The Intersection of MotoGP & F1 Sponsorships: How Brands Are Tapping into Both Markets in 2024
As motorsports continue to grow in global popularity, the worlds of MotoGP and Formula 1 have become fertile grounds for brands seeking to leverage the power of speed, precision, and passion. Recent seasons have seen more brands dive into sponsorships that cross both two-wheel and four-wheel competition. Sponsoring both MotoGP and F1 offers an opportunity for these companies to tap into massive, engaged fan bases and align themselves with innovation, technology, and high performance.
David Rothenhaeuser
Published on November 19th, 2024
In this Insight:
Red Bull: Dominating Extreme Sports Across Two Platforms
Red Bull has long been synonymous with extreme sports, and its involvement in both MotoGP and F1 is a testament to its aggressive and adventurous brand positioning. Red Bull’s strategy is clear: dominate the high-octane environments where high performance and daredevil athletes thrive.
One of Red Bull’s key strategies is using combined event sponsorships to generate cross-platform engagement. Red Bull continues to promote collaborative appearances of athletes from both disciplines, often hosting events or content collaborations featuring F1 world champion Max Verstappen alongside MotoGP’s Brad Binder. This not only boosts brand awareness but also leverages the shared values of adrenaline, risk-taking, and pushing the limit, creating a unified brand experience.
Red Bull consistently produces rich multimedia content highlighting its involvement in both sports. Documentaries and clips are shared on their social media channels and Red Bull TV, a digital platform specifically tailored for fans of extreme sports. The synergy between the two racing disciplines is leveraged to deepen fan engagement, creating a perception that Red Bull is the fuel behind top-tier motorsport performance.
Monster Energy: A Unified Brand Presence Across MotoGP and F1
Much like Red Bull, Monster Energy has consistent branding that links its presence across both motorsports. The black and green Monster Energy logo is a familiar sight in the MotoGP paddock as the title sponsor of the Yamaha factory team, as well as on the grid in F1 as a sponsor of Mercedes.
The brand has pushed for even more integration by creating cross-promotion campaigns that leverage the profiles of its superstars in Fabio Quartararo, Lewis Hamilton and former MotoGP superstar Valentino Rossi. Social media plays a pivotal role in this strategy, with the same content often adapted to cater to the fan bases of both sports. Fans might see similar promotional material - whether it's Hamilton sipping a Monster Energy drink in the Mercedes garage or Quartararo decked out in Monster-branded gear.
With Hamilton departing for Ferrari and Mercedes slipping down the F1 paddock, Monster has reacted quickly and pivoted to sponsoring title contenders McLaren from the 2025 season. Monster’s involvement goes beyond simple sponsorship. They sponsor high-profile athletes and organise fan-centric events like virtual meet-and-greets, giveaways, and live Q&As featuring drivers and riders from both sports. By positioning itself at the heart of motorsport fandom, Monster Energy looks to capture adrenaline junkies who follow both F1 and MotoGP.
Shell: A Technical Partnership that Fosters Trust
Shell’s sponsorship strategy in both F1 and MotoGP is built around its technical partnerships. In F1, Shell has a longstanding partnership with Ferrari, while in MotoGP, it works with Ducati’s factory team. Shell uses these collaborations to highlight its expertise in developing high-performance fuels and lubricants, an essential component of motorsport success.
The 2024 season has seen Shell amplify its educational marketing content, which features engineers and experts from both F1 and MotoGP teams discussing the differences in fuel development between the two sports. This content, often shared through in-depth videos, articles, and social media, appeals to motorsport enthusiasts who have a keen interest in the technology that powers their favourite teams. Fans gain insights into the intricacies of fuel efficiency, engine performance, and the testing processes that ensure top-level competitiveness on the track.
By delving into the technical aspects of both motorsports, Shell fosters a sense of trust and authenticity among fans. The brand's messaging is clear: whether you’re supporting Ferrari or Ducati, Shell’s fuel is at the cutting edge of motorsport innovation, ensuring peak performance.
Petronas: Streamlining Audience Engagement with Interactive Campaigns
Petronas, the Malaysian oil and gas giant, has been a powerhouse sponsor in both F1 and MotoGP. Its technical partnership with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team and its sponsorship of the Sepang Racing Team in MotoGP has allowed it to align itself with some of the most successful teams in both sports.
Petronas has taken a unique approach to cross-platform promotion by creating streaming events that bring together representatives from both their F1 and MotoGP teams. These events are being used to allow the likes of George Russell and Franco Morbidelli to interact with fans, share insights about their respective sports, and discuss the technical demands of their vehicles.
These interactive campaigns bridge the gap between the two fan bases, creating a community that spans the motorsport divide. By offering behind-the-scenes insights, Petronas strengthens its brand presence while fostering engagement through exclusive access.
Repsol: Capitalising on Long-Term Sponsorships
Repsol, the Spanish multinational energy company, has been a fixture in MotoGP for over two decades as the title sponsor of Repsol Honda. While Repsol doesn’t have an active F1 sponsorship as of 2024, its historical involvement in the sport, paired with its long-standing MotoGP presence, enables the brand to capitalise on nostalgia and loyalty from motorsport fans.
