Leveling up – how Formula 1’s global audience is opening the door to new partnerships

In mid-December, FIFA announced that the 2030 World Cup would take place in six countries spanning three continents. Meanwhile, most American sports have been turning to Europe in recent years to expand their appeal.

These events typically sell out in record-setting times, but do not come close to matching the worldwide spectacle of hosting 24 Grands Prix across five continents and 21 countries, with viewing figures steadily rising.

In this respect, Formula 1 is unique among sporting competitions in seeking sponsorship revenue and partnership involvement.

That’s why F1 chief commercial officer Emily Prazer thinks the series is only growing its portfolio of partners.

“We talk about it all the time; Global brand appeal is something we really can’t take lightly,” he told Autosport Business.

“I think obviously we are up against the NFL in the US, the NBA and the Premier League in the UK. But I think people are really starting to understand our global reach for 24 races across most continents.

“I think we’ve done a really good job of being a little more trusted by brands, seeing the strategy come to life with some of the global partnerships that we’ve had for a very long time, that means we’re using data. Are able to stand behind, which is really helpful.

In 2024, F1’s longest season ever, the championship welcomes new deals, the largest of which LVMH to bring several of its ‘Maisons’ on board as part of 10-year global pact This will result in the brands of Louis Vuitton, Moët and TAG Heuer.

It’s been a fruitful year for Prazer and his team, with the addition of Santander and Globant, Crypto.com expanding its deal, and Lenovo joining the top tier of global partners.

“I think LVMH is exactly the type of partner we want to work with, just on the activation side,” he said.

“I think you’ll see some really fun things over the next year around each of the three brands that they’re working on with us, which again, is just raising the level, I think, compared to some of the other sports. .

“We are probably one of the more astute rights holders as it relates to partnerships. We don’t really have a rule book of ‘you have to do this, and you have to do that’.

“We get to be very creative when answering brand objectives and I think that’s been really good at differentiating ourselves from the rest.

“I think we are very deliberate about what we do with our brands. Obviously, some of this is relatively progressive. Again, if you look at AWS, Salesforce, Tata, those types of brands, they very much support the broader business, which is very helpful when you’re talking and being able to tell a story.

“Not everyone gets the opportunity to really weave technology into partnerships, and we’re very fortunate in that regard, in addition to the fact that we want to make it the top brand in the world.

“So we’re very thoughtful about who we partner with, because it’s based on what value they provide to our fans, not necessarily just a cash investment in the game. Obviously, we love money! I think every game does that, but from our perspective, it depends on how they perform.”

With so many new partners joining at various levels or as part of licensing agreements, is Prazer worried that there may come a time when there are too many brands competing for space in the F1 field?

“We definitely have category exclusivity, so you’ll never see that we have two partners in the same category,” he said.

“I don’t think you’ll ever see us over-saturate ourselves. I think you’ll see deal value becoming more important, because we have a scarcity problem, that we’ll never go above a certain number of partners, and we’re completely unsure about their value. Investigating. render.”

Despite the number of races already on the calendar, there are still areas of the world that do not currently feature an F1 Grand Prix.

Rwanda keen to bring the series back to AfricaWhile Argentina is being considered to potentially return to add a second race to the vast continent of South America, these types of locations are offering opportunities for new partnerships should they materialize.

“When the race promotion team starts talking about the calendar, we obviously work with them quite significantly on where we think the opportunities are, because we want to make sure that we’re able to deliver that race.” Align to market value,” Prazer said.

“Especially in Asia, we have a lot of business opportunities, if we hold a few more races there, I think it will become successful very quickly.

“And I think we’ve done a really good job in that regard with our promoters and created recognition at each of our Grands Prix.”