sister company Dunlop, which remains as the official tyre supplier, in the role of title sponsor, bringing with it a number of exclusive benefits. For example, the retail company reserved bumper advertisements at either end of each commercial break during ITV’s coverage of the championship’s rounds. Likewise, strategically-placed trackside banners maximised the exposure of its brand in front of the television cameras, as did full-page advertisements in spectators’ raceday programmes.

Goodyear Dunlop Group BTCC spokesman James Bailey says: “Our sponsorship of the British Touring Car Championship was a huge success on many levels. We have captured so much data from the thousands of British Touring Car Championship fans at every round of racing, and we are now able to target them with future offers and promotions. This is a new audience for us and it has provided us with a number of potential new customers, which is great for the business.”

HiQ is now looking forward to coming back with more initiatives when the 2009 campaign begins in April.