10/12/2019
NEWS STORY
Almost from the day Liberty Media took control of F1 in early 2017, Formula One Management insisted that new series sponsors would be brought on board, Chase Carey and, commercial boss Sean Bratches laying much of the blame for the fact the sport had just a handful of existing significant series sponsors down to Bernie Ecclestone and his way of running things.
Whereas under Ecclestone it had in many ways been a one-man show, under the new management a dedicated team of marketing experts was put in place.
However, almost three years down the line the sport hasn't added to the portfolio put together by his predecessor, though Carey remains confident.
"Our cupboard was pretty bare, because we didn't really have a sponsor group," he said, according to Motorsport.com. "We hadn't created any tools. We hadn't created capabilities to tell the story of F1, to create some excitement.
"We have some momentum today," her insists. "We've had attendance up, we've had viewership up, we've got a good story, we've got new dimensions to the sport.
"I think you need to tell that story, and you need to develop tools," he continued. "Sponsors want partnerships that are more tailored uniquely to them. In the past signs on a wall worked fine, that doesn't work now. So we had to develop the array of initiatives, whether it's digital initiatives, regional feeds, virtual ads, fan festivals, all those types of opportunities to create tailored targeted opportunities.
"The traction with interested sponsors has been on a steady rise, we've never been busier," he claims. "I've got a three page back list of sponsors we're engaged with. Obviously, until the sponsors are signed, deals aren't done.
"Certainly, I'd say we feel we have gotten progressively better, as we've gone along. So while it's been slower and harder than I would have planned it to be a couple of years ago, I think that in many ways is the nature of where we started, and we started really from ground zero.
"This is a sport that sells well, it's a unique sport with passionate fans, attractive fans, the sport differentiates from other sports, given its marriage to technology, given the nature of the sport, the global aspect of the sport.
"And at a point in time where events in a world that is increasingly commoditised and fragmented, events that rise above are reasonably valued. So I think the interest and engagement we have has been on a steady rise.
"In general for almost anybody in the ad market that isn't Facebook or Google, the broadly defined advertising market, whether you're television or, God forbid, print, radio, even other digital players, certainly sponsorship arenas I think are tougher than it was a few years ago."