With the Grand Prix du Canada roaring into Montreal this weekend, several major F1 sponsors and participants are revving up promotions for the big event.
As previously reported in Marketing Daily, the official beer of the Grand Prix Budweiser was first out of the gate, using floor and wall posters to make one of Montreal’s major metro stations resemble the Formula 1 race track at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
Honda Canada and the Honda Racing F1 Team are using Grand Prix week to unveil a new Canadian environmental partnership with Clean Air Champions, an organization that works with respected athletes to motivate Canadians to adopt practices that enhance both environmental and personal health.
Over 120 active or retired Canadian Olympians have joined as members of Clean Air Champions.
Honda Canada and Honda Racing F1 are donating $100,000 a year for two years to help Clean Air Champions with its various programs. The donation is being made through Honda’s environmental initiative “earthdreams,” a global marketing program based in the United Kingdom with an environmental message carried and supported by all aspects of Honda’s F1 racing team.
Honda’s F1 car at this weekend’s Grand Prix for example, will be free of all corporate logos which have been replaced with the earthdreams colours.
“The donation [to Clean Air Champions] makes sense to us because of their environmental projects through sports which is a good way to inspire people and it’s an extension of what we do,” said Dominic Warne, marketing manager for earthdreams. “It also helps extend the global reach of earthdreams projects.”
Honda is also sponsoring the Crescent Street Festival where it is holding a charity auction of F1 memorabilia this Friday night with all proceeds going to Clean Air Champions.
Meanwhile, Toyota Canada, part of the Panasonic Toyota F1 Team, is offering free bus tours around the city for the week, and passengers have a chance to win a Panasonic Viera 42-inch television.
Bridgestone is hosting an open house at the track with tickets available from participating Bridgestone retailers. Participants can also fill out a ballot for two passes to the Elite Suites section of the Grand Prix.
Shell Canada is encouraging racing fans to wear any clothing sporting a Ferrari logo for a chance to win one of 12 $100 Shell fuel certificates. The oil company is also holding an online contest at GrandPrix.ca/shellcontest.html where it is giving away four Shell Super Fan Suite packages, which includes a three-day pass in the Shell Suite and $1,000 spending money.
