Red Bull's Snapchat Led 'F1 Bingo Game' At US GP Pokes Fun At Pre-Race Press Conferences

Activating around the US Grand Prix, Red Bull F1 launched a blended digital/social ‘F1 Press Conference Bingo’ game to leverage pre-race excitement and drive fan engagement (as well as boost its online platform metrics).

Led by driver Daniel Ricciardo and running primarily on the team’s Snapchat (follow @redbull) – with support across its Twitter feed,

Bored of the same old #F1 press conferences? This game of bingo will spice things up! https://t.co/DnWKCZf6xx pic.twitter.com/IUS0OzhHmg

— Red Bull Motorsports (@redbullmotors) October 21, 2016

Facebook page and website – the game aims to make F1 press conferences fun again by encouraging fans to play a form of press conference cliché bingo on a branded Red Bull bingo card.

The promotional creative is dominated by basic, CGI images of Ricciardo playing the game on a distinctly fake looking bingo card while sat in a pre-race media sessions.

The gaming initiative asks: ‘Bored with the same old routine Formula One press conference? Then liven things up with F1 Bingo. The press conferences that start off the Formula One weekend are many things. They can be informative. They can be a chance to hear from the drivers and team personnel. What they are not, is a thrill ride of tension and excitement – at least not every week. But not anymore! Now you can play along with F1 press conference bingo!‘

This is the simplest of games, fans are invited to download the bespoke bingo card, listen out for the well-worn sayings that are so often heard in F1 press conferences and cross them off.

Whoever completes a line on the card is simply invited to share a photo off their card on Snapchat.

The team also asks fans themselves to suggest what entries they would suggest to include on an F1 bingo card by letting them known on Facebook.

Comment

On the negative side, this super simple social game doesn’t offer winning fans any prizes – thus failing to genuinely incentivise participation and reward engagement.

On the positive side, it does take a fun approach to leveraging the current interest (or lack thereof) around F1 press conferences highlighted by the media storm surrounding Mercedes’ driver Lewis Hamilton’s own Snapchat press conference fun during the previous

Hamilton played on Snapchat during a Thursday press conference ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix: where he used the social network’s ‘bunny rabbit filter’ to put ears on Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz and himself.

This is by no means the first, live event Bingo activation campaign we have covered.

For example, at the 2015 Oscars Diet Coke ran a not dissimilar red carpet cliché bingo game to synch with the live TV broadcast (see case study), while at the 2016 Super Bowl insurer Progressive created a ‘Super Bowl Clichés Ad Bingo App’ (see case study).

But this simple, silly piece of filler fun is a world away from the more sophisticated sports marketing and event sponsor gaming campaigns that range from fellow F1 team Williams’ Reaction Race’ mobile game from earlier this season (presenting by Swiss watch sponsor Oris,

to Gatorade’s Snapchat led Serena Williams ‘Match Point’ game activating around the 2016 US Open tennis (see case study).

Links

Red Bull F1 Bingo Web:

http://www.redbull.com/en/motorsports/f1/stories/1331824995058/f1-press-conference-bingo

Red Bull F1 Bingo Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/RedBullMotorsports/

Red Bull Racing Website
http://www.redbullracing.com

Red Bull Racing YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/redbullracing

Red Bull Racing Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/redbullracing/

Red Bull Racing Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/redbullracing