Is This F1’s Smartest Fan Campaign Yet?

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Next time you hear the airport train sound at a Rapids game… it’s not your flight—it’s a sub.

The Colorado Rapids used the iconic Denver airport train chime during player substitutions.

Brilliant. Whether you're a local or just passed through DIA once, that sound sticks.

It got me thinking about brands with instantly recognizable audio cues—Netflix, IBM, State Farm, and more.

In a sea of visual noise, sound branding gives your brand a chance to cut through—instantly recognizable, deeply memorable.

And when timed with key in-venue moments—like subs—it becomes nearly impossible to miss, especially when paired with LEDs or digital signage.

But the opportunity doesn’t stop there. You can scale this kind of moment across platforms:

• Hear it — Sonic branding plays during in-venue subs, paired with signage or lighting.

• See it — Branded substitution posts on social keep the moment going outside the stadium.

• Play it — Launch a prediction game in your mobile app (e.g., who subbed first, when it’ll happen). Promote it with a QR code on the jumbotron.

And if you want to go even further:

• Add branded mentions in your app or website’s live play-by-play (e.g. “State Farm substitution, USA. Alyssa Thompson replaces Yazmeen Ryan).

• Wrap the bench in sponsor branding.

• Launch a content series like Arsenal’s Bench Cam.

• Deliver fans a monthly sub-scription box (pun fully intended).

When a sound becomes a signal, it becomes brand. Look (and listen) for moments where audio can enhance recognition—and extend reach.

In Today’s Edition:

• The AMR FanMade Playbook 🤳 

• House Tour, Footy Style 🏠️ 

• UEFA’s Sound Strategy 🎧️ 

🏊️ DEEP DIVE
How Aston Martin Let Fans Drive The Story At The British Grand Prix

Aston Martin F1 didn’t just show up to the British Grand Prix. They handed the mic to their fans—and let them run the show.

That fan-first strategy has helped the team build one of the most engaging brands in sports, especially on TikTok.

The numbers back it up: over 2.4M followers, a 13.5% engagement rate, and a content strategy that earned 111 million views last season. Their mix of behind-the-scenes storytelling, trend-savvy creativity, and real community-building has turned them into a case study for how luxury sports brands can show up authentically online.

At the 2025 British Grand Prix, they took it even further. With help from their official content partner, TikTok, Aston Martin launched the first edition of FanMade—a campaign that turned comment sections into creative briefs and fans into co-creators of the race week experience.

Fans, Not Spectators

The goal was simple: spotlight how fans shape the team’s culture, content, and experiences. Not as spectators, but as co-creators—online and in real life.

Race week at Silverstone was powered by the fans, and the team delivered—bringing their ideas to life on TikTok and on the ground in London.

How It Started

The campaign kicked off literally. Aston Martin commissioned Beth Pass, a UK-based Fine Art student, to design the official race poster for the British Grand Prix.

Later that day, the team dropped a duet with Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso reacting to fan-created TikToks—blending pro talent and audience creativity in a single scroll.

AMR Nailed It

Next up: a beauty collab with Glaize to launch the world’s first AMR25 Exact Match nail gel.

Why nails? As the team noted, with more than 30 billion views on #NailTok, race-day nails are a must.

Glaize shared the origin story on their own channels: they had just two weeks to create the product and went through six samples to perfect the AMR25 shade.

A day later, 100 sets of the gel nail polish dropped via The FanMade DROP—Aston Martin’s fan loyalty platform built around limited-edition drops and culture-forward experiences.

And the drop didn’t stop there. Fans also had the chance to win and design their own official Puma pit crew jacket.

Aston Matcha Formula 1 Team

Next, Aston Martin leaned into one of the most creative activations of the week—driven entirely by a TikTok comment.

The Activation: An Aston Matcha pop-up café in Covent Garden, produced with MATCHADO. It ran Friday and Saturday during race week.

The Origin: A comment on a TikTok featuring Pedro de la Rosa sipping matcha.

It was the perfect fit: matcha is trending on TikTok, it’s Gen Z’s caffeine of choice, and it mirrors Aston Martin’s iconic green branding.

Most importantly—it wasn’t just clever. It was free for I / AM members.

Fans got complimentary drinks, cookies, tote bags, zines, squad appearances, and a close-up look at the Aston Martin show car. It extended the same strategy that made their I / AM DROPS launch with The Rolling Stones successful: rewarding fans with real value—online and offline.

