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SPORTS MARKETING
Sports brand Puma revs up its marketing with a new F1 deal from 2024
By our News Team | 2023
Brand will create fanwear that targets Formula 1’s different audiences with lifestyle and motorsport collections.
Sports company Puma and Formula 1 have signed an agreement which will make the German-based company the official supplier at Formula 1 races, granting it the right to produce F1 branded apparel, footwear and accessories.
Puma will also equip Formula 1 staff at track and create Formula 1 fanwear that targets the sport’s different audiences with lifestyle and motorsport collections. The contract includes exclusive rights to sell F1 fanwear – and fanwear of all 10 competing teams – around the race circuit, starting in 2024.
Photo courtesy of Puma
The company has a long and successful history in motorsport. It has developed fireproof overalls, race shoes and other high-performance racing gear for F1 drivers since the mid-1980s – as well as teamwear, fanwear and lifestyle collections for the sport’s most successful teams.
Today, it is a leading provider of race gear and lifestyle collections in motorsport with partners such as Mercedes AMG Petronas F1, Scuderia Ferrari, Alfa Romeo F1 Team Stake, BMW M Motorsport and Porsche Motorsport.
Experiencing a sharp rise in popularity
“Formula 1 has seen a sharp rise in popularity in recent years, with its fanbase becoming younger and more diverse,” Puma says in a media statement.
“Cumulative TV audiences have … grown to reach 1.5-billion viewers [and] race attendance also reached record levels in 2022, with the sport continuing to grow on social media. The partnership provides Puma with the opportunity to augment its established dominance in the sport by appealing to a broader fan base, tap into more diverse consumer groups, and bring the inspiration of on-track gear to off-track fashion.”
According to Puma CEO Arne Freundt, it has become the “most authentic and credible” sports brand in motorsports.
“The influence of motorsport, and Formula 1 in particular, on sports- and streetwear culture has significantly increased in recent years,” he says.
“Our new partnership with Formula 1 is an exciting opportunity to further explore this blend of motorsports and lifestyle. Puma has always sat at the intersection of sports and fashion, and we feel we are in the perfect position to translate the culture of the sport into relevant streetwear collections and drive brand heat with a young, affluent and diverse audience.”
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