2013 Winners & Shortlists

ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX ACTIVATION

BrandABU DHABI MOTORSPORTS MANAGEMENT
Product/ServiceFORMULA 1
EntrantUM Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryEVENT & FIELD MARKETING
Entrant Company UM Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Agency UM Abu Dhabi, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The Brief

In its 4th year, F1 AUH GP was always a great success but this year’s objectives were different and challenging. Now its about “more to F1 in AUH”. So our objectives were to attract international motorsports & F1 fans audience from UK and European markets and raise brand awareness for Abu Dhabi among the same audience.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

Budget didnt allow us to address each European market seperately and we believed that Motorsports and F1 fans are more likely to purchase tickets for AbuDhabi Grand Prix due to their love of the sports. So we had to minimize media wastage and have a focused communication approach. Research showed that the British GP held in Silverstone circuit was the ideal destination to activate brand awareness for AbuDhabi as an F1 destination since it’s a main attraction to international motosports audience, and especially F1 fans from across Europe. So we created the AbuDhabi Fan Zone at Whittlebury Park, a campsite adjacent to Silverstone Circuit, where ticket holders can purchase camping plots.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

The results were beyond impressive, as 93% of campers became aware of & Abu Dhabi’s fanzone & hence Yas Marina Circuit, 48% of the campers had access to Wi-Fi, 180 people paid to enter the Saturday night Quiz, 54% would now consider visiting Yas Marina Circuit Abu Dhabi and International ticket sales rose up to 35%.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Capturing Motorsports fans especially F1 fans from our around Europe and UK markets separately was not an efficient nor cost effective way of communicationication. Hence, our communication had to be very focused without any wastage possible due to budget constraint. So we searched for a common place where fans from around different parts of Europe get together. After a solid research, we found out that the British GP held in Silverstone circuit was the ideal destination to activate brand awareness for AUH as an F1 destination since it’s a main attraction to international motosports audience, especially F1 fans from across Europe.

Credits

Name Company Role
Ghaith Sarieddine Universal Media Abu Dhabi Associate Media Director
Jamal Halabi Universal Media Abu Dhabi Media Manager
Nick Mcelwee Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management Marketing Director
Lamiya Boumlaki Abu Dhabi Motorsports Management Marketing Section - Head