As Heineken, the official beer of Formula, continues to leverage its rights by showing that the sport is ‘More Than a Race’ it has released a series of hero videos fronted by former F1 driver and current commentator David Coulthard which aim to change consumer misconception that the sport lacks competitive excitement.
Developed alongside creative agency Publicis Italy and digital agency Poke, the trilogy of digital/social short films star ex Mercedes driver Coulthard and are built around the insight that F1 isn’t simply a two hour race, but rather that each Grand Prix is a ‘72 hour spectacle of glamour and excitement, taking place in some of the world’s greatest cities’.
This new fact-based video series – the spots range between 40 and 67 seconds each – has been developed and optimised for social channels and is being amplified throughout the year across Heineken’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube platforms.
The three-part ad series consists of ‘Athletes’ (which focuses on breaking the stereotype that drivers are not real athletes with real examples of what they go through in each race, such as driving in temperatures over 50°C and being so fit they can handle more g-force than a space shuttle)
‘Circles’ (which tackles the misconception that F1 is just about driving around in circles and that a lot more goes into the race so drivers can perform at their best, such as cars getting adjusted every 20 minutes),
and ‘Cold Tech’ (in which Coulthard shows that although there is a lot of innovative technology involved, it is the people and culture around the Grands Prix that make it so special)
This activation phase doesn’t only complement Heineken’s existing global campaign and seek to further establish the brand’s position as a global sponsor of F1, but it also faces up to the sport’s challenges and aims to start opening up the world of F1 to new audiences.
“Our aim with these films was to show people another side of F1 that is unexpected. There is more to F1 than people think and as the exclusive Global Beer Partner of F1 we are in the best position to be doing this through our global reach and audience,” explains Global Heineken Brand Communication Director Anuraag Trikha.
“With the hero films of More Than a Race, we’re bringing to life our brand essence ‘Open Your World’ by opening up the sport of F1 to new audiences in a new and engaging way. We are also bringing the world of F1 to a new digital platform where our target audience or millennials are watching. It’s new and innovative and highly engaging content, and we hope consumers around the world see F1 in a different light,” he continues.
“For last year’s initial launch of More Than a Race, racing legend David Coulthard introduced a first-timer to the delights of the F1 experience. Now that we’ve established what the F1 world is about, the new films continue taking the viewers on this journey by giving them access to unexposed sides of the sport.”
Nicolas Roope, Executive Creative Director, POKE added: “Heineken wants to lift the lid on F1 and show that it’s More Than a Race. Who better than Heineken’s F1 frontman David Coulthard to offer fresh perspectives on the global phenomenon? This video series was conceived and crafted for mobile consumption, designed to grab attention and reward the engaged with new insights and visual spectacle.”
“The script beckons viewers to glimpse obscure and interesting stories behind F1, that tell a fresh story about this extreme phenomenon. Each story needed illustrating to convey each point, but we also needed pace and dynamism in the visuals, so camera play and creative transitions were used to inject this energy. We needed interest to be upheld as the insights unfolded, to prove to everyone that F1 is “More Than a Race,” concludes Roope.
Comment:
When even your high paying sponsors commit activation budget to overtly tackling misconceptions around the property, you know you have an event that is need of change.
And surely the new owners and their new F1 team will be appreciative of this new Heineken campaign.
After all, if it’s tackling some of the issues they need to tackle and thus the sponsor is partly doing the property owner’s job for them.
Which rights holder doesn’t long for commercial partners who are prepared to do that (after paying)?
It’ll be interesting to see which issues the F1 team and their their partners tackle next: lack of competitiveness, accusations of sexism, a sense of unfriendliness to the loyal fanbase, pay TV paywalls, the challenge of electric, pure racing or auto industry development……?
Heineken initially launched its global Formula 1 (F1) partnership in 2016 with two new campaigns: ‘When You Drive, Never Drink (see case study) and ‘More Than A Race’,
which was followed by a multi-phased, integrated race-specific activation programme at the season opening grand prix in Australia (see case study).
Both of those leverage initiatives blended TV, digital and social and reached out across multiple markets.
In additional to its general global rights as ‘exclusive Global Beer Partner of Formula 1’ (which comes with pouring, activation and access rights throughout the race series), this year also sees Heineken as the F1 Event Title Partner of three Formula 1 grand prix in China, Italy and Mexico.
Links:
Heineken
http://www.theheinekencompany.com
https://twitter.com/HeinekenCorp
https://www.youtube.com/user/heineken
https://www.instagram.com/Heineken/
http://heineken-agegate.tumblr.com/#heineken/
https://www.facebook.com/heineken/
Formula One
https://www.facebook.com/Formula1
Publicis Italy
Poke
