Nirupam Singh's Linkedin Analytics

Finally, sharing the project I’ve been building. There’s a gap between what’s talked about in press conferences and what happens in the day-to-day work of CCOs and commercial operators. The Commercial Table is here to close that gap by going deeper than the headlines. Every week, I sit down with experts in sports and entertainment. People working inside commercial teams, brand partnerships, and operations at every level. I gather their stories, insights, and the tactics that have proven themselves through real pressure and change. My goal is to synthesise these conversations into clear, practical advice you can use immediately. You’ll find examples from teams facing tough decisions and working through live challenges. I share the messages that move a deal forward, the frameworks that help operators adapt to shifting priorities, and the tools that have made a difference for experts in the field. Each issue brings together what’s working now, distilled into practical takeaways you can apply to your own work. The Commercial Table is a space for people who want to learn from actual experience, build new approaches, and share proven strategies with others who care about results. Subscribers shape each edition with their own questions and perspectives, making every issue stronger and more useful. If you want to access insights and tactics from leaders across sports and entertainment, you can subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/e2gpkXwC P.S. That's my dog's chew toy on the left. Yes, it's a Frisbee. She doesn't fetch for anyone. If you subscribe, I will share a picture of her (This is my only hack).

If you’re running sponsor comms during race week, here’s the playbook I give every client to turn short-term attention into long-term leverage. 1/ Anchor your leadership message before the noise starts. Pick 1 line. Plain English. Big conviction. This becomes your filter for everything. Executive voice, race-week assets, LinkedIn posts. Example: “We back the future of sustainable high-performance racing.” 2/ Pre-map the outcomes you want to drive. Miami’s more than a race. It’s a stage. List the 3 things you want this deal to create: – B2B conversations – Executive visibility – Customer proof Now write to lead those, not react to team hype. 3/ Publish real proof Race-week content should show: – Your product or team in action – On-site or online engagement – Execs being present, not passive – Momentum sparked by the partnership If it’s buried in a PDF, it’s already forgotten. 4/ Pre-schedule the post-race comms. No one remembers a one-and-done drop. Plan this now: – Mid-season wins – Stakeholder insights – Customer traction – Brand POV shifts This is how trust compounds. 5/ Track the outcomes that build renewal leverage. Don’t measure hype. Measure momentum: – B2B lead flow – Customer lift – Exec visibility – Strategic mentions These shape your next 3 deals. Sponsors win trust by turning moments into momentum.

Raja Rajamannar from Mastercard (McLaren’s sponsor) is the perfect example of activating a sponsorship. Here’s why: Every time Raja posts, you see the Mastercard and McLaren connection show up in his feed. It’s always business-first. He shares updates on activations, B2B events, and the work happening behind the scenes. He treats LinkedIn like a distribution channel for the company. You get real-time information of what Mastercard is doing with McLaren, who’s in the room, and what’s getting built for clients and partners. It’s always clear who’s running point on the partnership. There’s no filler, and it gives people a window into the work, along with the end product. You see executive panels, business programs, and the way Mastercard creates actual value for the commercial side of McLaren. Every update comes back to outcomes, real clients, access and moments. And he doesn’t have to play to likes and engagement. He’s writing for the commercial teams, the sponsors, and the partners who are watching every move. The association is always clear: Raja, Mastercard, McLaren. You don’t have to guess who’s driving the relationship. This is also what activating a sponsorship looks like. You don't have to make a big splash like Lego or WhatsApp every time. It's consistent, specific, visible to the right people, and always tied to business impact. Want your partnership to land like this? Start showing the work, not just the win.

