Domenic Ravita’s Post

F1 Miami GP is here. Hello you! There is so much to love about motorsport, for example it’s one of the very few sports (Equestrian is another one) where men and women can compete against each other. Surprised? Well you're not alone, most people think F1 is a male only sport. No wonder people think that if you consider we haven’t had a female driver in F1 in the last 50 years! There are many reasons for this but a lack of talent or ability in female drivers is not one of those. Motorsport is an expensive sport, it involves high tech technology and large teams (Red Bull F1 employs around 800 people) to create and maintain a racing car. Drivers need the sponsorship money to be able to compete and build their way up to the elite. And this is particularly difficult for female drivers. But we hope this will change soon. CRANT in collaboration with More than Equal embarked on a journey to help brands and marketers see that sponsoring female drivers is a great idea from a business and brand building perspective. They can drive higher engagement than their male counterparts (Max versus Bianca Bustamante) and they bring differentiation to a brand in highly competitive categories (Look at the WANDR case study). This alone should be reason enough to seriously consider making this strategic decision. But there is a looooooot more, please download the full report in the link in the comment, read it and share it with other marketers and motorsport fans ;) Investing in female drivers is not charity, it's a smart business decision. Thank you to the trailblazers that have fought their way up against all odds helping open doors for female fans and drivers making the sport so much better: Tatiana Calderon Jamie Chadwick Bianca Bustamante Amna Al Qubaisi And so many more. Thank you Fran Longstaff PhD. Zaya Pono and Alison Donnelly for helping bring this White Paper to life. And Paula Calderón for always being the inspiration to keep pushing no matter how hard it is.

Women like fast cars too. Here's a good look at how Formula 1 is growing the sport with women, on and off the track. 40% of F1 fans are women, up 8% over the last 5 year. This is largely attributed to Netflix's Drive to Survive series and a killer social strategy - averaging 40 million social engagements per race weekend. *A Swift and Kelce appearance at the F1 Miami Grand Prix this weekend would smash that mark. But why stop there. Last year, the league created the F1 Academy with the goal to give female drivers the chance to compete in higher levels of auto racing. What makes pro-racing different, it's the only major sport where men and women compete in the same events. And, if F1 can find their Danica Patrick, the spotlight on the sport would only continue to grow... Enter Jamie Chadwick. Arguably the best female driver in the race game today, the 25-year old British racer dominated the W Series 3 years straight and now races in the INDYCAR NXT series for Andretti Autosport team. While Jamie has F1 aspirations, she knows the road to get there is long and expensive so brand partnerships will be key. Aspiration women's brands take note! And if it's not her, she believes the rise in popularity will soon make way for the first female F1 driver since 1976. Punchline: As the spotlight on women in sports grows, the traditionally male dominated sport of racing is investing in female fans and drivers to create career opportunities and help grow the sport. #F1 #Sports #Marketing #WomenInSports #MiamiGP

Did you know that despite being one of the few sports in the world where men and women can compete together, no woman has raced in Formula 1 since the 1970s?? I will admit, perhaps due to being born 2 decades after Lella Lombardi competed in the F1, that I had no idea! What does this tell you? Women are drastically under represented in Motorsports and perceptions and biases need to change. Across 1000+ FIA World Championship races since 1950 British Grand Prix, only five female drivers have competed in the qualifying rounds of a Formula 1 Grand Prix. This points to an urgent need for collective action to address the challenges that are holding female talent back and the issues that are preventing many women from feeling included in the sport. However, change is being driven (excuse the pun), by women, for women.... Having recognised this disappointing gender disparity, Charlotte Tilbury has announced its first-ever global sports sponsorship: becoming the first female-founded brand and the first beauty brand to sponsor F1 ACADEMY™️ which is an ambitious new project from Formula 1 to develop and prepare female drivers to progress to higher levels of competition. Go on Charlotte Tilbury! This sponsorship solidifies my love for the brand even more. I hope to see many more initiatives put in place to see more women represented, competing AND WINNING in F1. #Motorsportequality #F1Women #DriveforEquality

During the Formula 1 summer break, the series announced its second quarter financial results for 2024, revealing a 20% growth in revenue versus the same period last year. The headline figure was that revenue rose to $871m for the three months ended 30th June, fuelled predominantly by media rights and sponsorship. In addition, CEO Stefano Domenicali was keen to reference the fact that the racing has been much tighter this season, with seven different winners across the 14 races so far, whilst also noting a 30% increase in social media followers across F1 platforms. These are all very positive numbers for F1, which begs the question of whether this growth is sustainable? From a sponsorship perspective, the grid has never been fuller. F1 themselves have 19 partners (global, official and regional), whilst the number of team sponsors across the grid remains at over 300. There is also no sign that the appeal of F1 is slowing, with global brands Adidas and Mastercard recently coming on board with Mercedes and McLaren respectively. Away from sponsorship, it is clear that there are still huge untapped markets for F1 which could fuel continued future growth. We still have no race in Africa, with Rwanda being the latest host country reported to be under serious consideration. Elsewhere, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei recently said that Southeast Asia is another region that could be expanded - with interest from Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia. Finally, from an audience perspective, the series is nowhere near maximising its popularity amongst female fans - which now make up 40% of the global fanbase. The development of the F1 Academy will play an important role in this, but so will increasing female representation across the board at the top level of the sport. The commercial opportunity also extends to sponsorship, as increased female participation will open doors to non-endemic brands with no previous F1 involvement - as has already been shown with Charlotte Tilbury's F1 Academy deal. Things may not be perfect in F1 world at the moment, but what is clear is that the series has never been in such rude financial health, with seemingly plenty of growth still on the table. #f1 #formula1 #sponsorship #motorsport #womeninmotorsport #sportsbiz

