Tag: formula 1

Formula 1 Sponsorship is Moving Up a Gear – but who makes Slingshot’s Sponsors’ Podium? 5th July, 2018

With its heady mix of speed, excitement, danger and competition set amongst the backdrop of a luxurious, globetrotting lifestyle, you’ll struggle to find a more glamorous sport than Formula 1.

So it’s easy to understand why the incredibly popular jewel in motorsport’s crown attracts some of the biggest sponsorship deals on the planet. There are plenty of household names and premium brands who seek to get in on the action and benefit from the powerful connotations that even just the Formula 1 name itself brings.

But as we have highlighted before, sponsorship partnerships are moving away from simple logo adornments as rapidly as Lewis Hamilton off a grand prix starting grid. The key is now brand activations and shared benefits – and sponsorship in F1 is no exception to this trend.

How Formula 1 sponsorship is changing

A quick-as-lightning example of this would be BT’s partnership with the Williams team, which started up back in 2015. Their deal went miles beyond a mere association in name, extending to BT providing extensive technological expertise and an overhauling of their systems with the aim of cutting down Williams’ race times. Those crucial split-seconds are what really gets team bosses’ engines revving.

Three years on and now under the stewardship of Formula 1’s new audience-driven owners Liberty Media – who also count Live Nation among their portfolio – this sponsorship trend continues apace.

The launch of Formula 1’s first “fan festival” occurred just three weeks into the 2018 season in Shanghai, which was a full-throttle experiential activation ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix. That event was driven by a Heineken-branded stage boasting star DJs, as well as opportunities for other key global partners such as Emirates, Pirelli and Petronas to stretch their appeal to new audiences.

“The days of sticker and cash are gone,” says McLaren spokesman Tim Bampton, referring to the passive sponsorship of the past where companies simply stuck their logos on the race cars. “The demands of new sponsors have changed substantially.” And he’s not wrong.

Slingshot’s Top 3 Formula 1 Sponsors

But which brands are really driving Formula 1’s sponsorship game forward? To help us decide, we’ve put together Slingshot’s very own F1 sponsorship podium finish. It was neck-and-neck until the last corner, but here’s how they came over the line…

3) DHL
Country: Germany

Formula 1 cars are all about speed and efficiency – just like DHL’s link-up with the world’s foremost motorsport. With over 35 years’ experience in motorsport logistics, vital in a global sport, DHL proudly label themselves as the unsung heroes who (in some cases literally) steer the ship and make things possible behind the va-va-vooms.

DHL’s Formula 1 Brand Activation
Not content with just enabling races to go ahead with the delivery of team assets, DHL launched two awards championing speed in both the F1 drivers themselves and their supporting teams: the DHL Fastest Lap and DHL Fastest Pit Stop Award. Furthermore, DHL are the title sponsor of Formula 1’s pioneering eSports competition, a tangible result of a brand working hard to innovate in sponsorship before they’re lapped by the competition.

2) Tata Communications
Country: India

Indian firm Tata Communications couldn’t keep pace with Heineken in the finishing stretch, but come a close second. Their efforts are heavily based around technological innovation within Formula 1, playing a critical role in enabling Liberty Media to step things up a gear with showcasing their new vision of the sport to its fans.

Tata Communications’ Formula 1 Brand Activation
During the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix, Tata Communications conducted a test of truly live 360º video on the track, which enabled fans across the globe to experience the pulsating action in and around the circuit as if they were there in person. If that wouldn’t get fans’ engines started, we don’t know what would.

1) Heineken
Country: Netherlands

Thanks to their refuelled efforts in Formula 1, Heineken have the pleasure of enjoying a victory lap around Slingshot’s track before spraying a bottle of their finest over their competitors.

The fan festival is just one example of how Formula 1 have provided Heineken with unique opportunities to engage with existing and potential consumers. This has helped rev up important growth areas such as commercial opportunities, responsible drinking awareness and skill transfers between F1 and their employees, leading to a boost of £12.6m in sponsorship revenue.

Heineken’s Formula 1 Brand Activation
Heineken’s brand activations do include traditional circuit branding and TV advertisements, however they are now motoring ahead with digital activations, live fan experiences and events, dedicated PR initiatives, and packaging and point-of-sale promotions.

Take a look at a couple of their recent campaigns:

“When You Drive, Never Drink” campaign

Heineken – When You Drive, Never Drink. from Sizzer Amsterdam on Vimeo.

“More Than a Race” campaign

Heineken, Formula 1 is More Than a Race. from Mathieu Caudroy on Vimeo.

Plus an honourable mention for Rolex
Country: Switzerland

Despite missing out on the Slingshot podium by a few hundredths of a second, we must also give an honourable mention to the Official Timepiece of Formula 1.

The 2018 season marked the sixth consecutive year Rolex were the title sponsors of the opening race, and in a timely reminder top their ties to the history of the sport, they were also the main sponsors of the British Grand Prix.

