Formula 1 fever hits Melbourne

The F1 experience is extending well beyond the track via advertising, pop-up brand activations and fan zones

Mar 12, 2025

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Thank you to everyone who joined us at our very first Happy Hour sports industry networking event!

In partnership with MEE Agency, we were blown away by the incredible turnout of 150+ sports industry professionals and we couldn’t have asked for a better crowd.

View more photos here.

Thanks to our amazing event partners 🙏

This event wouldn’t have been possible without our incredible event partners who took a chance on us and helped bring it to life:

Peak Install - who very generously supplied our event signage. The team is amazing to work with, and we’d highly encourage you to use them for your upcoming signage requirements
Creative Friend - The creative force behind our event branding
Prince Sports & Entertainment – Huge thanks to Britt Prince and Georgia Sheehan for helping us spread the word and welcome guests on the day
Asahi Super Dry - Because great conversations deserve great drinks. Cheers to Asahi Super Dry for keeping the good vibes flowing!

What’s Next?

We’re already planning future networking events so stay tuned for future announcements.

We hope you had as much fun as we did and we can’t wait to do it all again!

Western Bulldogs welcomed Pirate Life Brewing as its Official Beer Partner which will provide members with exclusive offers at Pirate Life’s South Melbourne venue - fans will also be able to enjoy Pirate Life beers, on game days at Whitten Oval and Marvel Stadium

IKON Services Australia has renewed its contract with Carlton FC for an additional 3 years, taking its “IKON Park" venue Naming Rights until at least the end of 2027

The Sporting Globe signed on as the Melbourne Demons’ Official Sports Bar Venue Partner for another season, extending its partnership with the club to 9 years

Brewmanity, the beer founded by former Demons David Neitz, Paul Hopgood and John Ahern, renewed its contract to remain the Official Beer Partner of the Melbourne Demons

NSWRL announced a new partnership with Hyundai which will see the Hyundai logo feature on the shorts of the Westpac NSW Blues and Westpac NSW Blues Women

Red Bull became the Official Energy Drink Partner & Supplier of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs until at least the end of the 2026 season

Reosteel became the Sydney Roosters’ newest Platinum Partner and its logo will feature prominently on the lower back for at least the next 3 years

Netball Victoria announced PEUGEOT as the presenting partner of the 2025 State Titles and Association Championships

Ray White Queensland inked a landmark 2-year partnership with the Queensland Firebirds and Netball Queensland

Haymes Paint extended its partnership with Wests Tigers for 2 more seasons and its logo will feature on the front of the club’s NRL, NRLW, NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup trainers tees, as well as on the front of NRLW playing and training shorts

Haymes Paint extends partnership with Wests Tigers | Wests Tigers

Newcastle Knights extended its long-standing partnership with Brydens Lawyers for the 2025 season, marking 10 seasons of collaboration

Western United announced Covellis Cleaning as the Club’s Official Member Partner for the next 2 x A-Leagues seasons whose brand will feature prominently on WUFC merchandise and membership collateral

National Pickleball League signed a deal with Asia’s leading new-age airline, Vietjet which became its Official Airline Partner for 2025

Central Coast Mariners extended its back-of-shirt partnership with Australasia’s largest general insurance broker network, Steadfast Group for the 2024/25 season

The NBA and NBL, in collaboration with Visit Victoria, announced that the New Orleans Pelicans will play 2 x preseason games against NBL teams in Melbourne this October, marking the first NBA games in Australia

Ice Cube’s BIG3 announced that it will host its 1st-ever international BIG3 Showcase in Australia in November 2025 as part of a groundbreaking new partnership with the NBL and GameAbove Sports

The AFL announced a 3-year rights extension with radio partners SEN, Southern Cross Austereo, Nine Radio, FIVEaa, K rock, and ABC, which will see more free AFL match coverage than ever before across radio platforms, from 2025-2027

Disney+ announced ESPN on Disney+ will launch on 26 March 2025 and be included for all Australia and New Zealand subscribers - Nick Kyrgios is fronting the campaign supporting the launch

Macarthur Bulls FC and the Australian Superbike Championship entered into a new adrenaline-fueled partnership that will underpin a series of cross-sport activations

West Coast Eagles, in partnership with Playbk Sports, announced the launch of “Freestyle Footy” - a free eLearning course, delivered by Eagles players and experts, designed to empower teachers with the knowledge, resources, and confidence to bring Aussie Rules to school yards

SBS Sport secured free-to-air broadcast rights to Major League Soccer matches for the 2025 season

Cricket Australia announced a partnership with international sports marketing specialists Two Circles to amplify its commercial approach

TKO Group (parent of UFC and WWE) is adding boxing to its portfolio after agreeing to a deal with Saudi Arabia - the first (yet to be named) event is set to take place in 2026

Manchester United unveiled plans to build a new £2bn, 100,000-seat stadium to replace Old Trafford

Formula 1 fever has hit Melbourne, and the F1 experience is extending well beyond the track via advertising, pop-up brand activations and fan zones

The Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix is a key pillar in the Victorian Government’s Major Events landscape.

