The Campaign

Embracing the challenges that come with a second tier sponsorship with one of the most successful Formula One teams, Johnnie Walker created an integrated branded content platform ‘Step Inside The Circuit’. The platform enabled the brand to break out of the sponsorship clutter, sidestep tight Formula One regulations, tackle the limitations of alcohol communications and address the stereotypical thinking on whisky advertising. ‘Step Inside the Circuit’ gave consumers unbridled access to the glamourous and stylish sport of Formula One with two world champions, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, over the course of the season.

Success of the Campaign

From its humble beginnings of 400 views, the YouTube channel amassed over 1.5 million views. With a small media spend of £50,000, the episodes smashed the industry’s average organic share rate of 10% with an average of 70%. The content attracted broadcasters who ran the episodes as part of their programming for free. Over 170 million viewers in over 150 countries saw the episodes. This delivered an estimated £41million in unpaid media value. The campaign was activated in over 36 markets. In Great Britain, a Tesco partnership saw a sales uplift of over 600%. In Malaysia, the affinity scores for Johnnie Walker doubled in 18 months. The campaign has being commended by Diageo leadership as 'best in class' for an integrated participation platform.

Describe how the campaign/entry was launched and executed across each channel in the order of implementation.

Johnnie Walker launched with a series of 3-minute long episodes over the course of the Formula One season,edited to reflect a documentary style, which felt intimate and insightful. The topical episodes were shot, edited on location within 48 hours and released to coincide with the race weekend. This process continued over the season, with a final delivery of eight episodes over a six-month period. The content exposed audiences to the stylish and sophisticated world in the cities when Formula One came to town. The episodes were distributedacross owned social channels, website and seeded on relevant blogs, targeting communities with relevant passion points. Viewers were also encouraged to become interviewers and had video replies from the drivers. On social platforms, the highs and lows of the season were complemented with powerful imagery of the drivers which consumers shared and engaged with. Johnnie Walker ran activations where consumers could stand a chance to win a VIP trip to Monaco through purchase. The promotions were supported by key visuals featuring the F1 lifestyle of the drivers. Throughout the year, markets run experiential parties using the visuals and film content created.