- Hessey to report into Jeff Meeson, MD of Europe
- Role will include working across F1, MotoGP, Nascar, WRC, Formula E, and Supercars
The Octagon agency has appointed Camilla Hessey as its new head of motorsports for Octagon Europe.
Hessey will be responsible for the creation, development and execution of sponsorships, marketing strategies, and campaigns for Octagon’s clients across motorsports.
She will also work to guide brands operating within or seeking entry into the motorsports industry, ensuring strategic commercial growth and impactful market positioning. Hessey will report to Jeff Meeson, managing director of Europe.
Hessey has more than two decades of experience in motorsport, having previously served as the sponsorship director of Formula One for Heineken and leading the commercial partnerships teams for both Red Bull Racing and Williams Racing.
“Formula One has had a significant boom in the last few years, particularly as Liberty came on in 2017 and even in the last couple of weeks [with] the amount of brands that have been announced by teams ahead of the [season] launch event [at the O2],” Hessey told BlackBook Motorsport.
“A lot of the brands we’re seeing are B2C and we’ve seen a big shift in that with LVMH and Lego at the end of last year. Now we’ve got beauty products, which is a newish category to Formula One and the teams. With this drive for B2C brands, this category has opened up that we haven’t seen before.”
Hessey continued: “Netflix has done an incredible thing, it’s put a spotlight on America. We’ve seen … brands out in America very interested in how motorsport is going to impact what they do, and that growth area is a big focus for us this year.
“Of course, you’ve got the big film [Apple’s F1 movie] coming out in June, so what’s that going to do to the sport as well? There’s many landmarks this year we need to be very close to, we need to potentially have a point of view on, but also help and guide our clients and brands through that space in the most effective way we can.”
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Beauty brands have not previously been associated with Formula One due to its history as a male-dominated sport, but the fanbase is shifting. A study from Nielsen Sports found that 41 per cent of Formula One fans are women and the fastest growing fanbase is women aged 16 to 24.
Even so, Hessey noted that the way brands appeal to women who don’t physically attend a Grand Prix is going to be “a real challenge”.
“We need some very smart marketing strategies,” she continued. “One thing brands could focus on is rather than targeting activations around a race, they look at city events, more accessible events that people can come to and you can build that community, which is essentially what female fans are looking for.”
In her new role, Hessey will not just be focusing on Formula One, with Octagon’s motorsport clients including MotoGP, Nascar, the World Rally Championship (WRC), Formula E, and Supercars. For Hessey, MotoGP and Nascar in particular offer significant commercial opportunity going forward.
“Both organisations are incredibly strong, have great leadership, loyal and large fan bases, popular racers, exciting schedules and events, solid TV viewership and attendance numbers, and long-standing partnerships with brands and sponsors,” she explained.
“The significant growth of F1 following Liberty Media’s acquisition speaks to the opportunity potentially ahead for MotoGP, which should continue to fuel popularity.”
Hessey added: “While [the ongoing lawsuit] may prove to be a landmark moment in Nascar’s history, Nascar and the teams involved will ultimately come to a resolution. The commercial appeal of the series, drivers, teams, telecasts and other touchpoints all remain healthy, and will continue to offer unique opportunities to brand sponsors and potential new partners.”
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