It's the F1 countdown

Ask Force India if its loyalty building is a challenge, given the globally more popular teams such as Red Bull Racing and VMM, and pat comes the reply: “The challenge in India is to really incubate more fans into the sport – it can't be a stereotypical F1 formula from abroad. Here, there are the core fans, there are followers and outliers. The core followers are less than one per cent of audience available to engage and convert. And if they are following a particular team, it may not be able to change their loyalty,” says Sabnavis of Kingfisher Airlines.

He adds that the followers, who he terms as being ‘on the wall', are the easiest to influence. He says, “They know that there is something exciting called F1. They would follow races with their friends. Those are the people we are engaging from a marketing perspective, even as the outliers become aware of Formula 1 racing.”

Both the telecom companies in the brand race around the Indian Grand Prix will launch VAS offerings to leverage their association. Airtel is getting set to launch an F1 pack, with VAS built in, as well as initiatives to leverage the 3G opportunity. For Airtel, the engagement with F1 as a sport has been without precedent. Is that a challenge in leveraging the title sponsorship?

“Our experience is that sports properties have given us good returns. We have constantly sought out opportunities for customers to engage with brand Airtel. Even if it's someone without an engagement with Airtel's service, this kind of association allows consumers to engage with the brand,” says Mohit Beotra, Head – Brand and Media, Bharti Airtel.

It is evident that brands are largely adopting similar templates for consumer engagement while leveraging their association with F1, though their reasons for engagement may differ. No interested brand can afford to be left behind. Investments in F1 teams were always high, but the RoI expectations are higher with the Indian Grand Prix opportunity.

As is the case in the face of competition, one is also witness to promising clutter breakers. F1 racer Lewis Hamilton will be back in India on September 27, to drive home the VMM car and the team, this time in Bangalore. Red Bull's Speed Street event at Rajpath in New Delhi on October 1 promises even more as a promotion, and will engage the youth and more.

And these events are about a month before Race Day - there are a few more laps to go.

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