Two fans sleep in the Williams garage at Silverstone
Some rather unique fans were in the Silverstone pit lane this Saturday night as they had the opportunity to sleep in the Williams garage, thanks to an initiative by Martini and Airbnb.
Exclusively, we went to meet Giles Ritchie, the head of sponsorship for Martini at Williams. He explained the goal of such an event during the British Grand Prix: « We worked with Williams and Airbnb to create an event that would be incredible for F1 fans. The aim is to illustrate Martini’s slogan “Joy of Racing” and allow fans to be at the heart of the action. It’s impossible to be closer to the action than being in the middle of the garage! »
This event was made possible by the fact that the Italian beverage has been the title sponsor of the team since 2014, creating a special relationship between the two companies. But for Martini, motorsports are an integral part of its history, as it has been investing in this sector for nearly 50 years. Furthermore, both partners share the fact that they are both family-owned: « We are a family business, we are part of the Bacardi family. The similarities and synergies with a team like Williams are evident. It’s the last independent team that belongs to a family. That’s what attracted us to bring the Martini brand back to Formula 1. »
Like all alcohol brands, Martini has to face the fact that some F1 races are held either in countries where alcohol is prohibited or where advertising it is banned. However, the advantages of being present in F1 outweigh the disadvantages: « It is evident that alcohol-free countries are a challenge, but F1 is so global. Our key markets, namely Southern Europe, are aligned with the F1 calendar. »
That is why the group has decided to focus solely on communicating around the Martini brand throughout the year and not alternating brands depending on the markets, as another Williams sponsor can do, with Rexona which can be replaced by Sure. Other unique activations are expected to take place during upcoming races, particularly at the Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix, at the end of August.
The interest for the brand is therefore both to be able to carry out this type of local events while benefiting from a global television audience of over 400 million viewers. The latest aspect of this involvement is the ability to create content that showcases the brand in a trendy, lifestyle environment that aligns with its target clientele.
Given that Williams was celebrating its 40th anniversary throughout the Silverstone weekend, the team also set up an activation with another of its sponsors, Oris, which was giving away one of its watches to a fan present at the circuit via their Twitter profile.
From our special correspondent in Silverstone
