Despite visiting China many times, Sean Bletches, global business general manager of F1 (Formula 1 Championship), this trip to China in August was the most stressful and challenging one.
This year marks the 14th year that F1 has entered China, and it is the "renewal moment" between F1 and the organizer of the Chinese station Shanghai Jiushi Group. After experiencing two "seven-year itch", this world's number one racing competition, which is known as the "three major sports events in the world" together with the Olympics and the World Cup, began to reconsider its business layout in China and even the world.
"We have established a long-term relationship with China and hope to continue to maintain it, make F1 more attractive in China, and radiate the entire Asia through China." Bletches told the reporter of " China Economic Weekly ". How to better "down-to-earth" F1 of
is a problem that F1 officials, event organizers and marketing agencies need to face together. The
contract will expire. Will it be renewed with the Chinese website?
F1 started in 1950 and is the most prestigious racing race in the world and the most popular annual event series. In 2016, about 400 million viewers from more than 200 countries and regions watched the event. The 20 F1 competitions in 2017 were held in 20 countries on five continents, and lasted from March to November.
Shanghai International Racing Circuit held the F1 branch race since 2004. The current official contract between the Chinese station and F1 expires after the end of this season. In the 2018 F1 calendar released in June, the Shanghai Station in China is still in a "donated" state.
Bletches' pressure is understandable, not all countries and cities that marry F1 have a "good end". The desolate scene and insufficient business returns are the main reasons for the termination of cooperation.
In 2011, Istanbul, Turkey withdrew due to poor economic benefits after seven years of F1. Similar cases include South Korea and India, whose "romance" with F1 is even shorter. Just in April this year, , Malaysia , which started to host F1 events in 1999, officially announced that since the return is far lower than investment, 2017 will be the last time Malaysia holds F1, which is a year earlier than the original plan. According to local media reports, ticket sales at the F1 Malaysian station in 2016 were only less than 60%, and the TV ratings also dropped to the "halfest in history."
The situation in China seems to be more optimistic. In an interview with China Economic Weekly, Bletches said that he had reached an agreement with China on continuing to hold competitions in Shanghai in 2018, and the contract is expected to be finalized before the end of September.
According to media reports, F1 has reached a new agreement with Shanghai Jiushi Group, and the news of the two parties' renewal will be announced in the near future.
event operator, Jiang Lan , Jiang Lan , once said: "The F1 China Grand Prix has overcome the difficulties in early commercial development and has become a very important stop in the F1 annual event. It not only develops sustainably, but also forms its own characteristics and produces good social benefits. Judging from the current momentum, there is no reason not to continue the competition." An important source of confidence in
supports Jiushi Group, and is the momentum of Shanghai's accelerating the development of the sports industry.
The "Implementation Plan for the Development of Sports Industry in Shanghai (2016-2020)" issued by the Shanghai Municipal Government clearly requires: "A careful creation of a number of top international events that match the functions of international metropolises, and improve the spillover driving effect of existing brand events such as tennis, track and field, marathon, equestrian, racing , snooker, bicycles, etc.." The document emphasizes, "Only and foreign sports organizations and enterprises are encouraged to settle the world's top sports events that they bid for or purchase copyright in Shanghai." Will
F1 be hosted in a second Chinese city outside Shanghai? Bletches admitted: "Considering China's huge market and the future prospects of China's stations, we are also looking for other places besides Shanghai."
"F1 wants to establish connections with 1.3 billion Chinese people", or cooperate with PPTV
On January 23 this year, the American Free Media Group completed the acquisition of F1 for US$8 billion, and "dismissed" the Bernie , which has been in charge for 40 years. Cheese Kelly, vice chairman of 21st Century Fox Group, served as CEO of F1.Former ESPN Vice President Bletches took over F1 business operations, responsible for sponsorship, marketing, media publicity and other work.
After taking office, Kelly has made it clear that he will help the event organizers together in the future so that more ordinary people can get closer and contact F1. This is especially important in a continent like Asia where the largest number of car fans is. In Bletches's view: for a sport or event platform, fans are the core. "In the past, we ranked second in car fans, and now we make them the first."
Kelly said that the key task of F1's next six months will be to develop a new strategy. "How to use the event we have and everything created around this event to connect with 1.3 billion Chinese people."
Bletches said more concretely: "We hope that the Chinese market can be combined with other industries; use China's active social media and all feasible methods to give F1 a larger fan base in China and ultimately strengthen the sport." Under the new "top-level design" of
, F1's business in China has begun to reorganize.
