Welcome back to The Activation, where we breakdown branded worlds across sports and entertainment.

Our aim, to make you the smartest person in the room when it comes to sports and entertainment sponsorship activation.

Todays edition is sponsored by End Product.

Writer - Eleanor Heenan

Editor - Rich Johnson

When Monster Energy partners with racing drivers, they go big.

Valentino Rossi. Lewis Hamilton. Legends with multiple championships and decades of credibility.

So when they announced a co-branded product with Lando Norris in May 2025, a driver without a single championship (yet), the approach differed from their previous strategy.

In today's newsletter, i’m breaking down how Lando created a visual IP that made this partnership irresistible to Monster and how they activated a campaign around something no other athlete possesses.

Most athlete partnerships start the same way. Sign the deal, then figure out how to blend the athlete's personal brand with the company's product packaging.

It's messy. It rarely looks cohesive. The athlete's logo doesn't typically translate to retail shelves.

It’s a failing in most athlete brands (as highlighted here).

Lando Norris flipped that model.

By the time Monster came calling, he'd already built something they could use immediately: ownable visual intellectual property that worked across every format.

In 2024, Lando and his team created ‘The Blob’, an irregular, vibrant pattern that started on his racing helmet and spread across his entire brand. Merchandise, website, social media, everything. Not just another athlete logo. A signature pattern that functioned as recognisable IP.

Research shows patterns increase brand recognition by 37%. Bright colours boost memory retention in marketing campaigns.

Lando had built the most scalable visual branding asset in modern sports, and he'd embedded it everywhere before Monster showed up.

Most importantly the pattern is platform agnostic.

It works on helmets, clothing, websites and social media with equal impact.

Monster could see it would translate perfectly to cans, retail displays, and campaign materials without modification.

Monster's approach is brilliant in its simplicity. Take what Lando had already built. Integrate it everywhere. Let the recognition do the heavy lifting.

Two months before launch, Monster started posting cryptic teasers. The Blob appeared in their social feeds with no explanation. Fans who knew the pattern immediately connected it to Lando. Speculation built.

May 19 2025: Official announcement of Monster Lando Norris Zero Sugar. The cans completely covered in The Blob. Monster didn't try to blend their branding with Lando'sthey put his visual IP front and centre on retail packaging. This was the key strategic decision.

June 18: Influencer PR boxes shipped, designed to look like Lando's Blob-covered helmet with a can inside. The unboxing content flooded TikTok and Instagram.

July 3: Silverstone was the moment to bring the launch together. Monster wrapped Nissan GTR in the blob and had Lando creating a smokeshow. Lando handed out his branded cans to fans.

July 24: Retail distribution began. Point of Sale materials covered in The Blob appeared in stores. The cans sat in matching displays. Shoppers could spot them from anywhere.

October 10: From the 10th October till the 21st October Monster opened entries to the Monster Energy LN4 Gear Sweepstakes, where fans can enter to win Lando Norris Merch. 

October 14: The Lando Norris Sugar Free Drink launched for a limited time in America.

October 15: From the 15th October till the 18th October there was a Monster x Lando pop-up in build up to the Austin Grand Prix. Lando wen’t down to launch it, signing merch, doing press and meeting fans.

Credit to Chloe Talbot and Lewis Scott for photos

Over 25% of female F1 fans aged 16-24 call Lando their favourite driver. Not because of trophies, because he feels real. He streams on YouTube. Posts behind-the-scenes content. Gets his merch worn by Gen Z artists like Tate McRae.

Here's what separated Lando from drivers with bigger followings: his merchandise consistently sells out within hours of dropping. Not influencer hype. Genuine purchasing power.

Monster could see the data.

His appeal to Gen Z compliments his brand building approach perfectly.

Most personal brands focus on getting known. Lando focused on creating a distinctive visual asset that could live independently across multiple contexts.

When you build visual IP that works without modification across every channel, you're creating commercial infrastructure that partners can plug into immediately - brands love it.

Monster didn't have to invent anything. They recognised what Lando had built and amplified it credibly.

▶ Elevator Music x ON Running: On Running teamed up with YouTube channel Elevator Music to brand an hour long set by Blesstonio. Aesthetics, vibes, energy. Audience and brand expectations for distinct content formats are elevating

▶VCARB’s superb livery launch: High effort, high reward - VCARB launched their Cash App tortoise shell livery with a great spot featuring Caleb Pressley and Shaboozey.

▶ Nike runs Chicago: Nike created some awesome billboards for runners of the Chicago marathon - are they back?

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See you next time,

Rich Johnson