Two of the most engaged individuals in the INDYCAR Paddock during the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg were Mona Charif and Margo Cooke. They were key members of something big, something memorable and something very important to the series.
It was the beginning of the “NTT Era of INDYCAR.”
Charif is the Chief Marketing Officer of NTT DATA Services. Cooke is the Vice President, Brand & Event Marketing and Sponsorships for NTT DATA Services.
Cooke is pictured to the left and Charif to the right in the above photo.
Working with parent company NTT in Japan, Charif and Cooke wanted to ensure the first race in the new sponsorship agreement with INDYCAR was successful. NTT is the fourth-largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of revenue.
NTT became the official technology partner of INDYCAR, the IndyCar Series, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Brickyard 400 beginning in 2019.
“It is thrilling for the company,” Charif told NTT INDYCAR Mobile. “NTT is honored to be sponsoring the IndyCar Series. We are very proud of this relationship and partnership and we are very excited about what is to come.”
NTT is one of the world’s leading technology companies focusing on research and development. The company is based in Japan but had already experienced the value and benefit of INDYCAR through NTT DATA’s sponsorship of the No. 10 Honda with Chip Ganassi Racing.
A chance to increase its involvement with the series was enticing because it can help showcase NTT’s technology innovations, research and business-to-business involvement.
“NTT is a $160 billion IT Services, telecommunications and security company based out of Tokyo, and we bring together complex technology for our clients all over the world every day,” Charif said.
“For NTT, this is a natural extension and a great platform to showcase the types of work we can do for clients. We are excited to help the IndyCar Series better engage the current fanbase and build the next generation of fans.”
NTT’s value comes from what is known as “business-to-business” instead of a consumer sponsorship. Because it is not a consumer product, it helps connect key businesses with other businesses.
“It’s a great way for us to reach our core client business which spans industries and is all over the world,” Charif said. “NTT stands for Nippon Telegraph and Telephone – very similar in size and scale to AT&T here in the United States. NTT also has consumer businesses that are part of the NTT Corporation.”
One of those consumer companies is DOCOMO, Japan’s largest wireless providers. DOCOMO is the first company to create the popular “Emojis” that are widely used in texting and messaging worldwide.
“Emojis” replace words to express emotions, activities, food, sports and other endeavors.
According to Cooke, an “IndyCar” emoji is “on the wish list” and they hope to introduce it at some stage.
Charif sees INDYCAR as a fast-paced sport that is as much about the future as it is about its glorious past.
“It was a great alignment of our brand values around speed, technology, innovation and our teamwork,” Charif said. “We plan to take INDYCAR into the future.
“This is a huge day. It’s a fantastic way to engage our clients. We have clients, prospects and partners here, we have partners here. It’s great from a brand-building approach and also a way to engage our clients and employees off the track.”
Charif looks at the “NTT Era” as the beginning of a long-standing and innovative partnership with INDYCAR and a natural extension of its relationship with NTT DATA and Chip Ganassi Racing.
It is also giving valuable information to the fans through the NTT INDYCAR Mobile App.
“The App is an excellent resource,” Charif said. “I use the App on my phone. I’ve chosen my favorite team and my favorite driver. When I’m not at the race, I follow on the NTT App. It’s a great demonstration of our technology and what we can bring to bear for our clients.
“The content is so rich on the App.”
Cooke stressed that the NTT INDYCAR Mobile App is open to everyone, it is not restricted, and fans can download and use the App no matter which carrier provides its wireless service.
More features are on the way.
“What the technology team can do next is almost endless and we can bring it out through the App,” Cooke said. “The technology team is working hard to find the right set of things that fans will like, and the fans are not shy of telling us what they want to see.
“We can’t wait to reveal soon what is to come for the App.”