Ecolab sponsors McLaren Racing, but their recent LinkedIn post buried the partnership in vague values and intangible statements. So I rewrote the post to make it sharper, clearer, and more useful for their audience and yours. Here are 6 upgrades I made (and why they matter for every sponsor-led LinkedIn post): Upgrade 1: Move it from the brand page → to an executive account ❌ Original → Posted on EcoLab’s company page ✅ New → Posted on the SVP of Strategic Partnerships' LinkedIn Why this works: • Executive voice builds trust and signals leadership • Personal tone performs better and sounds less scripted • LinkedIn prioritises people over brand handles, and organic reach increases Upgrade 2: Cut the abstract values ❌ Original → “Integrity, purpose, accountability, performance with purpose…” ✅ New → “We partnered with McLaren because high-performance environments expose every inefficiency — and that’s where we do our best work.” Why this works: • No one remembers corporate values • Tangible insights stick •Makes the partnership sound operational, not just aspirational Upgrade 3: Add tension, then point to the business impact ❌ Original → “Founded on a mutual commitment to do the right thing, the right way.” ✅ New → “McLaren’s trackside ops pressure-test how we think about speed, data, and sustainable performance — and those insights drive real shifts in how we serve industrial clients.” Why this works: • High-performance tension grabs attention • Shows the partnership is used as a learning engine • Connects F1 to EcoLab’s core business outcomes Upgrade 4: Remove filler phrases and wishful CTAs ❌ Original → “We wish McLaren luck this weekend…” and “Discover more about our vision…” ✅ New → “We’re building partnerships where performance means sustainability at scale. This one’s just getting started.” Why this works: • Looks forward, not backwards • Builds curiosity and story momentum • Keeps focus on business relevance, not cheerleading Upgrade 5: Add one sharp, ownable line ❌ Original → No single standout message ✅ New → “High-performance environments expose every flaw — and that’s where we do our best work.” Why this works: •Ownable language makes the message memorable •Clear enough to reuse across teams and internal decks • Gives readers something to associate with EcoLab immediately If EcoLab had implemented even one of these upgrades, their message would’ve landed stronger with partners, clients, and stakeholders watching from the sidelines. That’s what brand presence looks like when you stop playing it safe, and start writing with intent. Want help applying this to your own race-week posts?

If I had a dollar for every time a sponsor told me, “We need to sound premium...” I’d have a paddock pass to every Grand Prix, and a pile of brand decks collecting dust. Here’s what I do when that word comes up in a briefing, I toss the corporate script out the window and ask a real question: “Name the last brand that actually felt premium to you. Just the one that made you stop and pay attention.” The first answer tells me everything. Then I drill deeper: “What made it feel that way? Was it the product, the follow-up, the aftertaste, the way your team reacted, or how it landed in a conversation?” Most sponsors pause, nobody ever asks for this level of detail. It forces them out of the bubble and into real-world language. I jot down every concrete detail they give me. Nine times out of ten, what they describe isn’t “premium.” It’s usually tangible and objective. It doesn’t waste words or time. My workflow from there: – Map every post to one of those specifics. – Kill every empty line. – Rewrite until it sounds like something a human would actually say in a conversation. That’s how the message cuts through. Not because we said “premium”, but because we proved it and showed it with every single line.

Every big partnership win comes down to a handful of invisible moves, the stuff that never gets posted or published. That’s the gap The Commercial Table is about to fill. For months, I’ve been collecting the moments that shape outcomes in ways no press release ever mentions: the tension that builds on late-night calls, the reset email after a missed deadline, the post-game/race debrief that quietly steers a brand’s entire approach for the season. I kept noticing how the real work is almost always invisible. The negotiation pivots, the difficult conversations, the creative save when the original plan falls apart. When I first started writing about this world, it was surface-level. You might remember my first newsletter. (Motorsport A&R) The topics were broad, the stories safe, and the advice easily forgotten. It felt more like a warm-up than the main event. But as I spent more time inside actual operator conversations, the difference was clear. The people who move the needle are doing work nobody else sees. They rarely post about it, but their decisions ripple across teams and partners for years. That’s why The Commercial Table exists. Each issue will dig into the questions that get asked behind closed doors: — How do you keep a high-stakes partnership on track when the market shifts? — What do you do when a deal is one call away from falling apart? — Which frameworks actually make progress visible, so teams stay aligned even in the chaos? Expect deep dives, real scripts, and practical breakdowns of what’s working for commercial teams right now. No summaries or theory. Just the tactics, stories, and signals you wish someone would share with you before the next crunch moment. If you work in commercial, partnership, or sponsorship roles and you want access to the conversations that aren’t happening anywhere else. The Commercial Table is your invite. Take a seat. Watch this space. The first issue drops soon.

