SYDNEY, Australia – March 4, 2009 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC), makers of Norton security software, has accelerated its involvement in Australian motorsport, announcing a major partnership between its Norton 360 brand and the V8 Supercar Championship Series.
Symantec will partner with Triple Eight Race Engineering, with the Norton 360 logo featuring on the TeamVodafone V8 Supercars driven by current V8 Supercar champion, Jamie Whincup and V8 Supercar legend, Craig Lowndes.
Symantec will also be the naming rights sponsor of the Melbourne round of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series, to be called the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge.
The partnership with TeamVodafone and Triple Eight Race Engineering is an extension of an existing relationship with Symantec and Craig Lowndes, who carried the Norton logo on his helmet and race suit throughout the 2008 season.
“Our partnership with Craig Lowndes has been extremely successful, helping raise consumer awareness of Internet safety issues and promoting the speed and performance of our products,” said Symantec’s consumer spokesperson Pacific, Matthew Drake.
“Motorsport is a great platform for communication with consumers given our products are engineered for speed.”
Lowndes became the Norton Internet Safety Ambassador for Australia and New Zealand at the beginning of last year, and continues to promote online safety and security to consumers.
“Our partnership with the team complements the awareness-raising work we have been doing with Craig in our region, as well as various Symantec online safety programs currently underway elsewhere in the world,” said Drake.
Team principal, Roland Dane, says the partnership with Symantec is a great boost to his championship-winning team.
“Any time motor racing attracts a major new corporate sponsor it’s a good thing,” said Dane.
“Given the current economic environment, the addition of a fortune 500 company like Symantec on the cars is particularly helpful to our prospects of defending the Supercar title.”
Chief Executive Officer of V8 Supercars Australia, Cameron Levick, has welcomed Symantec’s increased commitment to V8 racing.
“Like a number of other key sponsors Symantec clearly sees good value in V8 Supercars and we are pleased that the audience of the sport aids the awareness-raising objectives,” said Levick.
“This is a key announcement for our sport as we and our teams continue to defy current commercial trends. We welcome Symantec, through the Norton name, into our sport and look forward to a lengthy relationship.”
The Norton 360 Sandown Challenge will comprise two sprint-length races on August 1 and 2, 2009.
The new Sandown race promoter, V8 Supercar Events, says Symantec’s sponsorship will help to rebuild the Melbourne race as a major event on the V8 Championship calendar.
“Our aim this year is to restore some of the prestige to Sandown as an iconic inner-city race venue,” said Levick.
“The Norton 360 sponsorship gives the Sandown race a strong platform for future growth and will allow us to provide a better experience for race-goers.”
The Norton 360 Sandown Challenge will also be an occasion to thank Victorian fire-fighters for their efforts during the recent deadly bushfires. Five hundred of the fire-fighters will receive tickets to the Melbourne race courtesy of Symantec.
About Norton from Symantec
Symantec’s Norton products protect consumers from traditional threats with antivirus, anti-spam and spyware protection, as well as bots, drive-by downloads and identity theft– while also being light on system resources. The company also provides services such as online backup and PC tuneup, and is a trusted source for family online safety.
Consumers want speed and performance in a security suite as well as protection. Norton 360 has received numerous awards and accolades from reviewers both locally and globally who have praised its industry-leading performance and very low impact on system speed. Norton 360 local awards include Australian PC User Best Buy and Security Software Product of the Year 2008 and 2007, New Zealand Netguide Best Security Software 2008 and Best in Test, Australian Netguide Best in Test, Australian PC Authority Recommended, The Australian Tech Check Choice, New Zealand Dominion Post’s iDom’s Pick , Editor’s Choice from ZDNet, CNet and Impulsegamer, and many more.
According to GfK figures, since its launch in 2007 Norton 360 has been the best-selling Internet security suite in Australia and New Zealand.
About Symantec
Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organisations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.
Symantec and the Symantec Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.