Australian truck manufacturer Hino has entered into a partnership with the country’s V8 Supercars motor-racing series.
Hino has agreed a three-year deal to become the official light and medium duty truck and bus sponsor of the series. The agreement will cover the upcoming 2016 season, as well as the 2017 and 2018 campaigns.
As part of the deal, Hino will receive advertising exposure on race days through high-profile signage and will also organise a range of event-based activities, such as safety car rides and pre-race grid walks.
In addition, the company will take on naming rights to the Hino Hub technology centre, which will provide race information and statistics to the series’ affiliated television networks.
“V8 Supercars has been used effectively by truck companies for brand exposure, but we see it as having greater relevance as a means of bringing direct benefit to our customers,” Steve Lotter, chairman and chief executive of Hino Motor Sales Australia, said. “Connecting with our customers, whether live at the track or through TV and online, has to be meaningful as well as entertaining.”
The company will use the partnership to promote its Hino Advantage programme, which focuses on broadening the suite of customer services available both when purchasing a new vehicle and in post purchase phase. Lotter added: “The V8 Supercars partnership will present a platform designed to enhance the Hino Advantage position. There is an opportunity to undertake communications that are extremely innovative.”
The 2016 V8 Supercars season gets underway in Adelaide on March 3.