The 3-post message sequence I build with every sponsor at the start of a new deal: All three posts are posted by your executive team and published on LinkedIn. This is not for the brand page. This is not for the press release. This is to show leadership from day one. Here’s what that looks like: Post 1 – The POV Post 🗓 Timing: 24–48 hours after announcement 📍Posted on the exec’s LinkedIn. (CEO, CMO, CTO or Head of Partnerships) Personal tone. Explain it like you’re talking to your parents. This post sets the tone for the entire season with your customers. It gives people a clear answer to: “Why are we sponsoring this, and what does it say about us?” → Write one idea you want your customers to associate with your brand this season. → Anchor it to a larger belief, market shift, or business bet. → Keep it plainspoken like you would answer your friends. This post becomes the internal anchor your team can build from all year (sales, brand, product, PR, social) Examples: → “We believe motorsport is where the next generation of sustainable tech brands will be built.” → “This partnership signals our commitment to building trust with engineers and technical leaders across Europe.” Post 2 — The Executive Note This post shows real leadership involvement. It helps the audience see who is behind the decision and why it matters to the company. → Choose one senior leader (usually the CMO, VP of Brand, or Head of Partnerships). → Share a short story or personal reflection: “Here’s why we backed this deal, what I’m excited about, and what it unlocks.” → Mention one early signal or first impression from the partnership (e.g. “We’re already seeing X from our B2B partners/customers/investors”). This post builds trust, internally and externally by connecting a name and face to the partnership strategy. 📍Posted on the same exec’s LinkedIn. Written first-person. 300–500 words. Post 3 — The Partnership Framing Post This is the clarity post. It explains what the deal actually does without sounding like a legal contract or stale press release. → What does the partnership unlock? → Who is it for, customers, partners, internal teams, investors? → How does this fit into your overall brand or go-to-market strategy? → End with a clear lens: “We’ll be using this partnership to [build relevance with X audience / create credibility in Y market / increase awareness around Z theme].” This is the post that shows you’re thinking long-term, not just racing for launch hype. 📍Posted on the same exec’s LinkedIn. Visual or photo optional. Focused on clarity, not polish. This is the rhythm we use in week one. These 3 posts give you a strong opening rhythm. The sequence is simple. → One message. → One leadership voice. → One clear explanation of what the deal unlocks. This is how sponsors build trust at launch. No brand-speak. No fluff. Just direct communication.

It’s impossible to measure sponsorship value through impressions alone. Instead, here’s what sponsorship leaders can achieve on LinkedIn today: - You can share a leadership message that signals relevance and purpose. - You can post race-week updates that shape brand association in your market. - You can show executive alignment between performance and brand. - You can build perception before your audience even searches your name. It’ll only take you 45–60 minutes a week. In one quarter, you’ll build: - Clear association between your brand and the values you want to own - Recognition with internal teams and commercial partners - A repeatable system that drives intent and memory. Don’t say: “I want our sponsorship to get more visibility.” Instead, say: “I want to build long-term relevance by showing up clearly every week.” Pick message ownership over launch-day noise.

Last week, I spoke to 4 high school entrepreneurship classes in San Jose. (through Google Meet) Each session was forty-five minutes long. No slides or presentation. Just me trying to explain what I actually do. The first class went surprisingly well, but not because I nailed the delivery. The students pulled clarity out of me. They weren’t afraid to ask the right questions. - “What exactly do you write?” - “Do you work with drivers?” - “Why would someone pay for that?” They forced me to be sharper. I couldn’t lean on industry context or shorthand. I had to explain it clean, like I was pitching for the first time. And the truth is, that first version of my pitch? It was fine. But it wasn’t clear enough. By the time I got to the last class, I had adjusted. I didn’t start with my current work. I backed up. I told them I spent years posting car photography online, trying to figure out how to build something around it. I explained how that eventually led to working with motorsport brands, writing for executives, and helping them communicate in a way that actually builds trust. Once I made that shift, everything clicked. The students were more interested in. The questions got better. The room had energy. Someone literally started scrolling through my old posts, asking me specific questions about what I wrote. That change taught me something I didn’t expect. If your story only makes sense to people who already know you, it’s not doing its job. And if the only way you can explain your work is by leading with your title or your expertise, you’re probably missing the part that actually connects. Don’t start with the polished answer. Start with the reason someone should care in the first place. That’s what I’m taking with me into every pitch, every intro, and every post I write moving forward. And honestly, I might start testing all my new positioning in classrooms. You get faster, better feedback when no one’s trying to be polite.

