Promoting Formula One
Formula One is one of the world’s most popular sports with a massive global following. Part of that popularity is down to the significant work that Formula One Management has put into promoting Grand Prix racing in many different countries. More than 30 years ago, Bernie Ecclestone took control of F1 and transformed it into a professional marketable sport that he sold to television companies for millions. However, the world is always changing and it’s important for the way Formula One is promoted to change as well.
In the past, EnterF1.com has discussed ways that Formula One Management can improve the sport’s television coverage, what it can learn from MotoGP, and how an ideal World Championship calendar would contain a healthy mix of exciting races and exciting locations. Whilst it’s important for FOM to continue developing the sport, which is its core product, it’s also important to ensure that F1 promoted effectively.
At the moment, Grand Prix teams and sponsors are responsible for much of the sport’s marketing. This arrangement suits FOM as other parties end up paying for the advertising and related activities that draw attention to F1. However, there are so many further ideas that Formula One Management could pursue to better promote the sport and make it more attractive to fans all around the world.
Internet presence
The official Formula One website is a great resource for Grand Prix fans with regular news, technical features, live timing, and videos. However, it’s the only official web presence the sport has. There is no Formula One representation through any social media website, and the sport doesn’t make use of the opportunities offered to it through sites such as YouTube.
YouTube is a perfect example of Formula One making poor use of the internet. At the moment, many F1 videos on the site are removed by FOM due to copyright infringement. This is a result of the sport’s income being derived from TV rights, which is highly valuable because the footage is heavily protected. Releasing videos such as Grand Prix highlights on YouTube could lessen the value of those TV rights which is why FOM is so keen to control the material.
However, if Formula One’s administrators managed their presence YouTube correctly, the loss of value in TV rights would be outweighed by the potential number of new fans. FOM has missed the opportunity to embrace the technology and create something along the lines of its own YouTube channel where it could control the footage released onto the net. It would be a great opportunity to showcase the most spectacular footage from the sport and show casual fans just how exciting a Grand Prix can be. The race edits on the official F1 website are fantastic, so they really should be on YouTube where they could be easily viewed by far more people.
Ultimately, if someone wants to watch something on the web, they will find a way. FOM are fighting a losing battle to keep everything under their copyright umbrella. YouTube is just one example of how the sport could do a lot more to engage with the global audience offered through the internet.
Off track events
Grand Prix cars are incredibly spectacular machines to experience in the flesh. Even people with no passing interest in sport or motoring can’t help but be amazed by the speed and sound of a Formula One car in action. A few of the teams, such as Renault and Red Bull, take advantage of this and conduct free public off-track demonstrations on a regular basis. These events are hugely popular, and give unlikely fans a chance to discover just how stunning a Formula One car really is.
Apart from a street exhibition in Abu Dhabi a few years ago, and another in London in 2004, Formula One Management has organised very few public events. One idea would be to give every team an annual budget to organise such demonstrations, and to offer them further incentives for creative ideas. You could have every team on the grid running ‘roadshows’ all around the world as part of an effective program to connect more fans with the sport.
Grand Prix cars are breathtaking machines, and should be used to sell Formula One wherever possible.
Gaming
A great way to engage with new racing fans is through gaming. Codemasters’ latest F1 release has proven hugely popular, and has put Formula One in the living rooms of families who would otherwise have no connection to Grand Prix racing.
It’s a shame to think that F1 went without an official game for several years because it’s one of the best ways to market the sport. It also goes straight to the tech-savvy affluent young audience that Formula One craves. In addition to the existing Codemasters product, FOM could encourage another historical simulation similar to Grand Prix Legends, and provide licences to include Formula One cars in other driving games.
Gaming is so advanced these days that Formula One could potentially build something really special. Technology is being developed that will allow the data from the GPS responder on an F1 car to be fed straight into a gaming console where it can simulate an actual Grand Prix in real time. This might not be workable at the moment, but FOM can develop the technology to record a Grand Prix using GPS, and give gamers the opportunity to download it a few weeks later once any bugs have been ironed out. That would be just as awesome for any casual gamer as much as it would be for any F1 fan.
Engage with other sports fans
Casual sports fans are often amazed at how physically difficult it is to drive a Formula One car. Many think it is just like driving your average family sedan, but the extreme G-forces ensure that certainly isn’t the case. FOM could develop some high-profile promotional activities that display just how fit Grand Prix drivers have to be. Something like this could be achieved by comparing F1 to other athletic disciplines, and this would help attract the attention of many different sporting fans.
