Heineken and Formula One Management (FOM) have reached an agreement for the lager brand to become a global partner of the Formula 1 car racing series.
This partnership will begin this year at the newly renamed Formula 1 Gran Premio Heineken D’Italia 2016 at Monza and run for a multi-year term.
From the 2017 F1 season, Heineken will be the F1 title partner of three Formula 1 Grand Prix events. It will also have a significant presence at several additional F1 events chosen by Heineken and FOM.
Heineken will be the exclusive global beer partner of F1 and will also have substantial pouring, activation and access rights across the majority of F1 events in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Heineken will not be visible on any F1 cars.
“F1 represents a unique opportunity for Heineken to engage with existing and potential consumers in important growth markets,” Heineken Senior Director Global Heineken Brand Gianluca Di Tondo said. “F1 delivers in three specific areas: strong commercial opportunities, expansion of our responsible drinking platform in new and innovative ways, and enabling skill transfers between F1 and our employees.”
Central to the partnership will be a responsibility message. Heineken will create fully integrated global F1 ‘Open Your World’ manifesto and ‘If You Drive, Never Drink’ campaigns. Activations will include F1 circuit branding, TV commercials, digital activations, live fan experiences and events, dedicated PR initiatives, and packaging/point-of-sale activations.
Former champions David Coulthard and Jackie Stewart will be ambassadors for the respective campaigns.