Writing for execs in motorsport taught me that language isn’t just about clarity, it’s about code. Every team, every leader, develops their own shorthand. Some of it’s born on long travel days, some during late-night strategy sessions, some right in the chaos of a rain-soaked pit lane. If you want your communication to work, you have to meet people in their own language. That’s why I always keep a Notion doc open when I’m working with a new client. I’m listening for how a CEO describes the “long game,” or how a head of partnerships explains a sponsor’s value after a rough qualifying session. I jot down the phrases they use to rally the team when things are off, or the metaphors they borrow from the track to explain a pivot. Even jokes about the catering or offhand feedback after a driver’s radio slip make it in. When you publish something using that exact code, it clicks. The people who matter feel seen. It signals authenticity in a way that can’t be faked, and the ones who don’t get the reference still sense there’s a real culture behind it. You can’t buy that kind of trust with generic messaging. If your content feels like it’s falling flat, check the language. Are you using your team’s real words, or are you using “corporate” ones? Next time, try using a phrase only your crew would recognise. See what kind of replies you get.

Writing for sports sponsors teaches you one major skill. Asking great questions. Let me explain. Depending on the client, I spend 40% to 60% of my time on 1-1 calls with specific leaders. My job in these calls is to extract the common knowledge and skills they have. The goal: Take those answers and write so we achieve 3 things: - Attract their customers (ICP) - Show their process - Build trust with their ICP What I’m looking for are detailed answers that are unique to them. Here are 5 questions I ask when I onboard a sports sponsor: 1/ Walk me through the exact moment you realised this partnership could move the needle for your brand. What did you see, hear, or learn that made you commit? - People skip the “why we did it” and gloss over the real turning point. Forces them to go granular. 2/ What’s the one result from this partnership that would make you look back and say, “Yes, this was worth it”, and how do you plan to actually measure that, beyond just impressions? - You want them to give you the honest metric that matters to them, not their PR team. 3/ Tell me about a roadblock you hit in this partnership. Internal, external, doesn’t matter. How did you push through it, and what did you learn that changed your approach? - Every sponsor’s got a behind-the-scenes battle story. That’s gold. It gives you a process and a mindset. 4/ Can you describe the moment your team or your partners realised this sponsorship was working in the real world? - You want the story, not the strategy. The proof is in the moment someone said, “Hey, this is real.” 5/ What’s a decision you made with this partnership that goes against the industry playbook, but you know it’s right for your brand? - Now you’re pulling out their edge, the stuff that separates them from the herd. Every strong sponsor has at least one. Pushes them to share their unique POV.

The recent Cadillac F1 video announcement felt off. Here’s why it didn’t land. This is a breakdown of a missed opportunity. Because when the video ended, I wasn’t excited. I was confused. It was a forgettable video. And in a sport built on storytelling, that’s a much bigger problem. Let’s start with the surface. The video was polished CGI. But 10 seconds in, I kept asking: "What are they actually announcing here?" There is no emotional payoff or POV. If you’re entering Formula 1 and trying to make a statement… You need more than a tagline and a montage. This is what happens when brands confuse production value with meaning. The whole thing felt like a placeholder. As if they were saying: “We’ll tell the real story later.” But when you’ve only got one chance to frame your first impression, You don’t wait. You show up with something only you could say. Instead, Cadillac gave us this: “Bold.” “Innovative.” “Relentless.” That’s the extent of the brand copy. Just adjectives. So I put the message through a simple test. A 3-rule filter I use on every piece of copywriting I see: 📚 Can I visualise it? 🧪 Can I falsify it? ✍️ Can nobody else say it? When all 3 fail, you don’t have messaging. You have filler. I broke each rule down, word by word, in the carousel. 👇 Start here:

