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In an interview with Campaign Asia-Pacific magazine, Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone declared the sport does not need to chase a younger audience.
The 84-year-old Briton believes it is difficult to ascertain what exactly the youth market wants and that in any case they are the wrong target audience for many of F1's big sponsors such as Rolex, UBS, Mercedes, Ferrari and others.
“I don't know what the so-called ‘young generation' of today really wants,” the controversial Ecclestone told reporter Atifa Silk.
“You ask a 15 or 16-year-old kid, ‘What do you want?' and they don't know. The challenge is getting the audience in the first place.”
Ecclestone continued: “You have a brand that you want to put in front of a few hundred million people, I can do that easily for you on television. Now, you're telling me I need to find a channel to get this 15-year-old to watch F1 because somebody wants to put out a new brand in front of him? They are not going to be interested in the slightest bit.
“Young kids will see the Rolex brand, but are they going to go and buy one? They can't afford it. Or our other sponsor, UBS - these kids don't care about banking. They haven't got enough money to put in the bloody banks anyway. Most of these kids haven't got any money. I'd rather get to the 70-year-old guy who's got plenty of cash. That's what I think,” the billionaire explained.
The owner of the F1 commercial rights admitted that the sport needs to make better use of social media to promote itself.
He also conceded that today people have a bigger range of activities to spend their free time on.
“You're right that we should use social media to promote Formula One. I just don't know how,” Benie Ecclestone said.
“They say the kids watch things on [tablets and phones], but it doesn't mean they're watching F1. And even if they are today, will they still watch it when they are 40?
“The world has changed so much in the last few years, and I doubt that's going to stop. But with all the technology out there are limits to what we can do and the amount of time people can watch something,” the Briton said.
The 84-year-old Briton believes it is difficult to ascertain what exactly the youth market wants and that in any case they are the wrong target audience for many of F1's big sponsors such as Rolex, UBS, Mercedes, Ferrari and others.
“I don't know what the so-called ‘young generation' of today really wants,” the controversial Ecclestone told reporter Atifa Silk.
“You ask a 15 or 16-year-old kid, ‘What do you want?' and they don't know. The challenge is getting the audience in the first place.”
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| Bernie Ecclestone (Photo: René Fagnan) |
Ecclestone continued: “You have a brand that you want to put in front of a few hundred million people, I can do that easily for you on television. Now, you're telling me I need to find a channel to get this 15-year-old to watch F1 because somebody wants to put out a new brand in front of him? They are not going to be interested in the slightest bit.
“Young kids will see the Rolex brand, but are they going to go and buy one? They can't afford it. Or our other sponsor, UBS - these kids don't care about banking. They haven't got enough money to put in the bloody banks anyway. Most of these kids haven't got any money. I'd rather get to the 70-year-old guy who's got plenty of cash. That's what I think,” the billionaire explained.
The owner of the F1 commercial rights admitted that the sport needs to make better use of social media to promote itself.
He also conceded that today people have a bigger range of activities to spend their free time on.
“You're right that we should use social media to promote Formula One. I just don't know how,” Benie Ecclestone said.
“They say the kids watch things on [tablets and phones], but it doesn't mean they're watching F1. And even if they are today, will they still watch it when they are 40?
“The world has changed so much in the last few years, and I doubt that's going to stop. But with all the technology out there are limits to what we can do and the amount of time people can watch something,” the Briton said.