BEIJING -
Throughout the next decade, Formula 1 motor racing
will become a doorway that will allow Chinese
businesses to step up to the global stage,
according to one of the men behind the sport.
And the door will be thrown wide open in
three years' time when China hosts not only the Shanghai Grand Prix, but
also the Olympic Games in Beijing. Combined, the
events will make for a
sports
and marketing phenomenon unrivalled in recent
history. "2008 will be the year of China," said
Formula 1's Michael Payne. It will be "the most
incredible coming-out party onto the world stage."
Payne is a special advisor to Bernie
Eccleston, CEO of Formula 1 Management. He is the
man in charge of turning Formula 1 into a sports
marketing option capable of elevating Chinese
companies onto the world stage.
In
mid-October, when the second Shanghai Grand Prix
was held at the year-old Shanghai International
Circuit, Chinese audiences got another taste of
the glamorous world of Formula 1 and a preview of
the marketing opportunities it offers. The race,
the last in the Formula 1 season, followed a
business conference that attracted top-level
marketing officials from some of the world's
biggest companies and motor sports sponsors.
"This is the first time in the history of
Formula 1 that we have staged such a conference,"
said Payne at the time. "This really is the first
time we have brought together so many business
leaders from around the world. We have seen many,
many companies [in China] begin to engage in
sports marketing."
Payne spent 21 years
working with the International Olympic Committee
to develop sports marketing and broadcasting
strategies. Now, in Formula 1, he faces the
challenge of developing the sport in China for
both fans and sponsors. Formula 1, he said, can
give companies an opportunity to link their brands
with a sport associated with a glamorous lifestyle
and high technology.
"Formula 1 is all
about technology," he said. "It is about how
companies use technology and take it to the
consumer. The Grand Prix is the most important
sporting event up until the 2008 Olympic games,"
he said. "You are beginning to see the start of
the development of a motor sports industry, but it
will take time," he added, noting that he "fully
expects to see many Chinese brands sponsoring
Formula 1. You are at the beginning," he said
during an exclusive interview with China Daily.
All sports marketing is growing in China,
and motor sports, which has seen significant
growth, is no exception. Last year, 100 million
people in China tuned into Formula 1 races
throughout the season, with most watching the
Shanghai race.
China's enormous population
also comes into play. "You're dealing in a
dimension that you're not used to," said Payne.
"As the Chinese market begins to get some serious
traction, within a decade China will become the
number one sports market."