More Strollonso, Please

The team kept the momentum going with TikToks rooted in fan comments—even reaching back five weeks to source content.

A “propaganda trend” video from the Spanish Grand Prix (5/27) prompted a fan request for more 0.5 POV pics. Aston Martin followed through with behind-the-scenes shots and, of course, the hilarious results.

Another comment on a 5/31 Montmeló post led to Stroll and Alonso delivering F1-themed pickup lines. That one video sparked four more fan-fueled moments:

• A blooper reel turned into a request for Alonso memes

• Fans using the pit crew to tell Lance they love him

• A failed attempt to skip class

And the comment section wasn’t just a content engine—it was a gateway to real rewards. One fan won two paddock passes to the British Grand Prix, simply by leaving a comment. A father and daughter scored the experience of a lifetime.

The team also leaned into another native TikTok feature—the Collab post—to extend content onto TikTok UK’s profile. They used the tactic to spotlight a post from Aston’s Creator Collective, as well as content featuring Jessica Hawkins and Tina Hausmann from their F1 Academy team.

Aston Martin wrapped the week with two perfect executions of trending formats:

• A spin on the “taking the edge off” trend, with a callback to a crucial 2021 penalty

• An @Anthpo-style scavenger hunt where fans had to find a flyer, take a selfie, and email it in to get featured.

The Takeaway: Fans Want In

The results? 20 TikToks. 30.7M views. 1.3M engagements. A 4.2% engagement rate.

What Aston Martin F1 pulled off at Silverstone wasn’t just good sponsored content. It was a real-time case study in fan-centric storytelling.

FanMade turned comment sections into content roadmaps, gave physical experiences to digital audiences, and blended TikTok trends with luxury brand identity.

And—most importantly—they gave fans a starring role.

This playbook isn’t just for racing teams. Any brand with a passionate audience can take cues from how Aston Martin activated theirs.

🔍️ SPONCONSPIRATION
Steal These Ideas

Talk about a perfect match. Collingwood FC dropped a house tour with midfielder Jordan De Goey, in partnership with real estate brand Ray White. Loved how the club tailored the Instagram cutdown to the platform—using a carousel instead of a Reel.

You have to check out The Sound of Support, featuring Daphne van Domselaar from the UEFA Women’s EURO account and Visa. Such a smart concept—especially for an audio or phone brand.

Football. Then golf, hockey, and soccer. Now basketball. Dude Perfect brought back the Impossible Wall—this time teaming up with Samsung and Google. Baseball has to be next, right?

Monster Energy is doing it right. They used their X Games partnership to help support a new collab with Lando Norris—and backed it up with a fun activation at Silverstone.

Ashton Hall teamed up with Glen Powell, using his day-in-the-life format to promote The Running Man.

FC Bayern and Audi had some fun with their version of the “The Spot vs The Shot” trend—and nailed it.

🚨 ICYMI
What To Watch For

Fast Lane Loyalty: In this case study by Alyssa Meyers, Hilton’s long-standing partnership with McLaren shows how brand alignment, purpose-driven content, and cultural relevance can drive value far beyond logo placement. It’s proof that winning on the track isn’t the only measure of sponsorship success [via Marketing Brew].

New EPL Digital Products: The Premier League just launched a revamped app and website as part of a global digital overhaul—driven by a new partnership with Microsoft. The goal: personalize fan experiences through data and tech at scale.

From TV To Social: The NFL brought its Top 100 player countdown to X, making the popular series a platform original rather than a linear TV product.

Fan-Powered Freebies:The Atlanta Braves are inviting fans to submit their most creative giveaway ideas. One lucky fan will win a pair of 2026 season tickets.

Snapchat Serving Looks: Snapchat users can now dress their Bitmoji in official Wimbledon gear—giving tennis fans another way to show support through digital self-expression.

Street Course Reloaded: NASCAR launched a refreshed version of its Chicago Street Course—this time in Fortnite’s Rocket Racing mode, giving fans a virtual way to experience the action [via Nick Rend].

20 Years Of Insights: Misha Sher, WPP’s Global Head of Sport, Entertainment, and Culture, joined Andy Marston on The Sports Pundit Podcast to share lessons from two decades in athlete marketing.