The brand new FIA Formula E series gained a great deal of traction in its inaugural season. The London ePrix, taking place over Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June marked the end of the season, and a suitable juncture to re- evaluate sport’s prospects.
Manufacturer Involvement
Motorsport is often only considered viable if it is able to attract a large number of automotive manufacturers to participate. This is actually not a true barometer for longevity or prosperity – for most of Formula 1’s history there has rarely been more than three or four automotive manufacturers involved. Formula 1 has prospered on privateer teams that consist of ‘racers’ – think Williams F1 or Sauber F1 – teams that are mostly owned by their founders, that exist to race and thus have been in the sport for over 30 years.
Formula E could prosper in much the same way should it wish. The difference is, Formula E wants to fill as many of its 10 franchise teams with automotive manufacturers as possible. This meant that the manufacturer proposition had to be strong – and it is!
Automotive manufacturers have been trying to introduce electric vehicles to market with varying degrees of support and success over a number of years. Formula E’s core proposition to manufacturers is to provide a competitive R&D platform to develop electric vehicle technology, and promote widespread consumer adoption of electric vehicles.
This has resonated well with manufacturers and teams. Renault., Audi, Mahindra and Venturi signed up from the start. Renault then quickly expanded its role, acquiring a significant stake in the eDams team, BMW came onboard as the Official Vehicle Partner, supplying its i8 and i3 models to be used as the safety and course cars for the series, and Chinese electric vehicle start-up NextEV became involved with Team China.
Global manufacturers including Mercedes, Chevrolet, Volvo, and Honda have also discussed entering the series. Many discussions were exploratory however with no new manufacturer expected to join until Series 3. However at the season finale in London, Citroen announced a partnership with Virgin Racing and will participate from Series 2. Other manufacturer waiting in the wings is Jaguar Land Rover, who await the opportunity to join the series.
Entertainment Value
Whilst the visual spectacle lacks in some areas, the first season’s racing has provided viewers with some of the best racing in motorsport, and a great deal of close wheel-to-wheel action.
This was aided in Season 1 by the ‘closed formula’, where all cars are technically the same and equal on performance, making the races extremely close. With cars relying on mechanical grip, and with slipstreaming more effective, attacks and overtakes happen up and down the field. The action is made better by some great on-board camera angles low down on the nose of the car.
The parity in design has also created a sense of unpredictability, with seven different winners in the opening nine races.
Audience & Broadcast Partners
Formula E secured a strong portfolio of broadcast partners for what was a brand new series. Fox Sports, ITV, Sky Deutschland, Canal+ and TV Asahi all signed up at the start of the season, with many more domestic broadcasters added throughout the year.
SMG Insights, a division of research firm YouGov, provide Formula E’s official media figures. The season’s totals are due in the coming weeks, but the race-by-race data would signal that Formula E looks on target to acheive their goal of 2o0 million viewers for Series 1. This should be seen as a success, making it one of the highest viewed global motorsport categories within its first year.
For season 2 Formula E expects to greatly develop its broadcast partnerships to reach greater audiences and provide an even better programming solution. One reason to expect fast developments in this area is the announcement of new investors; Liberty Global and Discovery Communications.
After stalled talks with F1 majority owner, CVC Capital, in March, John Malone’s Liberty Global and Discovery Communications groups became the largest combined shareholder in Formula E. Discovery Communications owns Discovery Turbo (a channel dedicated to automotive shows), Eurosport and Virgin Media. It is fully expected that Discovery and Eurosport will pick up rights to the sport in complementary markets and provide a best in class showcase of the series.
Malone’s further plans for Formula E are yet to be announced in detail, but will include management support, help with broadcasting procedures and systems, and the development of media content.
What this investment does do is, secure the longer-term viability of the sport and help fund its growth.
Race locations
The sport’s proposition is to promote EVs and smart technologies in their natural environment – cities, as such, all Formula E events are all held in cities.
With the objectives to showcase cities as a travel destinations, and to promote cleaner energy usage and reduced pollution, the temporary street circuits around iconic tourist attractions have proved very attractive for city governments. The Series 1 calendar featured 10 cities in 9 countries.