Repsol’s strategy revolves around showcasing its long-term commitment to motorsport while continuing to offer exclusive, limited-edition products that appeal to fans. This includes collaborations with both Honda in MotoGP and an exploration of its past F1 partnerships, featuring merchandise like helmets, jackets, and other racing gear adorned with the Repsol branding. These products create a sense of connection between fans and the brand, building loyalty across both motorsport platforms.
Repsol and Honda are going their separate ways at the end of the 2024 season, bringing an iconic 30-year partnership to an end. Together, they have become the most successful team in MotoGP history, with 10 team titles, 15 rider titles and 183 race victories. Whether Repsol looks for other opportunities in MotoGP or elsewhere in motorsport remains to be seen
Cross-Pollinating Two of the Biggest Motorsport Audiences
Brands with sponsorships in both MotoGP and F1 are capitalising on the unique opportunity to reach diverse yet overlapping audiences. By leveraging unified branding, technical partnerships, and cross-platform promotion, the brands highlighted are setting themselves apart in 2024.
The strategy of aligning with both two-wheel and four-wheel motorsports not only boosts visibility but creates lasting connections with motorsport fans who value innovation, performance, and excitement. As the boundaries between MotoGP and F1 blur, especially with Liberty Media’s acquisition of MotoGP, these brands continue to drive forward in their quest for motorsport domination, and will continue to adapt with the evolving digital landscape.
A brand partnership is a mutually beneficial agreement between two or more businesses. All parties agree to help one another by promoting and sponsoring each other or creating content together.
Brand partnerships aim to increase brand recognition and ultimately boost sales and customer loyalty.
In sports, co-branding exists, where two or more companies jointly promote their brands, services, and products through cross-marketing efforts.
This can include anything from social media posts, advertisements, and commercials to events and appearances by high-profile athletes and celebrities.
Sports sponsorship lets brands create emotional content and become an integral part of fans’ daily lives. Every year, over 58 billion euros* are invested in sports sponsorship around the world as a way of reaching and acquiring customers through fan engagement.
€58bn* global volume in sports sponsorship in 2018
Sports partnerships can be defined as a new level of sports sponsorships: they represent a tighter-fitted collaboration between sports and businesses or brands.
Partnerships are less based on standard marketing benefits and more tailor-made on the company’s specific needs, and several company levels are involved in the sports project: from marketing to Research & Development, from production to management.
Partnerships tend to be focused on the improvement and development of specific products or services, and are usually long-term. They can be very effective on the customers and clients, who witness a true affinity with some of the world’s most winning properties. Partnerships are often multidimensional and multi-layered, with the development of new tech, as well as new products and the marketing that comes with them.
A good sponsorship fit is characterised by the alignment of the sponsoring brand with the sponsored entity in a way that creates mutual value and resonates with the target audience. Several factors contribute to a strong sponsorship fit:
Relevance: The sponsorship should align with the values, image, and interests of both the sponsoring brand and the sponsored entity, creating a natural and authentic connection.
Target Audience Alignment: The audience of the sponsored entity should closely match the target demographic of the sponsoring brand, ensuring that the partnership reaches the right consumers.
Brand Image Consistency: The sponsorship should enhance, not contradict, the overall image and messaging of the sponsoring brand, contributing positively to its perception.
Engagement Opportunities: A good fit provides meaningful opportunities for engagement, whether through events, activations, or collaborative campaigns, ensuring that the partnership goes beyond mere visibility.
Mutual Goals: Both the sponsor and the sponsored entity should share common objectives and goals, fostering a collaborative approach to the partnership.
Long-Term Viability: Ideally, a good sponsorship fit has the potential for a long-term relationship, allowing both parties to grow and evolve together.
Ultimately, a successful sponsorship fit is one where the collaboration is strategic, authentic, and creates a win-win scenario for both the sponsor and the sponsored entity.
Partnership marketing, also known as strategic collaboration, is a mutually beneficial arrangement where two or more businesses or entities join forces to achieve shared marketing objectives.
In this approach, each partner contributes resources, such as customer base, expertise, or promotional channels, to create a synergy that enhances the overall effectiveness of the marketing efforts.
The collaboration can take various forms, including joint promotions, co-branded products, shared events, or cross-promotional campaigns.
Partnership marketing enables companies to reach new audiences, increase brand visibility, and capitalise on the strengths of their partners. It fosters a win-win scenario, where both parties leverage the relationship to achieve strategic goals and often results in a more cost-effective and impactful marketing strategy for all involved.
Sports athlete sponsorships are those where individual athletes are sponsored by a brand. They may wear branded apparel whilst competing or during commercial appearances and press conferences, or they might appear in advertisements or other promotional materials for the brand. The brand will either offer a set fee to them, or pay for their kit, equipment or travel in return.
Sports organisation sponsorships involve entities like a team or league being sponsored by a brand. Like with individual athletes, they will either receive a fee from the brand, or payment for things like kits, equipment or ground maintenance.
In return, a team may display the company’s logos around its stadium, for example, while a league might include the sponsor in its name.
Sports event sponsorships are where sports events — like an international or regional tournament — are sponsored by a brand. This type of partnership can involve things like the event either changing its title to incorporate the brand’s name, or using the brand’s logo on official products. The event organisers will either receive a set fee or have expenditures like venue hire, hospitality, catering, publicity, programmes and officials’ costs covered.
