2007 season F1 sponsorship increases ING’s global brand visibility

Amsterdam, 27 November 2007

ING today announced the results of its 2007 F1 sponsorship programme. The partnership with the ING Renault F1 Team, together with our on-track branding activity, has increased ING’s global brand awareness and created a clear and positive perception of the firm. This has also led to an increased willingness amongst existing and potential customers to increase their business with ING.

Michel Tilmant, Chairman of the Executive Board of ING Group said: “The affiliation between ING and Formula One has already proven its worth. Our research shows that the programme has improved ING’s global brand awareness and image. Heading into 2008, the ING F1 strategy will build upon the increase in awareness of ING to drive revenue returns.”

As announced at the beginning of the 2007 season, ING’s main objective for its sponsorship programme was to enhance its brand awareness globally and bring ING’s image more in line with its reach of 75 million customers in over 50 countries.

Research International, an independent research company, surveyed 16,000 people in 32 key markets* for ING globally at the start of the F1 season, and again at the season close after the Brazilian GP on Oct 21. Respondents were a mixture of male/female F1 fans and non-F1 fans, both with and without ING products. They were surveyed across five key criteria, including their awareness & perception of ING, as well as their willingness to do business with the firm as a result of the F1 sponsorship.

Results from the 32 countries surveyed (16,000 respondents) show, as a result of the F1 sponsorship, ING achieved:

* 7% increase in perception of being a leading and global financial services firm
* 25 % increase in positive perception of ING
* 29% increase in willingness to do business with ING within the next 12 months

ING also benefited from strong TV visibility across the 17 GPs, as a result of both its title sponsorship of the ING Renault F1 Team, and its on-track branding presence at 14 of the 17 GPs, including the title sponsorship of the ING Australian and ING Belgian GPs.

Independent research by IFM* has shown that ING was the second most visible F1 sponsor (in seconds the logo was on-screen during the official race TV coverage) with 14,264 seconds on screen, across the 17 GPs.

Isabelle M. Conner, Director of ING’s F1 sponsorship programme said: “2007 was a banner year for ING in terms of raising the profile of the Group worldwide. In 2008 our goal is to fully activate the F1 sponsorship in all ING markets, in order to make best use of our increased awareness, and drive business into the Group by continuing to promote ING’s products and services.”

Next year will see ING continue its global marketing campaign and activation strategy to drive the brand presence across its strategic and emerging markets. ING also aims to build business revenues via the F1 sponsorship, by increasing promotional and marketing products tied to F1 across the firm’s global banking, asset management and insurance product base.

Press enquiries:
Jon Tracey
ING Renault F1 Programme Communications
+44 20 77676373 / +44 7730 051846
Jonathan.tracey@uk.ing.com

Notes to the editors
32 markets surveyed were: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, USA.

IFM - International sports research agency.

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 75 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries.
With a diverse workforce of about 120,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

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