Bernie Ecclestone Is Not as Out-of-Touch as He Seems on Social Media

Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone is very good at a few things. His particular skills include making money, growing a business and getting people upset, not necessarily in that order.

His list of ill-considered quotes is lengthy, from the time he compared women to household appliances to his expression of some admiration for Adolf Hitler's ability to get things done.

Last week, Ecclestone made headlines again for an interview with Atifa Silk of Campaign Asia-Pacific magazine. In the interview, Ecclestone suggested that F1 does not need to worry about attracting younger fans and that he does not see any value for F1 in social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.

Mark Thompson/Getty Images

When Ecclestone says something like this, there is a temptation to think, "He's 84 years old...he's a dinosaur. He doesn't know what he's talking about." And it's true, to an extent. F1 has not embraced the new forms of media as quickly as they should have, but that does not mean the sport never will.

Like all of us, Ecclestone makes mistakes. He misspeaks. He has probably said things he regrets (or maybe not—all publicity is good publicity, after all). But in terms of the business of F1, history has proven him correct. He, like Kimi Raikkonen, knows what he is doing.

There are already small signs of change. This season, for example, at the start of each televised F1 session, a small message appears at the bottom of the screen saying, "Join the conversation," followed by a Twitter hashtag for the race.

Clearly, Ecclestone does see some value in fans engaging on Twitter.

And if you read the full interview in Campaign Asia-Pacific, not just stopping at the headline-grabbing, no-value-in-social-media quote, the F1 CEO actually says there is value in the medium. "We should use social media to promote F1," Ecclestone says. "I just don’t know how."

Twitter

But there are a lot of social media experts who do know how, and it appears Ecclestone is tapping into their knowledge. BBC F1 pundit James Allen wrote on his personal website that Ecclestone is exploring social media and how it could affect the current F1 business model.

"He knows that he needs to embrace it, the problem is he’s nervous about letting the genie out of the bottle and losing control of the value in the TV rights that he has sold at a high price to broadcasters like SKY," Allen wrote.

"That’s why F1 has now got a social media department at Ecclestone’s base in Princes Gate."

Progress!

However, his comment to Silk that F1 does not need to attract younger fans because they cannot afford the products of F1's biggest sponsors is more unsettling.

If F1 cannot attract younger viewers, who will watch the races when "the 70-year-old guy who's got plenty of cash"—as Ecclestone referred to his target market in the Campaign Asia-Pacific interview—is gone?

Maybe he thinks that people will suddenly become F1 fans in their 30s or 40s, after they make their first million. But it would be so much better to capture their interest by engaging them at a young age and nurturing lifelong fans...fans who, rich or not, will buy tickets, merchandise and watch the races on TV.

Or maybe Ecclestone is using that time-honoured parenting trick of reverse psychology, hoping that by telling kids he doesn't care if they watch F1, they will actually want to.

"

Just in case you were wondering... we love social media at McLaren & we love young #F1 fans too! #McLarenNextGen pic.twitter.com/KCOqaUuzNI

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 14, 2014"

Either way, F1 will have to attract new fans at some point. If F1 does not engage them, another sport will.

Formula One does have an amazing product—the racing this year has been spectacular and the next-generation technology in the sport is fascinating. The key is to get that product in front of potential fans.

And where are those potential fans? On Facebook, Twitter and a variety of other social media sites.

F1 is a big ship that is slow to turn, but Ecclestone is turning it. The only question is: Will he turn it quickly enough?

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