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Formula 1 – Unleashed
The challenge
Formula 1 needed a new visual identity to signal its new era and reposition the sport as a global media and entertainment brand.
What we did
We started by working with research agency Flamingo on an in-depth global brand health study to understand where the Formula 1 is today, how fans feel, the most important aspects of the brand and the elements that need change. The study provided a foundation for the strategic direction of the project and led to a new marketing and branding mission for Formula 1.
We assembled a design and strategy team, led by Richard Turley (Bloomberg Businessweek, MTV) to create the brand’s new visual identity, which includes logo, typography and brand behaviours – more on that to come in 2018.
Of the logo, which was unleashed to the world in a live end-of- season spectacle at the close of the Formula 1 Etihad Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Turley said: “Creatively, the challenge was to reposition Formula 1 as a forward-facing entertainment brand, which works across a multitude of channels.
“The new mark embodies the core forces of Formula 1 racing: speed, attack, and control; while its sleek, sharp interlocking components celebrate the technical prowess of Formula 1 engineering teams.
“Its aesthetic is aspirational and leans into the future, but extends naturally from a rich heritage of motorsport graphics.”
Creative Review covered the work in detail here.
The effects
The logo reveal was covered by more than 1,500 media outlets across with globe within just five days (Nov 25-30), generating more than 35,000 tweets. Key coverage came from titles including the BBC, Fast Company, The Telegraph, Complex, ESPN, High Snobiety, Daily Mail and It’s Nice That. An exclusive feature with Creative Review was the title’s most read article in 2017, despite being published in the last six weeks of the year.
On working with Wieden+Kennedy London, Ellie Norman, Director of Marketing, Formula 1, said: “W+K London is an innovative, creatively-led shop driven by getting under the skin of human behaviour and understanding what makes our fans tick. Having worked with them when I was at Honda, and experienced them at their best, I wanted W+K to unlock the universal truth for a global audience that would allow us to build F1 into a global media and entertainment business, with the soul of a race car driver.
