LGT is seeking to rejuvenate its image as a conservative and traditional bank with the help of millennial athletes. As Formula E's electric car-racing circuit hits Zurich, at least one other Swiss bank is sniffing around.
If Formula E is linked to Julius Baer, which is the global sponsor for the electric racing circuit, LGT said it is confident that there's enough room for two or more banks.
The electric circuit is the younger, cuddlier, more environmentally-aware cousin of Formula 1 racing, the double-digit billion series of Grand Prix motor races. The battery-powered Formula E has grown immensely in popularity since its launch in 2013, attracting high-profile drivers like Nick Heidfeld and Nelson Piquet Jr. – as well as banks keen to use sponsorship gigs to tap millennial clientele.
Zurich-based Julius Baer is using Formula E to cement its position in Asia, where one-quarter of its workforce is now based following a heady ten-year expansion. The bank was a major force behind bringing the super-sleek racing cars to Zurich on June 10 – the bank is title sponsor of the event, dubbed the «Julius Baer Zurich E-Prix 2018».
Rejuvenated Brand
By contrast, Vaduz-based LGT has made a more modest investment, partnering with Germany's Abt Schaeffler Audi Sport team around driver Daniel Abt. In just over eight weeks, the Formula E circuit will converge on Zurich for the first race in 64 years – Switzerland banned motor-racing following the disaster in Le Mans, and loosened regulations specifically for the electric-car racing circuit.
LGT's sponsoring deal means its logo adorns the team's vehicle (pictured below), and the 25-year-old Abt serves as LGT ambassador with the bank's clients as well as with employees – he recently filmed a video for the bank's apprentices, for example.
«For us, besides being about sustainability, Formula E also lends us a certain rejuvenation and dynamism to our brand,» LGT's marketing and communications head Christof Buri told finews.com. Tina Weirather, a 28-year-old Liechtenstein native who won bronze in the women's Super-G in Pyeongchang, is also an LGT-sponsored millennial athlete.
Owned by the principality of Liechtenstein, LGT is piggybacking on Formula E's popularity with younger clientele in hot new growth markets such as Asia as well as older ones such as Switzerland, Germany, and France.
UBS Interest?
The bank will have spent a fraction of the amount on its electric racing sponsorship than Julius Baer, which is estimated to have spent double digits to be a global sponsor. But the move illustrates how the budding sports circuit – which is loss-making despite more than 50 million euros in annual because it is investing in expanding – can accommodate several and even competing brands.
Mercedes, for example, is dropping the German Touring Car (DTM) circuit in favor of setting up its own Formula E next season. In racing circles, UBS is rumored to be in talks with Mercedes to join as a sponsor. A spokeswoman for the Swiss bank denied the talks.
The move would represent a near-reversal for UBS, once a global sponsor of Formula 1, which has an older target audience and has been criticized for its carbon emissions. UBS is doubtlessly interested in the sponsoring opportunities that electric car racing offers, but it is still contractually tied to Formula 1.
Zurich Sold Out
For Julius Baer and LGT, the June race represents an opportunity to invite clients and staff to lakeside hospitality tents (LGT's venue pictured below) to watch the racing. An initial ticket offering was sold out within the hour, and viewing spots along the 2.5-kilometer racecourse through Zurich's tiny and cramped inner city and finance district will be scant.
The event also represents a novelty for Switzerland, which can never seem to muster enough enthusiasm at home for big, showy events such as a winter Olympic bid. The city of Zurich, politically dominated by a coalition of social democrats and greens, gave its go-ahead last year, in part hoping to use it as a showcase for innovationn and technology such as from the city's technical university, ETH.
