Welcome back to The Activation, creative and activation intelligence for modern sports sponsorship.

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

Writer - Rich Johnson

ACTIVATION SPOTLIGHT

One of the most well-documented aspects of F1’s rise in the last 8 years has been its success in attracting female fans to the sport.

According to the 2025 Global F1 fan survey, female fans account for 3 in 4 new fans, and skew younger, with almost half of all Gen Z respondents being women.

It’s clear that the social fluency and openness of F1 channels, the teams and the drivers are playing a key role in this.

And so, it’s been refreshing to see a plethora of new brands enter the space, understanding the opportunity. 

One particular partnership has grabbed our attention at Activation HQ.

The first dedicated skincare brand in F1

Elemis signed with Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team in February 2025, becoming the first dedicated skincare brand to partner with an F1 team.

The multi-year deal targets head-on these shifting demographics in F1.

Activation strategy

I feel Elemis focused their entire activation strategy around one overarching principle: experiences over exposure.

Get products in hands (and on faces), not just logos on screens.

No gatekeeping.

Their activation strategy to date has been a masterclass of leveraging the physical - pop-up experiences, retail integrations and integrating ambassadors - they have embraced the world of F1 and Aston Martin F1’s IP.

Lets break down the key elements.

Partnership alignment

Every good partnership starts with some foundational fundamentals.

For Elemis x Aston Martin this relationship seemed to be born from two key elements.

1. Brand alignment of British heritage, innovation and elegance

2. The chance to be the first pure-play skincare brand in F1. 

That first-mover advantage generated immediate media interest simply because the category didn't exist yet.

Press coverage wrote itself - luxury skincare meets elite motorsport and British heritage meets performance innovation.

Targeted luxury

With Elemis as a luxury brand it makes sense to prioritise intimate, high-value touch-points with high-net-worth individuals and influential audiences which F1 serves as a playground to.

Paddock Club treatments embed Elemis directly into race weekends. At the Aston Martin F1 Paddock Club, VIP hospitality guests book treatments between sessions. Guests experiencing the chaos of race day could reset with 10-minute "pit-stop" facials.

I love the fact these solve a real problem: race weekend fatigue, travel stress, sun exposure. The treatment addressed the environment people were actually in.

Monaco yacht activation took luxury positioning further. In May 2025, Elemis set up spa services aboard the Aston Martin F1 team yacht during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Singapore female empowerment event combined luxury with purpose in September 2025. Elemis hosted 170 influential women from business, media and motorsport at Pan Pacific Gardens adjacent to the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Panel discussions featuring Jessica Hawkins (Elemis brand ambassador and the teams Head of F1 Academy) gave the activation substance.

An F1 Car installation constructed from jars of Pro-Collagen Marine Cream gave a standout photo opp.

The targeted approach focused on audiences who influence purchasing decisions far beyond their individual spend.

Creator and ambassador activation

Elemis built a tiered creator program mixing F1 insiders with lifestyle influencers, all activated through experiences.

From F1 presenters like Natalie Pinkham and Ariana Bravo, to fashion and beauty influencers like Annabelle Fleur and those who blur the lines like @shelovestovroom their smart approach to creators has expanded Elemis’ reach beyond traditional beauty circles and authentically into motor sport culture.

Race weekend experiences brought creators into the F1 world properly.

At the Austin GP, Elemis hosted influencers at the Commodore Perry Estate, down the road from Circuit of The Americas. The full weekend featured spa sessions, yoga, golden hour cocktails, and race access. Creators documented luxury wellness experiences naturally.

Strategic gifting extended throughout the season. Carefully curated gift sets featuring Pro-Collagen products in race-inspired packaging arrived before key race weekends. The gifting strategy built ongoing relationships where products became part of creators' actual routines.

Authentic content output follows naturally.

I love the fact they have used beauty content tropes to activate the partnership.

The output from creators extends from “spend the weekend with me” style vlogs to “Get Ready with Me” skincare content centered around a race weekend

Accessible luxury for fans

No gatekeeping means creating pathways for regular fans and customers to experience the brand.

Mobile activations brought the spa trackside. The converted Airstream appeared at Silverstone's British Grand Prix in June, Goodwood Festival of Speed in July and Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August. Each stop offered pit-stop facials and HD skin diagnostics, making luxury treatments accessible beyond exclusive hospitality areas.

Retail pop-ups translated trackside energy into shopping environments. Harrods Knightsbridge ran for a pop up for 3 weeks in May 2025, featuring pit-stop facials and limited-edition co-branded collections.

Singapore's ION Orchard Mall extended the strategy into Asia during the Singapore Grand Prix weekend, bringing the partnership to local consumers who couldn't access paddock hospitality.

Limited-edition products converted interest into purchases. Four co-branded collections (Deluxe, Discovery, Iconic Discovery, and Iconic Skincare) featured Pro-Collagen products in race-inspired travel cases.

Products appeared across Elemis flagship boutiques and the official Aston Martin F1 store, creating year-round revenue beyond race weekends.

Parts of this strategy you should steal

First-mover advantage - Elemis generated media interest by being the first skincare brand in F1. Can you create a category instead of competing in one.

Tiered experiences - Ultra-luxury for influencers, creator experiences for content, accessible touchpoints for fans. Three distinct layers serving different objectives.

Authentic ambassadors - Natalie Pinkham brought motorsport credibility, not follower count. Choose ambassadors embedded in your sport's culture.

Product as activation - Every touchpoint delivered actual Elemis treatments. Solve real problems like race fatigue and travel stress.

Repeatable formats - The “Pit stop facials” experience works at Silverstone, Goodwood and Pebble Beach. Paddock Club treatments scaled across race weekends. Design assets that function in multiple contexts.

No gatekeeping - Yacht spas for UHNW guests, retail pop-ups for customers, mobile spas for fans. Elemis did exclusivity and accessibility simultaneously.

Experience-driven content - Austin weekend retreats generated authentic creator content because the experiences were genuine.

Don’t rely on the athletes - One aspect you may have noticed, the drivers really haven’t been involved - Elemis have leveraged the world around the talent.

HIDDEN GEMS

Highlighting some recent standout sports marketing that hasn’t been plastered all over LinkedIN

▶ New partnership announcement: Bero x Aston Martin F1: Sticking with Aston Martin F1 they have just announced a deal with Tom Hollands non-alcoholic beer challenger Bero.- “It’s always been Aston Martin” is the main message behind this partnership and honestly I’m here for it. No doubt as much an tactical alignment for Aston Martin more than the cash and honestly I love it and it feels a great fit.

▶Defender x Yussef Dayes: I’ve been really liking Defender’s approach to partnerships this year, opting for impact and more diverse opportunities. Such as with Oasis, Womens Rugby World Cup and just announced Jazz drummer Yussef Dayes. Yussef oozes style and gets content (this being on my youtube playlist rotation all year), and I predict we’ll see more major traditional brands opting to build equity across well executed niches with defined style. Rights-holders and athletes this is who you’re competing against.

▶ If you can’t be official, be banned: I caught this piece of short-form on my feed from trainer brand APL. Whilst they are an official partner of Red Bull Racing the content is in context of how their basketball shoe is banned by the NBA. It reminded me how being banned is a great strategy. Pioneered by Nike x Jordan decades ago and still as relevant today. I think more challenger brands would do well to be banned.

Tell us what partnership do you want us to breakdown next?

We read every response!

See you next time,

Rich Johnson & The Activation team