On and off the field, luxury brands are the winners at the 117th Argentina Polo Open Championship.
Today is the Super Bowl Sunday of Argentina polo. This afternoon, eight of the world’s greatest polo players including Adolfo Cambiaso and Facundo Pieres will battle for the final jewel in the Triple Crown, the 117th Argentina Polo Open Championship.
Cambiaso’s La Dolfina Peugeot team is making their tenth final appearance in eleven years, while Pieres’ Ellerstina Etiqueta Negra side is looking to sweep the 2010 Triple Crown after victories at Tortugas and Hurlingham.
Drama, rivalries and storylines abound on Palermo’s perfectly-groomed No. 1 Field, but as sports marketing author and branding expert Claudio Destefano writes in his new book, Hay Otro Partido. (There’s Another Game). And in the case of Argentina polo, it’s a Partido de Lujo. This year’s Abierto has been a 21-day orgy of luxury brands seeking a superlative association in the minds of consumers and polo lovers. As Clarin’s Marcelo Moreno writes today, “It’s the only discipline in which Argentines are the world’s best…seriously.”
From the team sponsors (Air France, Audi, BMW, Cardon, Ellerstina, Peugeot, Piaget) to the concession stands (Stella Artois served in the signature Chalice) to the parking lot (Mercedes-Benz brought the E63, the C63 and the new SLS AMG to Field 1 and the whole 2011 M-B line to Field 2), to the stands where patrons have put on a spring/summer fashion show each weekend.
“The skyboxes, the stands and the concession lines are all exhibition runways where the elegant sport of kings shines like a gala,” writes Moreno adding, “Seeing and being seen is the name of the game. And just wait for the final.” Fortunately for us, the wait is over. (Full Story in Spanish)
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