 |
Heineken and Formula 1 announced a multi-year global partnership on Thursday that the Dutch brewer said "would rank alongside its long-standing sponsorship" of the Champions League, according to Ian Gordon of REUTERS. No "financial details were given for the deal," which was announced at the Canadian Grand Prix and starts in September with title sponsorship of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Global Heineken Brand Senior Dir Gianluca Di Tondo said, "F1 is going to be one of our biggest ever partnerships. The world is going to notice that we are in F1." Heineken will be F1's official beer partner. From '17, the brand will be title sponsor of three grands prix with significant signage at six others. The branding "will not be on any cars." Di Tondo said that discussions between the world's third largest brewer and F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "had been ongoing for some time." Di Tondo: "We estimate Formula One can give us the extra 200 million people on top of the other global consumers we have and F1 is looking for spectators to turn into F1 fans. Together we can both reach our goal. Champions League football and Formula One are going to be our yearly platforms." Heineken's sponsorship of European football's premier club competition runs to '18 and is worth in excess of $70M a year, according to sports marketing research group IMR (
REUTERS, 6/9). SKY SPORTS's Matt Morlidge reported "the deal includes track-side Heineken branding as well as TV adverts, live fan exercises and more." It is Heineken's "first major foray into motorsport" but it hopes to engage fans with PR initiatives while it will use its involvement with F1 to promote the "If You Drive, Never Drink" campaign. (
SKY SPORTS, 6/9).
A LONG ROAD: Triple world champion Jackie Stewart played an instrumental role in bringing in Heineken as a new global F1 partner. Stewart, who established the connection between the Dutch brewery and the series, told SBD Global that he had been working on the deal for more than two years. "[The deal] nearly came to pass about 18 months ago," he said. "But then then there was quite a big management change and they (Heineken) in fact pulled out of it for a little while." Stewart, who also had his hands in F1 securing Rolex as a global partner in '12, said he already shot a commercial for Heineken that will air around the race in Monza. He and former F1 driver David Coulthard will be ambassadors for Heineken (HJ Mai, SBD Global).
SHAKING UP THE FORMULA: MOTORSPORT's Jonathan Noble reported while Ecclestone's paymasters will be mostly "delighted about" the extra $200M-$250M added to their coffers over the next few years, the scope of F1's latest deal "are poised to deliver something that lifts the sport in ways never dreamed of before." Heineken's vision is not of "sitting back and being happy that its trackside logos are broadcast to millions of homes around the world, or that it can use pictures of F1 cars on special edition bottles." Instead, it wants to "ramp up marketing efforts in a way that perhaps only Red Bull has been able to do so far." It is talking about F1 "promotional pushes in cities in the weeks before races, shop floor campaigns in bars, cafes and supermarkets around the world, worldwide ticket promotions and competitions," fan "Meet and Greet" sessions with stars, flat out social media and digital marketing campaigns to fully engage the Facebook generation, big advertising campaigns, Heineken lounges and entertainment at tracks and venues around the world. It wants to "do all that it has done with the Rugby World Cup and UEFA Champions League, and more" (MOTORSPORT, 6/19).
 |
| Source: F1 |
