Never before has a brand activation been carried out at the Brazilian Grand Prix from within the track. Heineken, as the main local sponsor, wanted to change that for good. Every other brand develops their experiences and activations from the same old bleachers in the outer surroundings of the track. But Formula fans are changing. They are younger. They are eager for new ways to experience the event. So, the ultimate goal was to redesign the fans’ journey during the Grand Prix weekend and quite literally claim a terrain that could completely transform the experience of watching the Grand Prix from within.

And, just as important, make sure the brand could be seen and talked about while at it.

Formula 1 just celebrated its 70th anniversary, being consistently the motorsport benchmark for fans across the globe. A true magnet for so many global brands that seem to compete for every inch on cars, helmets, suits, tracks, etc. Let alone the ad spots on traditional media.

Yet, while fans are eager to pay hefty price tags on tickets to watch F1 live by the track, the few thousand people who manage to hang around the track represent a tiny fraction of the millions and millions of fans who simply watch the races on live TV or online.

So how might we create something truly new and unique for the local fans on the track and still hack the TV broadcast to be the talk of the day?

The solution was to bring the biggest star of the show onto the track. Quite literally. The Heineken Star Village was a full-fledged festival during Formula One’s Grand Prix. Based on Heinelen’s famous 5-pointed star, we gave the bleachers and structures a whole new shape, while welcoming top-notch DJs playing live, gaming experiences, several bars, a zipline activation and that Woodstock-esque viewing experience for hardcore fans, just meters away from the F1 action.

As TV broadcasted the race for the whole world to see with their aerial shots and wide angles, it was impossible to ignore the big star on the track.

And get curious about that new experience for fans.

The Heineken Star Village became a true F1 Festival in the heart of the track. A complex variety of bars, restaurants, gift shops, photo opportunities, lounges and rest islands, a zipline crisscrossing the area, and even an exhibition of the actual Grand Prix trophies. And just like any good festival, music and gigs were abundant. Top-notch DJs created the right soundtrack during the whole weekend.

The Festival also hosted the grand finale of the Gaming Player 0.0 Championship, an open tournament where customers, pro-players, and actual drivers could race each other online on our F1 simulators.

The star area itself had about 3 thousand square meters, but the contiguous area extended to some 20 thousand square meters. And just like any real estate expert would put it, location played the key role here: boasting a 360º view of the track, standing less than 30 meters away from the tarmac.

The results followed the magnitude of the event. With a max attendance of 5500 people, tickets sold out in less than 9 minutes. But the greatest repercussions took place beyond the racetrack railings. About 30 million people were reached.

And the sum of the efforts on and off line yielded more than 367 million impacts!