MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Heineken stopped motor-racing lovers in their tracks at this year’s Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix, treating visitors to an immersive and interactive fan experience, partnering with independent strategic creative agency Momentum.
Marking Heineken’s global partnership with Formula 1 while bringing its newly launched global sponsorship platform ‘Cheers To All Fans’ to life in Australia for the first time, the activation celebrated fandom and drove awareness and trial of premium low carb lager Heineken Silver.
At the heart of the experience was a striking seven-metre-high, four-container stacked bar, complete with a live DJ booth, that anchored the Heineken footprint across the race weekend. On Saturday, top bartenders from across the country competed in the Star Quality National Final, to demonstrate mastery of Heineken’s five-step Star Serve ritual: rinse, pour, skim, check and serve, with entrants judged on precision, theatre and overall star presence. Social media influencer, Schooner Scorer, also appeared to crown the best Heineken pour and create live content for his audience of more than 500,000 followers to extend the atmosphere of Albert Park beyond the circuit.
Each element of the space was created to encourage interaction, conversation and shared celebration, echoing Heineken’s ‘Cheers To All Fans’ which marks the first time Heineken has unified its global sponsorships across football, Formula 1 and music festivals under a single platform.
Momentum’s creative response drew directly from the insight that fandom is one of the fastest ways to create connection between strangers, with research commissioned by Heineken showing that 75 per cent of fans say their passion has helped them meet new people.
Dino Bozzone, Heineken Australia country manager, said: “Formula 1 brings motor racing aficionados together like no other sport, and with ‘Cheers To All Fans’ we’re turning that energy into real connections. Albert Park was the perfect place to celebrate shared passions, enjoy a Heineken Silver, and create moments that fans will remember long after the checkered flag.”
Jen Peace, managing director of Momentum, said: “We’ve been activating with Heineken at Formula 1 for more than a decade, and our focus is always on elevating the experience for visitors. This year we wanted to create something impossible to ignore, a bold social landmark that embodies the power of fandom to bring people together while driving meaningful engagement and trial for Heineken.”
The activation marks Momentum’s latest work for Heineken in a relationship that has spanned 26 years. The Formula 1 Qatar Airways Australian Grand Prix experience has been designed as a modular system to enable the same structure to be reimagined at festivals and major events across Australia throughout the year, extending it beyond the chequered flag.