Rolex’s Formula 1 Brand Activation
With a nod to the importance of clockwatching in Formula 1, Rolex are also the Pit Lane Clock sponsors – a visual reminder of precision timing in F1. Recently, Rolex have also begun signing up some of the sport’s former greats such as Sir Jackie Stewart, Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg as “motorsport testimonees” to further extend their brand appeal to various audiences.

So watch this space – there’s a lot more to come from all of F1’s starting grid of sponsors under the demanding gaze of its audience-facing owners. And we can’t wait to see what that brings.

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Red Bull Challenges F1's Sponsorship Stallion 5th December, 2012

In the last couple of weeks, the Red Bull Racing and Sebastian Vettel vs. Ferrari and Fernando Alonso rivalry has dominated sporting headlines. In the end it was yet again the former who took both the Constructers’ and the Drivers’ World Championship titles in the thrilling Formula 1 season finale in Brazil. This nail-biting end to the season has prompted a closer look at the team’s and driver’s success off the track and their contention for the commercial crown.

The Constructers’ (Sponsorship) Championship:

Despite prize money being in the millions, sponsorship is by far the key source of revenue for both teams and their drivers which begs the question: who is leading the commercial championship?

According to Forbes’ latest list of the ‘Formula One’s Most Valuable Teams’ Ferrari’s total revenue is estimated to be around £240m with £190m being generated from sponsorship alone. Nearly £155m is generated via three major deals with Shell, Santander and title sponsorship partner Marlboro. These three deals are worth more than any other team’s total sponsorship revenue.

But what about Red Bull Racing? Out of all teams on the grid, they are surprisingly down in fourth in the overall revenue standings at £100m in 2011. 60% of this revenue comes from Red Bull’s success on the track earning them more prize money than any other team in the championship however the contribution from sponsors falls significantly shorter than Ferrari, coming to £38m positioning the team in the middle of the sponsorship field. The main reason for this is that the brand does not seek sponsors for most of their advertising space as this is generally used for self-promotion. As opposed to Ferrari (whose title sponsor is Marlboro at £100m) and other leading teams like McLaren Mercedes (Vodafone, £47m) and Mercedes AMG F1 (Petronas, £35m), Red Bull is sacrificing a significant amount of commercial opportunity in this area. However, this may all be about to change with the constructors’ champions securing their first title sponsorship deal with Nissan’s luxury arm, Infiniti.

When reviewing the revenue potential of both teams, Ferrari should still be out of reach in the short-term with regards to team value however with Red Bull being the fastest growing team in the paddock, the commercial gap is certainly narrowing.

The Drivers’ (Sponsorship) Championship:

Are Vettel and Alonso also competing for a sponsorship title? In his latest blog post, Mark Mylam asked whether sports men and women as brand ambassadors were really worth the money from a sponsor’s perspective as there is always a risk associated with their image deteriorating and affecting the image of the endorsed brand. An almost risk-free sportsman for instance could be Sebastian Vettel. The driver is unarguably one of the most charismatic Formula 1 drivers, as demonstrated at last year’s Autosport Awards and although his interview at the podium ceremony of Abu Dhabi included some strong words, nothing seems to be able to tarnish his image. This is why Sebastian Vettel, who manages his endorsement deals himself, enjoys lucrative sponsorship deals with Casio and Procter & Gamble’s Head & Shoulders worth around £2m in total, according to a study carried out by Sport + Markt.

Fernando Alonso, on the other hand, seems to have a completely different persona. One could perceive him as being rather introverted although he is not one to shy away from commercial opportunities with earnings upwards of £6m through his deals with Santander, Tag-Heuer and Puma in 2011. This positions Alonso at the top of the sponsorship leaderboard with Michael Schumacher way behind at £3.5m and Lewis Hamilton (£2.5m) ahead of both Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, both at £2m. Marcel Cordes, Executive Director at Sport + Markt, points out that it is unlikely that Vettel will be able to close this gap as “he (Vettel) is already very strongly associated with the Red Bull brand”. Also, Sebastian Vettel is not interested in signing sponsorship deals just for the sake of securing a higher income. He’s already stated in the media: “It is not a goal for me to earn more money. For me, it is important that the brand is ideally suited to me”.

Compared to other sports stars like Roger Federer or Kobe Bryant, sponsorship earnings of Formula 1 drivers are minimal because in most cases, the teams control almost all of their driver’s sponsorship rights.

It is interesting to see that championship wins have by no means been reflective of either team’s or drivers’ respective commercial successes but will this continue into 2013? With the pressure mounting on Sebastian Vettel, could we see Ferrari’s sponsorship stallion overtake the Red Bull both on the track as well as off or will the power of the ‘Vettrick’ prove too much to contend with? Let us know your thoughts!

The Age of Digital Sponsorship 26th June, 2012

Media platforms are becoming increasingly fragmented and consumers are able now more than ever to control how they get their information and how they engage with brands. This has led to digital media becoming the driving force in the implementation of many of the most successful sponsorship campaigns. Digital media provides a means for brands to reach out to the widest possible audience whilst engaging with them across new levels not previously available.