One idea might be to have a popular international star from every major sport, such as Lionel Messi, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, and so-on, placed into a Formula One two-seater to show the world just how physically demanding it is. You could then put them through the training regime of an F1 driver, and into a real car by themselves to prove how technically difficult they are to drive. Many everyday motorists think they’re better than they really are, and this is one way to prove that even the slowest F1 driver is on a completely different level.
There are literally billions of passionate sports fans all around the world, so F1 would be wise to connect with as many of them as possible, and to sell itself as a challenging athletic contest.
Engage with TV audiences
It’s hard not to be amazed by the fact that a Formula One car is made up of 80,000 parts, and that many of those will be updated during the course of a season. It’s also incredible to think the carbon brakes on a Grand Prix machine run almost as hot as molten lava, and that the cooling system could empty itself in less than a second if it sprung a major leak. Imagine if FOM was able to educate millions of non-F1 fans with this type of knowledge, and to draw them to the sport.
This is possible by using existing platforms for promotion, such as popular TV shows. For example, Top Gear has a huge global audience, many of whom would have no interest in the program if it was just about cars. Several years ago, Richard Hammond showed just how difficult it was to drive an F1 car, but the sport could really expand on that. They could pay the BBC to have an F1 car on Top Gear again, and to race it against a Bugatti Veyron, or integrate it into a series of challenges, or something along those lines in an effort to impress a large captive audience.
Top Gear is just one example of how the sport could educate and amaze a wide range of people. There are many other promotional opportunities, such as talk shows, that could be used to help increase the sport’s fanbase.
The Formula One Store
Ferrari has developed its brand in recent years by creating a number of official ‘Ferrari stores’. These are exactly what they sound like, small shops that sell everything and anything to do with Ferrari. If you can paint it red and put a prancing horse logo on it, you’ll probably find it in a Ferrari Store. Interestingly, they aren’t just popular with race fans, but also those looking for something like a Fathers Day gift, or doing a bit of window shopping. They have proven to be an effective way to help spread the Ferrari brand.
A Formula One Store currently exists, but it is only online and offers a very limited expensive range of official merchandise. Most of the gear that is available is produced by the teams themselves. Formula One Management could potentially create some more (sensibly priced) official merchandise and open a number of shop windows, or even just smaller sections within existing department stores. It probably isn’t wise to follow the NASCAR route of branding everything from homewares to office supplies, but giving fans more access to Formula One branded products would go a long way to increasing their awareness of the sport.
Promote Formula One history
One of my favourite things about MotoGP is that Dorna, the commercial rights holder, has repackaged and distributed old races for viewing. My local sports channel used to broadcast ‘MotoGP Classics’ late on a Saturday night and it was fantastic. Anyone can download a large number of old races from the internet and you can even buy them through the iTunes store.
Formula One Management does not offer the same opportunity. One of F1’s most valuable assets is its history, and giving people access to old races could be a great way to help promote the sport. FOM is very protective of its footage to ensure the TV rights remain as valuable as possible, but there can’t be the same value in historical races. It’s actually a chance for FOM to make some money by selling the repackaged footage. No doubt Bernie Ecclestone would love the idea of selling someone the same thing twice!
Grand Prix racing has a huge depth of history, with many famous household names from the past, and FOM could make an effort to give fans as much access to that as possible.
Promote Formula One through movies
Another way to engage large numbers of non-F1 fans is through film. Last year’s impressive FIA Gala Video was a demonstration of just how spectacular Grand Prix footage can be, and FOM should be trying to encourage as much of that as possible.
The newly released Senna movie is great for the sport and will help attract more fans to Formula One. There is also talk of a potential new movie/documentary focussing on the early turbo era of F1, and another possible movie about the life of Gilles Villeneuve. These are all great marketing tools that can be used to draw attention to Grand Prix racing.
In hindsight, Bernie Ecclestone was wise to cancel Sylvester Stallone’s planned F1 movie (which turned into an awful Indy Car film called ‘Driven’) because it would not have presented Formula One in the best possible way. However, encouraging tasteful movies and documentaries, or even making some themselves (and trying something special like 3D), would be a great way for FOM to attract new fans.
You can promote Formula One by engaging fans in many different ways. You can give them a chance to experience a Grand Prix car first hand, or by giving them an understanding the remarkable performance and technology that goes into F1 machinery. You can engage fans by linking the sport to their gaming, by giving them access to merchandise, or by giving them an appreciation of F1 history. The sport would be wise to embrace new marketing opportunities wherever possible, and to continually develop the way it presents itself to fans and potential new supporters.
After all, without fans, there is no sport.
What ideas do you think Formula One Management could pursue to better promote the sport?