The Brand Partnership of the Year is an award that recognises a brand that has made highly effective use of a motorsport platform to convey its brand message and to add value to the team, driver or series it has partnered with.
The winning sponsor’s activation will have shown high levels of creativity, scope and execution and will be announced at the Autosport Awards in London on January 29.
The following brands have been shortlisted for the award.
Michelob Ultra x Williams Racing
In the current world of multimedia and social platforms, most partnerships will include video content as part of their activations.
However, Michelob and Williams crafted a near-one-hour special as ‘Lap of Legends’ utilised cutting-edge AI and machine learning to imagine what it would be like to pit F1 world champions who previously drove for Williams against one another.
Then-Williams driver Logan Sargeant raced 12 laps of Silverstone against Alain Prost, Jenson Button, Nigel Mansell, Jaques Villeneuve, Damon Hill and Mario Andretti and the event gained 4.5billion impressions as 19million viewers turned in when the video ran live.
Praised by the judging panel for “great use of AI” and a “strong link” to the product, the effort and commitment to the project was also appreciated.
Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% x Scuderia Ferrari
In January, Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% became a team partner of Ferrari and set about making their new deal stand out from the crowd.
The activation was designed as a ‘Super Bowl-esque’ moment scheduled before the start of the 2024 Formula 1 season to fill the void of a lack of racing for fans of Ferrari – the Tifosi.
Known for their passionate support and so Peroni took the unprecedented step to rebrand, with 2024 bottles of ‘Tifosi Nastro Azzurro 0.0%’ produced and launched via a heist-style film, starring both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as well as team principal Fred Vasseur.
The result was an audience reach of 2.1 billion and record commercial results for Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0%, with the cinematic film earning over 20 million views.
The partnership made the shortlist after impressing the judges by “leveraging Ferrari talent” as well as being “creative, ambitious and effective in sales”
Saudia x Newcastle United
Saudia utilised two of their most recognisable partnerships in a cross-sport promotion – ‘The Secret Driver’.
The adventure featured the GEN3 Formula E car as well as three Premier League footballers from Newcastle United, cheered on by 100 of their loyal supporters with the car driven through iconic locations across the city.
The content was live across 18 countries and ran in both English and Arabic and social media content was posted across the accounts of Saudia, Formula E and Newcastle United.
‘The Secret Driver’ achieved 24 million impressions and 15 million video views, achieving the aim of significantly amplifying Saudi’s visibility on the international stage.
The panel highlighted the “highly creative brand film” and the “effective” delivery of a complex narrative.
SABIC x Formula E
SABIC leverages its partnership with the world’s leading electric motorsport series to amplify its brand message, showcase cutting-edge solutions and drive innovation.
Using its expertise, SABIC supported the design and production of the GENBETA prototype car, reflecting a shared vision with Formula E of solving the global challenges to advance electric mobility - the car went on to set a world record for the top speed achieved by a vehicle indoors.
SABIC also showcases its innovations in the Official Cars Garage at every Formula E race, an activation which features on-site SABIC technical specialists who speak to visitors about the GENBETA programme.
The activation also contains an AR experience to allow visitors to engage with the technology.
The judges felt SABIC produced a “strong B2B offering” with a “very effective” campaign that “leveraged” its partnership with Formula E.
Visa Cash App x VCARB
Running across the Miami Grand Prix, Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team ran a special livery based on the Cash App Visa Chameleon Card.
The Chameleon car was revealed in real-time using the VCARB Wash activation, a twist on the classic American car wash. The activation was open across the race weekend, offering exclusive perks for Cash App Visa cardholders, including bespoke t-shirts, car wash gift sets, jewellery, and a cocktail bar.
Off-track partner activations were also used across the weekend with Hugo, Tudor and Piquadro offering special edition products to fans.
Following the activation, Visa Cash App earned 43,000 new social media followers and made 1.3 billion impressions.
In judging Visa Cash App, the judges noted that the activation was “beautifully executed” and made great use of activations in such a popular market.
