Countdown to the Formula E championship - a month to Beijing...

Countdown to the Formula E championship - a month to Beijing's inaugural race

2014-08-24 10:19:35

The inaugural Formula E championship race is just under one month away from being held in Beijing, China. This will mark the dawn of the new and exciting world of zero emissions motor sport. All the cars have been built, the teams have been announced, testing is well under way, racing simulations continue to be carried out – and voting has started in the championship’s ‘fan boost’ feature. This is a feature where the fans choose their favourite driver to gain an advantage.

The media offensive surrounding Formula E has also gone up a gear following the announcement that a new television advertising campaign series entitled ‘Drive the Future’ is about to start. This has been coupled to the appearance of a Renault-built Formula E racing car in the Forza Motorsport console game. Both activities come hot on the heels of the first Formula E team full-scale race day simulation which took place at the Donington Park racing circuit located in the UK.

The TV advertisement will be aired on television networks around the world, including FOX Sports, CNBC and NBC. The purpose is to count down the remaining month until the inaugural Formula E race which takes place in Beijing on September 13. The 30-second ad will also feature extensively on China’s Sina and Weibo social media platforms.

The advertisement starts with slow-motion shots of a quiet city scape. Gradually, we hear the sound of an approaching electric racing car which gets louder as the video proceeds. It is eventually accompanied by a drum track which helps the video slowly build to a climax as a Formula E racing car tears down a city street. A simple voice-over contains just three lines: “One day, stop signs will be start signs. Smoke and oil will be electric sparks. And the city will be ours.”. The video features sound design by Nick Rapaccioli.

The ‘Drive the Future’ ad will be accompanied by a 600sq.m. animated poster on the side of the seven star Pangu Plaza Hotel located in the centre of Beijing. The hotel overlooks the venue of the 2008 Summer Olympics – the Birds’ Nest stadium. An extensive Out-of-Home campaign will also feature across bus stops and the subway throughout the Chinese capital with billboard promotions at Beijing International Airport via leading outdoor advertising company, JCDecaux.

Charles Davies, Head of Marketing, told first4auto: “With one month to go before our first race, we’re very excited to be unveiling our new Drive the Future campaign for the FIA Formula E championship. We believe Formula E has all the ingredients to appeal to a new, younger generation of motorsport fans who want to enjoy close, city-centre racing combined with the latest music and entertainment”.

For those who are unable to attend the inaugural race, there will be extensive world-wide coverage of the first Formula E race that will comprise 20 Formula E drivers.

But let’s not forget the virtual world referred to in our opening paragraphs. Gamers will be able to pretend that they are driving a Spark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E racing car – the car used by every team in the first Formula E championship – by downloading the relevant content for Xbox One Forza Motorsport 5 Race Simulator. Like any other Forza car, gamers will be able to race their car around virtual city tracks, bringing the joy of electric motorsport to many millions of car-racing gamers worldwide.

Formula One has been often criticised for its lack of promotion and its out-of-touch attitude to the changing world of media.

An interesting adjunct to the media campaign will be Formula E’s desire to attract even those who have never previously expressed an interest in following motor sport before, but who may be attracted to Formula E because of the related technology. The championship has been designed to appeal to a new generation by accelerating the interest in electric vehicles and promoting sustainability. The cars are capable of reaching speeds in excess of 150mph (225 km/h). The season finale will take place in London on 27 June 2015.

The campaign has been developed on behalf of the organisers of Formula E in partnership with the creative agency, Dare. It positions the new motorsport formula as a unique and innovative new sport entertainment brand that will transform cities around the world and has the wider objective of improving the lowly image of the electric car.

Just over a year ago, Alejandro Agag, the boss of Formula E, was quoted as saying “Electric cars are still perceived as slow, even as ugly or not cool, something that people don’t want to buy for their day-to-day lives. We want Formula E to be the place where all those technologies are tested, where all those advances happen.”

Who knows, if Agag’s vision of Formula E comes true and it is viewed as exciting by the watching public – whether in person, on TV, on social media or in the virtual world – then Agag’s beliefs and dreams in the electric car and sustainability could well turn out to be a reality.

Reported By

Andrew Merritt-Morling

Chief Editor