Almost anything is possible
Sponsorship III For the past two and a half years, Toyota has been sponsoring the highly successful FC Basel—at a bargain price.
Sponsoring III For two and a half years, Toyota has been sponsoring the success-spoiled FC Basel - at a bargain price.Toyota has earned a place in the marketing textbooks. What other sponsor could boast of having become the main sponsor of a sports club at such an opportune time as the Japanese car manufacturer? Timing is everything. When Toyota signed up with Basel Football Club (FCB) in December 2000, the club was in fifth place in the Swiss championship and had little to show for it apart from a great past with names like Karli Odermatt. Since the summer of 2002, everything has changed: championship title, cup win, qualification for the lucrative Champions League. And whenever the TV cameras whirred, the lens zoomed in on the jerseys of the FCB players and the prominently sewn-on Toyota lettering. "We took a certain risk in December 2000 and actually paid a lot for the circumstances at the time," admitted Oswald Kron, CEO of car manufacturer Toyota, in an interview some time ago.
The car manufacturer is said to have forked out a total of around four million francs for its three-and-a-half-year commitment. Net, nota bene. Additional bonuses for success were not included in the contract. An advantage for Toyota, as it turns out today: "Experts have calculated that our main sponsor is currently receiving ten times the value for what it is paying," says FCB President Werner Edelmann.
28000 visitors per match
Basel's president is probably not completely off the mark with his estimate. No other Swiss sports club has made as many positive headlines in the recent past as FCB. Even Vietnamese and Japanese newspapers reported on the Beppi club when it was one of Europe's best teams.
And ever since over 100,000 fans celebrated their team's title win in May 2002 on Barfüsserplatz until the early hours of the morning, one thing is certain: no Swiss club currently mobilizes more spectators and fans than FCB. Since the start of the new season, up to 28,000 supporters have been making the pilgrimage to St. Jakob-Park for every home game. And always there: Toyota.
Even when the players are on the road, they do so in a Lexus or Toyota. "They are obliged to drive up to official events in their Toyota or Lexus," confirms FCB spokesman Josef Zindel. Anyone who does not do this "will be penalized internally according to a clear
regulated 'catalog'", Zindel says verbatim. "Whereby the fines increase noticeably in the event of a repeat offense." It was not possible to find out how often the players have been fined so far.
Sexy Yakins
The FCB bosses are likely to have issued such warnings on many occasions: Players like Murat Yakin (a self-confessed BMW M5 driver) are reluctant to be forced into a rigid corset. But that's exactly what makes them sexy, interesting and therefore great image carriers. No wonder there are far more stories about FCB players in lifestyle and women's magazines than about other Swiss footballers. And you can already hire the brothers Murat and Hakan Yakin as advertising models from the sports agency Athletic Models, even though the latter will be wearing the jersey of the traditional Parisian club Paris St. Germain in the future.
Toyota can dispose of the FCB players free of charge. At least until the end of the 2003/2004 season, when the FCB main sponsor's contract expires. "We have already received clear signals from Toyota Switzerland that further cooperation would be welcomed," says Zindel. However, Toyota will no longer be able to get FCB as cheaply as it did two and a half years ago.
Classy company car for Christian Gross. The FCB coach received the Lexus RX300 on loan from Toyota a few weeks ago.
Toyota at FCBToyota leaves no stone unturned in its sponsorship commitment to FC Basel: Jerseys, perimeter advertising in the stadium, presence on advertisements (for example in the football club magazine Rot Blau), on autograph cards, on season tickets, in the match calendar and ticket pre-sales in Basel Toyota garages are just a small part of the appearance. In order to offer its VIPs a special service, the Japanese car manufacturer has set up its own box in the St. Jakob-Park, which is usually sold out, where 900 VIPs can be catered for. In addition, Toyota can call on FCB stars at the Geneva Motor Show or at dealer meetings, and can also arrange for
have their cars advertised. (af)
Annelies Friedli
The car manufacturer is said to have forked out a total of around four million francs for its three-and-a-half-year commitment. Net, nota bene. Additional bonuses for success were not included in the contract. An advantage for Toyota, as it turns out today: "Experts have calculated that our main sponsor is currently receiving ten times the value for what it is paying," says FCB President Werner Edelmann.
28000 visitors per match
Basel's president is probably not completely off the mark with his estimate. No other Swiss sports club has made as many positive headlines in the recent past as FCB. Even Vietnamese and Japanese newspapers reported on the Beppi club when it was one of Europe's best teams.
And ever since over 100,000 fans celebrated their team's title win in May 2002 on Barfüsserplatz until the early hours of the morning, one thing is certain: no Swiss club currently mobilizes more spectators and fans than FCB. Since the start of the new season, up to 28,000 supporters have been making the pilgrimage to St. Jakob-Park for every home game. And always there: Toyota.
Even when the players are on the road, they do so in a Lexus or Toyota. "They are obliged to drive up to official events in their Toyota or Lexus," confirms FCB spokesman Josef Zindel. Anyone who does not do this "will be penalized internally according to a clear
regulated 'catalog'", Zindel says verbatim. "Whereby the fines increase noticeably in the event of a repeat offense." It was not possible to find out how often the players have been fined so far.
Sexy Yakins
The FCB bosses are likely to have issued such warnings on many occasions: Players like Murat Yakin (a self-confessed BMW M5 driver) are reluctant to be forced into a rigid corset. But that's exactly what makes them sexy, interesting and therefore great image carriers. No wonder there are far more stories about FCB players in lifestyle and women's magazines than about other Swiss footballers. And you can already hire the brothers Murat and Hakan Yakin as advertising models from the sports agency Athletic Models, even though the latter will be wearing the jersey of the traditional Parisian club Paris St. Germain in the future.
Toyota can dispose of the FCB players free of charge. At least until the end of the 2003/2004 season, when the FCB main sponsor's contract expires. "We have already received clear signals from Toyota Switzerland that further cooperation would be welcomed," says Zindel. However, Toyota will no longer be able to get FCB as cheaply as it did two and a half years ago.
Classy company car for Christian Gross. The FCB coach received the Lexus RX300 on loan from Toyota a few weeks ago.
Toyota at FCBToyota leaves no stone unturned in its sponsorship commitment to FC Basel: Jerseys, perimeter advertising in the stadium, presence on advertisements (for example in the football club magazine Rot Blau), on autograph cards, on season tickets, in the match calendar and ticket pre-sales in Basel Toyota garages are just a small part of the appearance. In order to offer its VIPs a special service, the Japanese car manufacturer has set up its own box in the St. Jakob-Park, which is usually sold out, where 900 VIPs can be catered for. In addition, Toyota can call on FCB stars at the Geneva Motor Show or at dealer meetings, and can also arrange for
have their cars advertised. (af)
Annelies Friedli
