Bernie Ecclestone needs to be educated on the benefits that social media can bring to a brand, that’s the view of Force India team principal and co-owner Vijay Mallya.
The Indian reckons Formula 1 is missing a trick when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the like, regardless of whether it generates income, purely because Ecclestone has shunned new media in favour of traditional TV.
“What I don’t understand is that Bernie doesn’t want to know about social media – he’s a TV man and that’s it,” Mallya told Autosport.
“Somebody who is qualified enough to persuade him and convince him that social media is something that should be taken seriously would be a nice addition.
“It’s [social media] fantastic. We need someone like that to come and make a presentation to Bernie. Then I think he will be convinced.”
He’s also warned against sudden changes to ‘spice up the sport’ because of a lack of spectators which he reckons can be attributed to other factors, not necessarily popularity.
“Bernie may also be concerned at the lack of live spectator interest, but you cannot immediately ascribe that to the races being unexciting.
“It could be for so many other reasons: ticket prices will influence attendance big-time, and so will weather or other clashing major sporting events – all this has to be factored in.
“You can’t just say: ‘the stands are empty; the sport is not exciting enough’.”