Mid-way through the season, it was reported that 180 cities had approached Formula E with interest in hosting an ePrix – whilst that number might be an exaggeration, I can confirm that some cities are offering substantial fees for the right to host races.
Agreements are in place to take the series to 11 cities in Season 2 in a more condensed time period – something that is needed, as the series lost some momentum between races in its first year.
The additional cities for Series 2 are to be Paris, for a race near the Eiffel Tower, Mexico City and Lugano in Switzerland.
The most financially successful race so far is the China ePrix. After an amazing pre-event Gala Dinner held in the Forbidden City and an exciting race that showcased the 2008 Olympic venues, including the Birds Nest, the China ePrix promotors were obviously very happy; immediately signing a 10-year agreement to host the race in Beijing, as well as an agreement to host a race in Hong Kong from series 3, which will take place in October 2016.
In addition to Hong Kong, Montreal are also keen to host a round in Season 3, which will likely take place after one of the US races midway through the season.
Formula E Sponsorship
DHL, Michelin, and BMW were first to sign to sponsor the series. Not entirely surprising, they are the type of brands you’d expect to partner with a new motorsport series – more technical partners or suppliers than sponsors. However over the past 9 months, more mainstream brands have entered as series and team sponsors. The most recent include Visa, HP, Avis, EasyGroup (owner of Easyjet), and Virgin Media.
What has been interesting this year is the response of Formula 1 teams to Formula E’s development. At first they barely paid attention to the sport, however at the conclusion of Season 1 they clearly see it as a threat. The reason? Formula E has secured marketing dollars that Formula 1 teams have courted for years. Earlier this year we worked with Intercontinental Hotels Group and Avis Budget Group to help them understand and develop Formula E sponsorships, with both brands announcing long-term agreements part-way through the first series.
When you consider the main constituent parts of the Formula E sponsorship proposition you can understand why there’s interest from global Fortune 500 and FSTE 100 brands.
Partnering with Formula E says about a business that you are innovative and forward thinking. Added to which, there are no adverse publicity issues with partnering with Formula E. Aligning your brand with Formula E means aligning with a fan-centric sport that has sustainability, innovation and entertainment at its heart.
The entertainment value is attracting a big enough audience to be interesting, which is further enhanced by the opportunities that hosting races in Tier 1 global cities offers a brand – major city centre events grab the attention of those living and working in the city, providing a much greater potential audience for sponsors to engage.
Digital Platforms & Connectivity
Formula E has also been able to look at digital marketing from a fresh perspective. It benefits from being a new series – being born in the digital era – where it hasn’t been held back by the inertia of legacy/current media deals, conservatism, or by people that don’t fully grasp the concept.
Formula E sessions are available to watch live or delayed via the Official Formula E App. Fans can also watch delayed full race and highlights coverage via YouTube, who are a content partner of the series.
Add to this Formula E’s relative openness and feasibility for teams and sponsors to create and publish media content, such as live broadcasts on Periscope, and you have a sport that truly offers brands freedom in the area of digital marketing and content creation.
Much was also said 12 months ago about the FanBoost concept – a fan engagement initiative where fans can vote for their favourite drivers and provide them with a short burst of additional energy. Some ridiculed it, some said it was gimmicky, and some said it would be too hard to set up, but the result is that fans and sponsors love it!
FanBoost has given brands a tool to help empower the fan, and build a stronger emotional connection with groups of fans that follow their team or driver.
The success of Formula E’s push into digital marketing can be summed up in one stat – 1 billion social media impressions for the Beijing ePrix. Compare this to 8.6 billion for the entire 2014 Formula 1 season.
The sport is in a growth phase and as such is providing freedom in the area of social media, placing its focus on building and promoting the sport. This approach will be attractive for many brands that aim to target Millennials and a younger generation of sports fan that are becoming harder to reach, and harder to build brand loyalty amongst.
Summary
Just one year into Formula E, the series has built a strong early following. They’ve secured global automotive manufacturers and tier 1 global cities to host races. Broadcast agreements are being extended and the biggest and best global brands are now coming onboard as sponsors.
Formula E has spent the last 2 years laying out the building blocks. With the security that additional investment provides, now its time to play with those building blocks and grow the sport.
SPORTSMARKETER 