Formula One broadcasts to 1.88 billion viewers in 187 countries each year, but the sport's profile is relatively new to Central Texas. As Austin builds the United States' first ever purpose-built Formula One Grand Prix facility, students got an up-close look at what it takes to market an F1 team.

On Jan. 19, Matt Jones, head of marketing services for the Williams Formula One Team, gave a presentation titled "Glamour and Grit: The Marketing of a Formula One Race Team." Jones described the complex strategy that goes into forming team sponsorships and partnerships. Based in the south of England, the Williams F1 team has won 16 Formula One World Championships since its formation in 1977.

The talk was part of the EU-US Distinguished Business and Politics Lecture Series, sponsored by the UT-Austin European Union Center of Excellence, the McCombs-based Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) and the Center for European Studies. The lecture series strives to present lectures that illustrate the importance of business and political relationships between the U.S. and the EU.  

Thanks to a 10-year race contract, Formula One will soon be a regular Austin event, and Jones' insight gave UT students and locals a small taste of the business and marketing work that goes behind each team.

TheAustinGrandPrix.com reported on the talk and the Williams FT team, which has a 20-acre headquarters in southeastern England:

They employ about 500 staff, with a majority of the workforce comprised of engineers. Aside from operations, marketing, reception, design and electronics offices, the site also includes two wind tunnels, a race bay, museum, conference center, stores, research and development and machine shop, to name a few. As the image of corporate powerhouse comes into focus, you realize they do much more than build cars and train drivers.

The Williams Formula One team is the only company that is wholly independent and traded publicly on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (since March 2011).

There was an active Q&A session and reception after Matt’s presentation. Based on the level of feedback from the audience, it was evident that Matt sparked an interest within F1 amateurs and led long-time F1 fans to a better understanding of how teams continue to evolve in today’s marketplace. Matt’s lecture at UT Austin’s EU-US Speaker Series proved to be a great opportunity to engage with varying communities as he offered valuable insight into how Austin’s November Formula 1 race has the potential to elevate Austin throughout the global business community.

Read more about Jones' talk at theaustingrandprix.com.