In 2024, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) Annual Report showed that:

452,055 fans attended over 4 days (record-breaking year)
95% of non-residents visited Melbourne solely for the race

Here's some of the tactics used to build hype, a sense of festivity and extend the F1 experience beyond the track for local, and travelling fans.

1. Advertising

In October last year, the AGPC unveiled its new "Expect Nothing Less" positioning via BULLFROG.

Campaign activity was activated and outdoor advertising has been placed around the city in the lead up to the event.

Some recent activity worth noticing:

Giant billboards greet tourists arriving at Melbourne Airport, and its giant “Melbourne” letters have been given the F1 Aus GP brand treatment
A giant mural was recently painted in the heart of City of Melbourne in Caledonian Lane (Oscar Piastri recently paid a visit)
McLaren is getting in on the act…
Tram takeovers have been a key feature (last year 412,000 patrons moved to or from the Grand Prix via Yarra Trams)

*In 2024, the AGPC spent close to $1.5m on creative and advertising.

2. Pop-up activations

Inside the adidas Emporium store, a number of F1 features have been installed including a replica of the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 W16 E Performance, reaction challenge, racing simulators, and fans can win prizes, and pick up the latest adidas x Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team range.

An F1 McLaren was bumped-in to the Culture Kings Russel St, Melbourne store, alongside fanfare.

Eastland Shopping Centre recently hosted an activation that included the Formula 1 Show Car and an activity zone.

A massive “South Melbourne Porsche & Coffee” exhibition allowed Porsche Cars Australia owners and enthusiasts to get up close to an amazing fleet of Porsche cars, grab a coffee, and explore South Melbourne's vibrant precinct.

3. Fan zones

The new, free 5-day F1 Melbourne Fan Festival 2025 is being held at Melbourne Park and is packed with fan activities including Virtual Driver Selfies, F1 Blast Lane, an iconic F1 show car, and a dedicated game zone.

ausgp

A post shared by @ausgp

Crown is “the Preferred Entertainment Venue” and is hosting a number of key activations:

The 2025 Motorsports FanZone on Crown Riverwalk features high-calibre entertainment, stunning car displays, racing simulators, and a wide range of merchandise
The Crown Riverwalk is also hosting the Red Bull Fan Zone with driver Q&As, a racing simulator, photo opportunities, live DJ, and a massive screen to watch the action
Other notable Crown activations include roving entertainment (Crown PitCrew and flash mob dancers) and the Crown Pit Stop VR experience

The Atlassian Williams Racing Fan Zone presented by Kraken is live at the Atrtium, Federation Square.

Many brands are also getting active in the lead up to the race

There have been some exciting brand partnership announcements and activations among global partners, event partners, teams and drivers.

Here's some worth noticing:

LVMH

LVMH signed a new 10-year global partnership with Formula 1 (reportedly worth US$150m per season) which will see Louis Vuitton, Moët Hennessy and TAG Heuer active across the season.

Louis Vuitton became Title Partner of the "Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Australian Grand Prix" and has created custom Trophy Trunks to showcase the awards for the top 3 drivers
TAG Heuer has replaced Rolex as the official timepiece

American Express

American Express is expanding its presence as the Naming Rights Partner of "The American Express Lounge” which hosed the highly anticipated Glamour on the Grid launch party, bringing together A-listers and industry leaders.

MECCA

“MECCA MAX” is returning for a 2nd year, providing complimentary makeup applications, photo moments, product offerings and space to lounge for tired feet.

St Hugo

Daniel Ricciardo featured in a new campaign (via Emotive Agency) to launch Enchanté Rosé, his latest collaboration with St Hugo Wines, and transformed Dan Murphy's South Melbourne into ‘Dan Murphé

danielricciardo

A post shared by @danielricciardo

Quad Lock

The Quad Lock OP Zone is returning to Albert Park - the ultimate destination for Oscar Piastri enthusiasts featuring special Q&A sessions, access to official merchandise, and an exciting giveaway competition.

Crown

Crown is the Naming Right to the “Crown Lakeside Festival” featuring Fatboy Slim, The Living End, Spiderbait, Tones and I, Baker Boy and Anna Lunoe.

TCL Electronics

TCL Electronics is set to launch a “Race to Greatness” activation (via Twenty3 Sport + Entertainment) and is offering fans the chance to win 1 of 3 Double Passes to the track.

Atlassian

Australian software giant Atlassian became the Official Title Partner and Official Technology Partner of “Atlassian Williams Racing” as part of a long-term deal that was described as “the largest deal in the team’s 48-year history”.

Airtasker

Sydney-based Airtasker signed on as a partner of the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team for the 2025 F1 season, and are aiming to bring attention to the often-overlooked contributions of VCARB's pit crews and engineers.

Grill'd

Grill’d announced a new collaboration with Oscar Piastri, launching the limited edition "Oscar Piastri Burger".

Have you seen any other F1-themed activity worth noticing?