Just hit the 2-year mark running my agency. Before this: • I posted photography work on Instagram for 10 years • Tried building a media agency (sank faster than a ship’s anchor) • Worked with automotive dealerships • Took a short stint with an F1 contractor, lasted 3 months • Committed to writing on LinkedIn in August 2022 I wrote consistently for a year before signing my first client in December 2023. Since then, I’ve built an agency that works with motorsport brands, suppliers, and sponsor leaders, helping them build trust through executive content and messaging. And here are 4 lessons that have stuck with me: 1/ Being visible ≠ being remembered A post can go viral and still be forgotten in 24 hours. People remember patterns, principles, and point of view. 2/ Relationships beat reach Most of my leads came from 1:1 convos, small posts and showing my value and process. DMs, comments, referrals. Once I show my thinking, it's easy to scale that trust. Build trust there first, and everything else scales more easily. 3/ Build before you need it I started documenting systems before I had clients. Now they’re the same ones I use to run the agency. Your future self will thank you. 4/ Boring systems win You don’t need a new hack every week. You need a system that lets your audience know what to expect, and why it matters to them. I’ll be sharing the systems I actually use this week, how I write, what drives leads, and the small things that compound. If you’re in year 0, year 2, or year 10, I hope something clicks for you, too. And if any of this hit home, feel free to DM me. Always happy to trade notes. P.S. Where are my tennis players at?  🎾

Orion180 sponsors Haas F1 and showed up at the Miami GP, but their update didn’t show what the partnership was really about. So I rewrote their LinkedIn post to make it sharper, clearer, and more useful for their audience and yours too. Here are the 5 upgrades I made (and why they matter for every sponsor-led LinkedIn post): Upgrade 1: Move the post from the brand page → to Ryan Jesenik LinkedIn ❌ Original → Posted from the Orion180 brand page ✅ New → Posted from Ryan Jesenik’s personal LinkedIn Why this works: • Executive voice builds credibility • Easier to connect business strategy with leadership • Personal tone gets 4–6x more reach than brand pages Upgrade 2: Replace vague hype with a clear brand message ❌ Original → “Speed, smiles, and standing out.” ➡️ No context. No substance. ✅ New → “Last year, we made a clear decision at Orion180: To be seen as a tech-forward insurance brand with a presence in places people don’t expect.” Why this works: • Starts with a real business decision • Frames the sponsorship with intent • Gives the audience a specific belief to associate with the brand Upgrade 3: Add real signals of traction and relevance ❌ Original → “Partnerships like this one continue to drive real momentum…” ✅ New → “We’re already hearing from our agency partners and brokers: → 'I didn’t realize you were moving this fast.' → 'It’s smart to show up where others in the space aren’t.'” Why this works: • Turns vague 'momentum' into quotes and reactions • Provides proof that the sponsorship is changing perception • Shows internal and external alignment Upgrade 4: Tie the activation to business context ❌ Original → “Great having our COO and President, Ryan Jesenik, and his crew in attendance…” ✅ New → “It was a chance to meet with investors, learn from how global brands activate, and see how we can turn this sponsorship into real business momentum.” Why this works: • Shows what happened off-camera • Connects race-week activity to business outcomes • Aligns sponsorship with strategic priorities Upgrade 5: Cut the hashtags and name drops ❌ Original → Cluttered with hashtags and tag spam (e.g., “Orion180 Leadership Momentum” and 4 names tagged) ✅ New → Clean finish with a future-facing tone: “This is about how we’re showing up as a business in motion. Looking forward to what we’ll unlock next.” Why this works: • Keeps the focus on story and message • Reduces friction and distraction • Leaves room for the audience to engage naturally • Tag the people in the comments And that’s it. If Orion180 had implemented even a few of these changes, their post could’ve driven far more credibility, engagement, and internal alignment. (Which means more trust with partners, more clarity for the team, and a better shot at long-term impact.) Which upgrade would make the biggest difference for your next race-week post? Drop a comment below, or message me if you want help mapping your first 3 posts.

