Data Drivers: Marketing lessons from Formula One legend Mark Webber 

As it turns out, marketing and professional racing share a lot of similarities - they’re both fast paced, data-driven and always employing new technology to get the best results. Ahead of ADMA’s Global Forum on March 29, keynote speaker Mark Webber talks us through the key learnings from his Formula 1 career and how marketers can apply them successfully. 

Dan Richardson, Head of Data, ANZ, Yahoo

Art and science is a winning combination 

Mark says: In my early days in racing we had a lot of software issues and a lot of code issues. Back then code was relatively unknown and difficult to run. But the people we had involved from the start were phenomenal individuals - people who understood how to make a highly technical piece of machinery run efficiently and reliably. 

The knowledge we had was really turbocharged through the 2000s. The question became: how do we stay ahead of it? This was fed by the human desire to continue to stretch the boundaries of peak performance. We would have a collaboration between scientists and race engineers pushing the car to its limits, and the driver wanting to be involved too.  

By pushing the car right to its absolute capacity, it opened up a whole new envelope of data that needed to be read and captured. Sometimes it was not what we expected. So the best engineers had to go out into the real world to solve the big problems.  

Some shied away from dealing with the big issues. They'd say the wind tunnel tests turned out fine. But there's no race won in a wind tunnel. All races are won in the real world. So the key is to find the right balance. 

Marketer Takeaway: In elite level sport, as in business, a combination of rich data and human creativity are the keys to success. Now more than ever it’s essential to have a coherent first party data strategy. But the insights you glean from your data will bear more fruit when allied with a thorough creative strategy. 

Partner with the innovators and strive for agility  

Mark says: There is no denying that Mercedes and especially Red Bull are leading the way when it comes to Formula 1 technology. And their success is borne out through the teams - they have over 1000 people now employed to run two cars, including special project divisions within their F1 operations. 

Looking more deeply, RedBull has RedBull Technology, so they have access to anything from yachting or sailing contracts through to specific time trial cycling bikes. They have connections to so many industries and are always looking for that advantage and cutting edge performance. 

Formula 1 is an incredibly agile sport. Where normal tenders can get bogged down in bureaucracy, Formula 1 teams are renowned to work at incredibly quick speeds to crack problems.  

And that's where our biggest advantages are as an industry lies, because we just don't like taking no for an answer. And we are brilliant on deadlines. These principles are equally important in any business. 

Marketer Takeaway: With the marketing landscape changing rapidly, businesses that embrace an agile mindset will set themselves up for a successful future. And if your business is lacking core capabilities, then look for innovative partners who can elevate your offering.  

Adopt a test and learn mindset using rich data 

Mark says: It’s really important in Formula 1 that there is confidence around making the right calls.  

Today there is incredible software used to test racing scenarios in play, giving teams the ability to make the right calls on the fly, with an incredible amount of historical data to back up that decision. What it does is demonstrate where we've seen these scenarios before, and of course, increases the chance of making the right call to outsmart the opposition. 

We now have thousands of simulated Grands Prix running live during races, showing the scenarios you may see, up to the 10 second mark. Most teams will have about six or seven people constantly analysing these scenarios and, as it goes by in real time, different options will start to be eliminated. 

I find it fascinating that the right decision is always a moving target. As a race is going on, everyone's trying to out-strategise each other, but the people who have the best war chest are those with the ability to extrapolate clean and meaningful data.  

There are always going to be situations that make us nervous in a professional sense, especially when it comes to making decisions. So any data that your team can invest in to make sure those calls are made confidently is vitally important. 

Marketer Takeaway: It’s a competitive advertising environment today and incremental gains can make a huge difference for brands. Don’t be afraid to properly interrogate your data to achieve an edge. Being curious about new methodologies to test data is a sound business philosophy for 2022. 

If you want to hear more of Mark’s experiences as a Formula 1 trailblazer, grab your tickets to ADMA’s Global Forum on March 29-30 right here.