That old dinner party conversation staple ;- What price did you buy your Apple shares? Will the same chat be about your F1 shares in five years? Is sport and entertainment the new Tech for investors? Are we too late? I am seeing more investment opportunities in sport and specifically F1 now than I have ever seen. Not all of them obvious and some yet to be fully developed. But for sure an interesting space right now. #F1 #thenextbestthing #futuregrowth #trends #sportinvestment #sportbusiness

Really amazing article about F1 Academy and growth the series has seen in a short amount of time. The Academy aims to give a platform to underrepresented drivers in motorsport, specifically women. In this article, Susie Wolff, the series CEO, talks about recent partnerships between the Academy drivers and the 10 Formula 1 teams. Each team, along with other partners like Charlotte Tilbury Beauty, will back one of the 15 Academy drivers for their season. In the US, we have seen a surge of support for women's sport recently. But one quote from Wolff stood out to me: "This is not running on goodwill because it's hip to support women's sport. We need to build a model that is sustainable in the long term." As much as we should and need to support the growth of women's sport, it should not be for short-term satisfaction, rather for sustainability and long-term success that mirrors its male-dominated counterparts. It's amazing to hear F1 Academy is taking this approach, and hopefully other leagues and leaders follow suit with the same mindset. Next month, for Janelle Wells, Ph.D.'s Global Sport and Entertainment course, USF VSEM will have the pleasure to present to F1 Academy when we travel to London! I am beyond excited to listen and learn from them, and bring back ideas to spread to US sport fans.

Just had a great interaction with the LinkedIn platform, this article popped up, the first question in my head was “what is the F1 academy?” Directly underneath the post was an AI prompt saying “what is the F1 Academy” I just had to click and get an immediate understanding. Super easy! If you are interested in free access to LinkedIn Premium, let me know!

📱 News I love to read 📲 : A collaboration between Taylor Swift, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Bell Helmets is kicking off today. tl;dr The 3 big names have partnered to create 12 Taylor Swift album-inspired helmets and an IndyCar show car to celebrate The Eras Tour's arrival in Indianapolis this weekend. The helmets will be on display around the city in a nod to the Indy500 tradition. They will be auctioned off, with proceeds being donated to Women in Motorsports North America. I believe the IMS and Taylor Swift helmet collaboration is an example of a culturally relevant partnership. Why? 🏎 Cultural crossover: This partnership merges the worlds of motorsport and music, tapping into Taylor Swift's massive, dedicated fanbase during her record-breaking Eras Tour. ♀ Broader audience reach: By aligning with TS, the IMS gains visibility among a younger, predominantly female demographic, diversifying the motorsport fanbase. The massive impact that TS has had on the NFL's reach is undeniable. 📲 Buzz-worthy collaboration: The unique and limited-edition nature of the helmets drives social media conversations, fueling both brand engagement and media coverage. 🎶 Strategic timing: Launching during the Eras Tour ensures the collaboration capitalizes on the current wave of Taylor Swift's heightened cultural relevance and global influence. I'm mostly excited about the light being shone on Women in motorsport in the most authentic way. #womeninmotorsport #taylorswift #motorsportpartnership

Smart move! 😍 Did you know that only 16% of Financial Planners in the UK are female? (According to FCA latest research) It's time to encourage more women to join this field! Interestingly, a lot more women than men tend to seek financial advice from friends and family rather than seeking professional advice. Inclusivity is crucial in education, opportunity, politics, professional services, and the workplace. Let's work towards making this field more diverse and inclusive. Marketing doesn't need to be "pink,” 🙄 but matching branding accordingly can raise more interest and awareness. Let's make a difference together. #FinancialPlanning #Inclusion #Diversity #WomenInFinance

This is just the beginning . Like in sports - women are claiming their rightful place , challenging stereotypes and pushing the gender boundaries A banking client once wanted to invest in re skilling their teams because their customer base was going to move from “ 45+ male white with income x “ to “ 32+ Asian woman first time entrepreneur or professional in family” It is clearly time for business to identify their gendered design and delivery models ( they will often not even know it’s gendered , as it is unconscious ) and bring in transformation . #genderequity #diversityequityinclusion #femaleleaders