IBM brings digital to Wimbledon

IBM through their partnership with the Wimbledon Tennis Championships have created an augmented reality phone application. The app acts as an onsite guide and interactive map for Wimbledon, allowing users to simply point their phone to navigate around the Wimbledon site as well as allowing users to stream live feeds. The IBM Seer Aggregator enables fans to receive Wimbledon tweets to their phones from sources including players, commentators and a team of IBM scouts. Fans can also keep up-to-date with live feeds and information about matches played on any court transforming how fans can keep up with the action as it happens and enriching their experience of Wimbledon.

Johnnie Walker invites fans to ‘Step Inside the Circuit’

Johnnie Walker joined forces with McLaren in 2005 and have since created the innovative ‘Step Inside the Circuit’ campaign via Facebook. The campaign invites consumers to go behind the scenes and follow the progress of Lewis and Jenson on the track as well as their lives away from it. The campaign includes an online video ‘Drive of a Lifetime’ on the company’s Facebook page. The video puts users in the shoes of the drivers taking them from pre-race activities to stepping into the car before the start of the race. The Facebook connect function then personalises the film using photos and details from the user’s Facebook account, together with text-to-speech technology and video input from the user’s webcam transporting fans into the glamorous world of F1.

Digital media has become the most successful means with which to make sponsorship campaigns more interactive and to create a deeper relationship with consumers. With so many innovative digital campaigns already paving the way within sponsorship, it is inevitable that campaigns will continue to become more exciting and interactive as brands strive to stand apart from their competitors.

Red Bull Car on TRACKER's stand at Commercial Vehicle Show 16th April, 2012

Having teamed up with TRACKER to manage their logistical requirements for the Commercial Vehicle Show, Slingshot Sponsorship are excited to announce the presence of the Red Bull RB6 Formula 1 on stand 3A10. Stand visitors can also enter into a prize draw to win two tickets to the F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone, as well as a tour for two at the Red Bull factory, in Milton Keynes.

TRACKER, a leading telematics and vehicle tracking expert in the UK, will also be unveiling groundbreaking, patented technology and its fleet telematics used by Red Bull Racing to control their costs and focus on the safety of its team.

F1 World Champions Red Bull Racing combines its dedicated and passionate transport and logistics team with the expertise of TRACKER, its fleet telematics partner to ensure the Red Bull Racing team stays on the winner’s podium.

Red Bull Racing’s Formula One design and engineering team, Red Bull Technology, need to ensure the fleet is running as efficiently as possible in order to make vehicle, parts, equipment and team deliveries across Europe. But this all has to be balanced with a constant focus on safety and duty of care responsibilities, which is a challenge when time is in short supply.

With a fleet of 23 vehicles in the UK and across Europe, Red Bull Technology harnesses the power of TRACKER’s fleet telematics solution to deliver a detailed view of driver behaviour and fuel usage across each vehicle. This allows Transport Manager for Red Bull Technology, Ed Porter, to monitor speeds, journey routes and the general whereabouts of the fleet team.

Ed Porter, Transport Manager for Red Bull Technology explains:

I need to be able to manage a fleet that is spread across Europe, keeping in control of what is happening throughout the day without compromising the efficiency of the fleet. The nature of the Formula One industry is that we need everything yesterday, making time the most valuable commodity for me and my team. If I could buy time, I would, but TRACKER’s fleet tracking system goes a long way in helping me make the best of the time I have

Stephen Doran, Managing Director for TRACKER adds:

This is an exciting opportunity for people to come and see the Red Bull Formula 1 car at the Commercial Vehicle Show. We are also giving visitors to the TRACKER stand a chance to walk away with an amazing prize. And of course, the TRACKER team will be on hand to demonstrate the potential benefits our fleet tracking solutions can provide commercial vehicle fleet managers.

Slingshot Sponsorship win agency contract with Autosport for 2012 19th January, 2012

Autosport, the authority on motorsport, has appointed Slingshot Sponsorship to develop and implement a new sponsorship strategy for the 2012 Autosport Awards. Slingshot is briefed to increase awareness and commercial value for the event through the creation of additional opportunities and sponsorship platforms throughout the year.

Rob Aherne, Publisher at Autosport:

“We are delighted to be working with Slingshot Sponsorship on the Autosport Awards. They have proven themselves to be a vibrant company with lots of ideas about driving our event forward commercially, and we look forward to making plenty of progress together.”

Held every December at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane, the Autosport Awards are voted for by the readers and attended by the biggest names in motorsport including Formula 1, Motorsport GP, British Rallying & World Rally Championships. Winners of the International Racing Driver of the Year Award have included Sebastien Vettel, Jensen Button, and Lewis Hamilton.

Slingshot Sponsorship will assist Autosport with consultation and overall execution of a strategy that will attempt to forge new brand partnerships, whilst raising awareness of the programme overall for current sponsors Castrol, Mercedes-Benz, Perelli, Skoda, BMW, UBS, Parkalgar, and TW Steel.

Jackie Fast, Managing Director of Slingshot Sponsorship:

We can’t wait to get started with the Autosport Awards. It is a phenomenal event and can deliver real marketing value to sponsoring brands. We will be looking to enhance their current programme through the creation of additional touchpoints as well as integrating new sponsoring brands to help diversify and deliver additional value.