November ’22 – December ’22
London, UK
Taking into consideration the context, the question that arises is:
How might we make motorsports more accessible for Black youth?
In order to best address this question, parameters were chosen to frame the following steps. Since a considerable portion of time is spent at home and in school, which happen to be the places where they interact with their main influencers.
Acting within already existing environments is key to introducing the industry, as it does not require extra logistics and planning in terms of transport and external spaces.
My course of action was to target both Black youth in primary and secondary education and their main influencers such as their parents and teachers. Creating a proposal that directly involves their key influencers for primary education and that focuses on increasing visibility of career possibilities in secondary education. Which I paired with a striking campaign questions: “What do they want to be when they grow up?” / “What do you want to be when you grow up?” to create a conversation about the topic, engaging both Black youth and their parents.
Strategic proposal and communications campaign
Role: campaign research & strategist
The Brief
To make the world of motorsports visible and to highlight potential career pathways in Formula 1, speaking to new audiences, thus creating new spaces and myriad ways for the next generation of young people to see themselves in this habitually exclusive space.
The Context
There is a lack of representation in UK motorsports; it is estimated that less than 1% of people working in the industry are Black (The Hamilton Commission, 2021). This stems from a variety of factors, such as a lack of geographical access, discrimination in the education system and, for youth, a lack of support from their main influencers (parents, teachers, siblings). This is a key point as youth spend a significant amount of time both at home and school. With 635 hours / year (primary education) and 714 hours / years (secondary education) in school.
Furthermore, research shows that as young Black people grow up, their interest in the industry fades or the belief that they can succeed within it. When asked if they wanted to work in motorsports, the number of youth that said yes significantly dropped between the ages of 11 to 19. The three main causes are that 1. they did not know what to do to enter the industry, 2. they felt it was not for them and 3. there were no role models to inspire them.
Research & Ideation
The proposal
Primary Education
1. Chassis building workshops + competitions
2. Factory Visits
3. Directed Parental Support Groups
Secondary Education
1. Career Fairs
2. Industry Talks
3. Extracurricular Support
Visual Curation