There’s no question this Disney x F1 partnership is a smart play for growth. No brand on earth is better than Disney at welcoming the next generation, and for F1, the upside is obvious. Younger audiences are the future, and the numbers are clear: you’ve got to capture their attention early or risk missing them forever. Still, I can’t help but feel a little conflicted. Part of what’s made F1 special over the decades is that it’s never tried to be everything to everyone. It’s had its own rhythm, its own language, even its own barriers to entry, sometimes frustrating, sure, but also part of the culture and the mystique. When you bring in global icons like Mickey and friends, you’re instantly playing on a much bigger stage. There’s massive potential, but also a new kind of risk. The question is whether F1’s unique character survives the translation. It’s the suspense of a midfield battle, the tension of a rain delay, the drama of a last-lap gamble; these are things Disney can amplify, but they can’t create from scratch. And sometimes, when you try too hard to “open the doors” and capture every possible audience, you end up with something that pleases everyone just enough, but never captures anyone’s heart. I get that growth and inclusivity are the new mandates for sports properties. I’m all for making F1 accessible and welcoming to more people, especially young people who might never see themselves in the paddock otherwise. But the heart of F1 will always be about more than just characters, content, and merch. It’s about competition, consequence and what’s at stake. If the commercial focus tips the scales too far, F1 risks losing the edge that’s made it the pinnacle for so long. So yeah, I love the idea, but it’s a tightrope. The trick is making new fans feel at home without making the old ones feel like strangers. I hope they pull it off. Because if they do it’s a real step forward for the sport. Just a counterpoint. Curious to hear what you all think.

In the last 4 months, I booked 15 calls with sponsors. And guess where they all came from? LinkedIn. (And no, please don’t ask me to connect you with them, I don’t do sponsorship sales, I also don’t want the commission.) I call it The Niche Expert Breakdown. Let me walk you through it. But first, how do I know this framework works? Because this is the exact type of posts I’ve used to land multiple sponsors despite… - Having a small following - NOT having a previous agency role - And NOT attending industry events In fact... Every time I write new posts, I get a message like the one I attached to this post. Now, let's break down the framework: First, make it painfully obvious that you know your craft, so people feel stupid not reaching out. How do you do that? Simple: Step 1: Choose the asset Pick a deliverable you have already create for clients. For me, it’s LinkedIn content (I know meta…) But I also break down: - Motorsport sponsor marketing - Race-week announcements - Comms wins and losses You’ve already got these assets in front of you. Your taste is the separator. Step 2: Find public examples Look for posts, campaigns, or brand moves from companies you want to work with. Use their real-world work as your case studies. Step 3: Break it down weekly Every week, write a breakdown post showing: - What worked - What didn’t - And why it matters Here’s the most important part, though: You also want to explain why the things they’re doing well are good… And why the things they could improve are not optimal. That’s how you demonstrate that you actually know what you’re talking about. Now, there’s another nice benefit to following this approach: After deciding what type of “asset” you’re going to audit & break down each week, you don’t have to think about your “posts format” anymore. Because you are giving yourself a series of constraints from the beginning. And by doing that, you make it 10x easier for yourself to write attention-grabbing posts consistently. And that's it! If you read this far, let me below: Is this helpful? Do you have any follow-up questions? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Atlassian is one of the few sponsors that got their F1 announcement right. Quick context: - Atlassian is William F1’s title sponsor. - Their CEO is Mike Cannon-Brookes. - They announced it at the start of the race season. The news didn’t break through a brand page or team press release. It showed up on LinkedIn, written by Atlassian’s CEO, Mike Cannon-Brookes. 3 things he did right: - Post on the right platform - Spoke to the right audience - Message from the right person Posting from a personal account matters. Especially when that account belongs to the decision-maker. Mike’s network is large, over 77,000 followers, but it’s not about reach. It’s about ownership. That’s what most sponsors avoid. To back it up, he recorded a short video explaining the thinking behind the deal. Not going to lie, the tone felt stiff and over-rehearsed, but the format still works. A rough video from the CEO is more powerful than a high-end clip that says nothing. Most brands hide behind polish. This one didn’t. What gave the announcement depth was the personal story in the next few posts. Instead of saying the usual things, heritage, legacy. He drew a clear connection between Williams and Atlassian. Both started from scratch. One with a grocery salesman. One with a credit card and a spare room. That detail worked because it grounded the partnership in a shared mindset. It made the message relatable and real. Weeks later, he posted again. This time, the topic was sustainability. Addressing the obvious contradiction: why a company focused on climate action would sponsor a fuel-heavy sport. Acknowledging the obvious objection before people ask. He acknowledged the tension, shared specifics about the FIA’s net-zero plan, and linked to Williams’ sustainability report. He made the post useful, not just promotional. That’s the part most brands skip. They think the launch is the story. It’s not. The story is what happens after, and they kept it moving. You don’t need a perfect video or a big agency campaign. You need a leader who knows why the partnership matters and is willing to say it in public. Early, clearly, and more than once. That’s what makes this deal work. The right communication. That’s how you turn a sponsorship into a story. That’s what Atlassian got right.