In July this year, F1 officially joined hands with Lagardeer Sports, the world's top sports marketing agency, to carry out business cooperation in China, involving content including event promotion, media copyright, digital and social media, brand cooperation, authorized product development and sales, driver training and team development, etc.
can provide better localized and digital content, which may be an important factor in Lagardele's attracting F1. Previously, Lagardere developed at least 45 digital experience products for the AFC, allowing the AFC to develop commercial sponsorship in multiple channels such as games, videos, content, mobile media, social media and event scenes.
Lagardale Sports CEO George O told China Economic Weekly reporters, "By 2022, China's middle-class population will reach 550 million, and 400 million people will have disposable income that can be spent on entertainment and improving lives."
Another urgent need to solve in China for F1 is the copyright issue of events. After CCTV completely stopped broadcasting F1 in 2013, LeTV Sports, the "exclusive new media broadcasting platform" in mainland China, which began broadcasting F1 in 2014, lost its right to broadcast F1 in June this year due to arrears of copyright fees. This means that the remaining F1 events this year will face the embarrassment of not having national media broadcasts. Currently, the only platforms that viewers can view F1 events are Shanghai Five Star Sports, Guangdong TV Sports Channel and other local satellite TV stations.
In response to this, Bletches said that a new (copyright) partner will be found this year, but there is no final choice yet. "We will authorize the content to local partners. As for which platform to broadcast it, it is discussed with our partners, and mainly listen to their opinions to complete it. They will choose the most appropriate platforms or platforms to broadcast F1 content."
. According to George O's reporter, "(F1) may cooperate with online video company PPTV."
makes the "most money-burning event" down-to-earth
In the context of the era of national sports, how to better connect the "high-end" F1 with ordinary people is a problem that F1 officials, event organizers and marketing agencies need to face together. Bletches said: "F1 needs to enter the lives of car fans, not those that are out of reach or unattainable."
, especially in Asian markets such as China, where racing culture is still to be cultivated, F1, which has "high and low" has begun to put down its figure and "down to earth".
For example, in this year's Shanghai competition, more and more "Chinese elements" are injecting F1, bringing Chinese car fans closer to F1. For example, the Etiquette Miss began to wear Chinese cheongsams; the world champion of table tennis Wang Liqin held a table tennis competition with F1 famous driver Alonso; even the "Made in China" lightweight wheels appeared on the F1 car of the Williams team ; in the future, F1 also plans to conduct low-level Formula competitions in different provinces in China.
In this regard, Lagardale CEO George O believes that for high-end sports events, marketing through advertising has become a thing of the past, and now it emphasizes the emotional connection between brands and consumers."We must stimulate consumers' enthusiasm for F1, participate, and make them interested in racing and even sports."
looks around the world, and in order to better cater to the preferences of ordinary audiences, this world's most expensive event is beginning to undergo a comprehensive innovation.
Not long ago, an F1 team complained to Bletches, "Our appearance rate is too low, and we can't see our drivers on TV." Bletches told them, "There are two ways to be photogenic. One is that you catch up with the drivers in front, and the other is to slow down and approach the drivers who follow closely behind."
This is exactly the change in the details of the event broadcast in order to improve the viewing. "In the past, we paid more attention to sound and the whole scene." Bletches said, "But now we have narrowed the scope of the broadcast camera and focused on the mutual catching up between cars."
Another example, the recent launch of the Esports Series in F1, which is unprecedented in the historic F1 and is regarded as an attempt to win new audiences. F1 also hopes to develop young drivers in China and Asia. Bletches said: "Our current global development goal is also to have more opportunities to cultivate the next generation of drivers." In addition, F1 also plans to create a screening mechanism to create a springboard for the next generation of drivers to enter F1 through the platforms of F4, F3, and F2.
"F1, as a high-end event copyright resource, can tap into the mid-range monetization ability and low-end participation. This is a very rich industrial chain." Jiang Lan, general manager of Shanghai Jiushi International Event Management Co., Ltd., said, "A F1 ticket is not a movie ticket. You can leave after watching it. Instead, it is to attract audiences to linger here for two to three days and feel the charm of racing culture. This is a vital event."
F1 Shanghai Station was held in the rain in April this year, with a total of about 165,000 visitors in 3 days. Although there is a big gap between the "report card" of 260,000 people watching the game when F1 first landed in Shanghai in 2004, this is a rare good result in recent years.
