JMI

The drama surrounding the Formula One World Championship peaked when, on November 2, 2008, Lewis Hamilton won his first World Championship with an overtaking move in the last corner of the last lap of the last race. From that moment, Johnnie Walker's sponsorship of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team commenced an exciting but challenging year.

JMI rose to the challenge of activating and leveraging links to the Formula One World Championship during a global economic recession. Success was achieved through simplification and end-user focus. Appealing and cost-effective global hospitality programs focused on flawless delivery at the "halo" races of Monaco, Singapore, Brazil and Abu Dhabi. Intelligent evolution of track signage delivered more than 20% increases in seconds on screen to more than 188 broadcasters across the globe, at both Monaco and Singapore. Stimulating design supporting show car installations and a focus on more relaxed driver appearances conveyed a personable brand to customers and consumers alike.

Johnnie Walker continued to use motorsports to lead its corporate social responsibility agenda with an innovative program in support of its "Never Drink and Drive" global initiative including major promotions in Spain, Singapore and Brazil. In 2009, JMI also launched its most successful promotion ever for Johnnie Walker Black Label - the chance to win a limited range of 50 signed Lewis Hamilton helmets or one of 150 half-scale Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen signed helmet sets. It increased sales across participating outlets by nearly 60% year-over-year, enhanced profit and drove visibility within the Duty Free division of the business. The Johnnie Walker account ended 2009 strongly with exciting expansion of its core competencies into the global communication and PR space. By aligning all of Johnnie Walker's global F1 marketing and communication services within JMI, including management of double World Champion and Johnnie Walker Global Responsible Drinking Ambassador Mika Häkkinen, 2010 is set to be a great year.