F1 Miami was loud with sponsors. But which one played the PR game the best? Here are 5 sponsor moves from Miami that were cut from a different cloth: 5/ Visa x Racing Bulls teaser video Light, funny, creator-style content that felt casual and fresh. Played into the Racing Bulls’ younger identity. Didn’t force the brand. Just built familiarity. Hints that this campaign will roll out with more creators, a smart bet on energy and style over polish. 4/ Elemis x Aston Martin x SheLovesVrooms Activated with a known motorsport creator and let her speak like a real person. The product fit into the story naturally. They knew their audience, picked the right face, and moved fast. This is how you stay relevant without overproducing. 3/ eBay Motors x McLaren x Winnie Harlow This had clear purpose: auction + cause + audience alignment. Winnie brings reach and relevance. The campaign had both storytelling and utility. When you can connect a sponsorship to a mission, it resonates. 2/ Puma x Ferrari x F1 Academy This was a moment-maker. Big visuals. Bold media. Layered storytelling across talent, brand, and series. They tried to echo that iconic IWC x Hamilton activation from 2023 didn’t quite hit that level, but it worked. It was visible. Talked about. Sharable. That alone earns the #2 spot. 1/ Jack Daniels x McLaren x Pivot Podcast Surprise move and it landed. Athlete-to-athlete conversation between hosts and Lando. Genuine tone. No media fluff. The hosts framed the brand in their own words. Long-form trust is hard to earn in F1. They earned it here. Honourable Mentions: Visa x Esses Magazine → Community-first. Creator-led. A standout for tone and positioning. FQ Lounge x Miami GP conversation. Android x McLaren → Clean edit. Strong look. Needed sharper messaging. Charles Leclerc x Eight Sleep → Good fit, but post felt forced and overly scripted. The takeaway: The best activations had a 3-way collaboration: → Brand → Partner → Voice with a niche audience If you’re a B2B motorsport sponsor, your head of partnerships or execs should be that voice. Build the audience now. That’s your long-term leverage.

I co-write content for the CEO of a Formula 1 hospitality group. Here are 3 uncommon hacks I use to get content from their head → paper. 1/ Weekly Voice Memos Most execs don’t want to “write.” They want to talk. So I ask them one pointed question per week, tied to what’s happening right now in their business or industry. (We also do weekly interviews for about 30 mins, when they are freer) They reply with a 1–2 minute voice note or text. I transcribe it, clean it up, and use their exact phrasing to shape the post. This keeps their voice sharp and the content timely without needing to “book a call.” 2/ Pull from internal comms Slack threads, investor decks, and email updates these are gold. Any time the CEO explains what’s changing inside the business, I flag it. Because if they’re already explaining it internally, they can explain it externally. Usually I’ll ask: “Can we say this publicly yet?” If the answer’s yes, that’s a post. 3/ Framing first, writing second Before I write a single line, I send them 3 bullets: - The message we’re trying to land - The role of this post (signal / build trust / teach) - One question I need them to answer That last one is key. It gives them something to react to, not a blank page. Once I get their input, I structure it. They approve. We post. This system pulls real insight out of execs without wasting their time. And the content actually sounds like them. There is a separate system to make sure we always nail their voice. Needless to say, I use these systems to streamline almost every part of the writing process: And this is a big reason I can work with this client while also having other things going on. And that’s it! Found this helpful? Let me know below which hack was your favourite.

Every sponsor activation during Miami race week just got outdone by that Lego driver parade. No notes 10/10