The Singapore GP is genius country marketing

The excitement is growing amongst the hundreds of thousands of Grand Prix (GP) (and Linkin Park) fans as the Singapore GP comes closer and closer. But it’s also growing amongst the Singapore tourism board who have been masters at using the Grand Prix to be the ultimate marketing vehicle for the Singapore country brand.

Singapore GP is a unique event in the world of F1 in that it’s a dazzling night race on the streets of Singapore. The decision to have a night time race was a masterstroke by the Singapore government as it shows all the glitter and sparkles that Singapore has to offer in its best light. The decision to go with a street circuit was the icing on the cake as the street circuit takes the hundreds of millions of viewers around one of the most beautiful cities in the world or two hours on prime time TV.

One of the most exciting things about it being a street circuit is that it takes months of preparation to actually create the circuit. It slowly builds and builds as more and more lights go up, more and more barriers go up and more and more stands go up. Taxi rides around what slowly becomes the actual GP race track senses a thrill of excitement down your spine in anticipation. We’re now into the final week before the roads become closed and the whole city country celebrates the influx of even more visitors and pride of seeing the race on TV knowing the glimmering beauty of Singapore will be seen across the globe.

Singapore Tourism board cleverly use the GP as no other country marketing team do, to create awareness, shatter the misconceptions and communicate the brand values of Singapore. The British Tourism body have a long way to go to be able to market the British GP at less than glamorous Silverstone in quite the same way. With the addition of the iconic Marina Bay Sands integrated resort (now with it’s sister casino resort at
Singapore’s Sentosa island larger than Las Vegas) overlooking the entire circuit along with the jaw droppingly stunning CBD all lit up Singapore looks like the modern, sophisticated, business focused, international hub that it is and why so many businesses are moving to Singapore at the expense of Europe and America.

Linkin Park top the bill of musical entertainment – another innovative part of the whole F1 experience in Singapore . All free when you buy an F1 ticket. Personally I did it the other way around, bought the F1 ticket to see Linkin Park and gained a free race on top! 

Chris Reed, Regional Partnerships Director (Asia), Partnership Marketing