Europcar, the leading car rental company in Europe, was awarded the “Sponsor of the Year” Trophy on November 28th during the 8th SPORSORA Sports Marketing Trophies ceremony. This prize is in recognition of the communication and marketing strategy developed by Europcar as the official Team Europcar sponsor since October 2010.

Europcar chose cycling because of its closeness with people, its international influence and its friendliness between riders and spectators. There is a synergy between the values of cycling and Europcar, a company that is both close to its customers and responsive by listening to their mobility needs. 

“We are proud today to receive this Trophy which rewards an exceptional year we had with Team Europcar. Sports sponsorship is supporting our strategy, as it allows us to federate our whole international network and promote our brand image by increasing our notoriety and leadership”, said Philippe Guillemot, CEO of Europcar Groupe. 

The communication and marketing strategy developed around Team Europcar is supported by all of Europcar’s stakeholders involvement thanks to dedicated actions:

-    An animation program for all Group employees

-    Events and hospitality for international customers and partners, institutional contacts, etc.

-    Media relation with sports publications and others dedicated to sports economy

-    Digital strategy

-    Activation of local and international franchisees network (France, South Africa, Denmark…) 

The overall results are beyond the initial objectives. Supported by Team Europcar’s 22 victories along the year, the brand significantly increased its notoriety and visibility in 2011 both in France and other European countries where Europcar is established. 

The Tour de France was a great visibility vector for Europcar. In France, Europcar’s total spontaneous notoriety went up by 8 points: from 31% to 39%1. This achievement is more visible among car rental customers with a gain of 12 points1 (from 45 to 57), which is the best increase among all the brands. Furthermore, with 18% of car rental customers who would choose Europcar for their next rental, the Group appears as the most attractive brand to this audience. In parallel, Team Eurpcar’s assisted notoriety gets an amazing increase in most European countries and especially in France where it went up by 20 points1 (from 12% to 32%). 

(1) Survey held for Europcar in May 2011 and in September 2011. 

Europcar benefited from a very important media exposure, according to a survey carried out by Kantar Média in 7 European countries (Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, UK, Italy and Portugal):

-    23h01 of media exposure, with an average exposure of 1m10 per hour of broadcast

-    TV presence equivalent to 2 840 30-second TV ads

-    Visibility of the brand on TV representing 14 M € in media value for 2011

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