Grey wins creative duties for Machdar Motorsports' i1 Superseries

The agency's Bengaluru office will work on this account.

Close on the heels of winning the mandate for Dell India, Grey Bengaluru has been awarded the creative duties for the i1 Superseries, the upcoming motorsport racing league, pioneered by Machdar Motorsports.

Apparently, while other agencies were being considered by the authorities on the account, the business was awarded to Grey without a full-fledged pitch process.

Commenting on the appointment of Grey, Darshan M, chief executive officer, Machdar Motorsports, tells afaqs!, "The choice of the agency partner was a crucial decision for us, especially since it's our first season and there's no scope for experiments. We found in Grey a partner who shared our passion for motorsport, and demonstrated the understanding and creative skills required to build the i1 Superseries into a formidable property."

As per industry estimates, the brand's ad spends are around Rs 40 crore.

Hari Krishnan, vice-president, Grey, tells afaqs! that the task ahead for the agency is that of category creation. "The i1 Superseries is an exciting format and is set to change the landscape of motorsports in the country," he says.

The media mix for the upcoming campaign is slated to include heavy use of social media and on-ground activation, besides television, print and outdoor communication.

Recall that a couple of months back, afaqs! reported that the media mandate for this account had been awarded to the Bengaluru-based Disha Communications.

The i1 Supercar Series is a novel racing series, designed specifically for Indian audiences. Teams representing various Indian cities are set to participate in the championship. Two cars will represent each team; one driver will be a certified international motorist, and the other a certified Indian driver.

The series will begin with the maiden season of 10 races held across India, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Malaysia. A total of nine teams and 18 drivers will compete for the title.

Ten Sports is the official broadcast partner for the championship that is scheduled to begin in February, this year.