At Yas Marina Circuit we have done things differently – we built our Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as though it were a brand, not an event. We looked to build a community around it and provide not just a differentiated proposition but an experience that was digital, immersive and unique. Beyond F1, we looked to make the Circuit relevant 365 days a year through retail, corporate, motorsport and less obvious for Circuits up to this point, through health and fitness activities.
As a consequence, our Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix hashtag #AbuDhabiGP in 2014 trended no.1 globally on Twitter for race day. This was the first Grand Prix ever to do so and our title sponsor benefited from the one billion impressions generated on race day, 1.9 billion across the weekend. Being part of the global conversation is something traditional brand building doesn’t deliver, economically at least and something airlines rarely enjoy for the right reasons.
As a consequence, through our health and fitness activities we will deliver circa 250,000 visits to the Circuit for health and fitness activities in 2015 across our weekly and annual events. Through these events our title sponsor Daman, the UAE’s National Health insurer, gets a heavily trafficked real and virtual platform with high levels of local relevance and engagement, and gets to join the conversation rather than just listen in.
Fans in MENA, just as everywhere are demanding more immersive experiences. And the key to offering value to the brands that support our events such as Etihad Airways and Daman Healthcare, is the way in which we build our own Yas Marina Circuit brand and the brand around the events we own and promote. We don’t look to offer a place to showcase a message or logo but an opportunity to connect with people in a meaningful way.
The trend in the MENA market, where there is very high interest in sporting events, is towards more technology driven experiences. In 2014 we invested considerably in our YasHUB App to support the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, enhance the weekend experience as well as the build-up to the weekend across the F1 championship. As a result we had 41,000 downloads, reaching #1 in UAE’s Apple App Store and Google Play. We are looking to blur the line between the physical and the virtual.
Globally, sporting events on TV only represent 1 per cent of total programming, yet circa 12 per cent of the overall TV audience, and 50 per cent of all TV related Twitter activity. We understand that the size of the sports event social following is extremely valuable. At Yas Marina Circuit, we understand the dominance of sports events on digital and social platforms, and we see ourselves not as an advertiser but as a publisher of content, using relevant, informative and interesting content to build and sustain communities.
