The annual Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix weekend, which began on December 6th and ended on December 9th, was nothing short of excitement; with cars rushing by at lightning speeds, Lando Norris leading the race, and the end of an era with Lewis Hamilton’s departure from Mercedes. All the excitement, the tears, and the celebrations can’t go empty-handed.
As a complement to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix track experience, Spinneys Abu Dhabi, for the last 10 years, has taken the opportunity to be a beverage partner to the F1 experience.
Sean Gillespie, Head of Marketing at Spinneys Abu Dhabi, says, “When it comes to the F1, there are a few objectives we set out at the start of the year. As a distributor, we have commercial objectives linked to each brand that relate to visibility, distribution and volume targets. However, given the size of the event, we also have consumer and marketing objectives based on driving awareness, brand association, and engagement with our marketing plans.”
From the drawing board to the track
Gillespie shares a look into what it means to be a beverage partner and how it leverages the partnership to meet the brand’s marketing objectives.
Together with ADNH Compass, ADMM, and Ethara (formerly known as Flash Entertainment), it has provided brand activations and experiences to support the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix track experience.
He continues, “The main objective of the partnership is to enhance the F1 consumer experience by offering quality products and brand experiences inside the track. By delivering this, we hope to showcase the Spinneys Abu Dhabi brand to the capital, the wider UAE, and international audiences for our quality, reliability and showcase our award-winning portfolio of brands.”
“We also had a range of activities planned for this year’s F1, not only inside the F1 Track but across our retail stores and the On Premise,” says Gillespie. “Our lead brand partner for F1 is Sirocco (Heineken), and as the exclusive distributor in Abu Dhabi, we were really excited to showcase our 360 plan.”
A taste of F1: all the activations
“The focal point of the activations was the F1 experience,” says Gillespie, “We had five different experiential activations focusing on a mixture of games and prizes that were relevant to the brand experience.”
He continues, “For example, with one of our brand beverages, we had a game where consumers had to catch falling lemons from a tree in quick succession. This is similar to some of the reaction games that F1 drivers do but with a twist back that links to the brand, by using lemons, to highlight the Amalfy lemons which is a key botanical used in the production of the beverage.”
“Consumers were able to enjoy quality beverages while participating in competitions to win race-day tickets across On and Off Premise accounts.
To connect these experiences back to the brand, Gillespie explains, while the F1 experience was the focal point, the activations were physically activated across retail stores, On Premise accounts, and inside the F1. “We then focused on amplifying these activations across our social channels and CRM,” says Gillespie.
Beyond the track: expanding beyond F1
The partnership goes beyond the Grand Prix tracks, with Spinneys Abu Dhabi collaborating with various venues across the city that feature F1 experiences.
“There are multiple venues with different outlet types that we’ve partnered with for F1. We have a varied portfolio to support the outlets with the right brands for the right occasions,” says Gillespie.
This collaboration enables Spinneys Abu Dhabi to drive both brand awareness and conversion simultaneously. By working with different venues, Spinneys expands its reach beyond F1 attendees and store visitors.
A diverse group of consumers can engage with these beverage activations in a non-intrusive way, further strengthening the brand’s presence and connection to the excitement of the F1 experience.
A decade of partnership, and here’s why
Spinneys Abu Dhabi views its collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as an important component of its long-term strategy. Associating with events like the F1 offers Spinneys Abu Dhabi a unique platform to strengthen its brand image, which in turn aligns with the company’s long-term marketing strategies.
Gillespie says, “The F1 (and events overall) is an area where we see an opportunity for Spinneys Abu Dhabi to grow. The F1 is the pinnacle event in Abu Dhabi so by being a partner, it helps to support the Spinneys Abu Dhabi brand equity and is a great platform to showcase the strength of our portfolio of brands to a wider audience.”
