Q&A: The Romans and Heineken rev up their partnership

Two years into their partnership, Jack Moriarty, associate creative director at The Romans, discusses working with Heineken, and their F1 tie-in.

In a recent campaign to mark the renewal of its decade-long partnership with F1, Heineken launched the world's first season ticket for fans of the motorsport. The ‘money-can’t-buy’ carbon fibre card gives the holder (and a plus one) access to every race around the world for the 2026 season.

F1 super fan Brandon Burgess, who made headlines for his attempt to attend every race this year on a strict budget, will become the first season ticket holder, and next year another will be up for grabs.

We talked about this and the broader partnership with Moriarty.

Creative Moment (CM): When did you get involved with Heineken?

Jack Moriaty (JM): We joined Heineken’s global PR agency roster in 2023. As part of our ever-expanding partnership, our remit now also includes working on the Heineken brand's sponsorship platforms, including F1, UCL, UWCL and Padel.

CM: What sort of conversations took place and what did you bring to the table as an agency?

JM: Heineken has sponsored F1 for over a decade, so it was only natural that they wanted to go big to celebrate the renewal of that partnership in a new multi-year deal.

Heineken has always put fans at the centre of its sports and entertainment partnerships, and so, first and foremost, we needed to reach and give back to the F1 community.

That meant really getting under the skin of the conversations taking place in the sport, and then thinking about how we can authentically be a part of it; and that’s where Brandon Burgess came in.

The Heineken team had been following Brandon’s story as he attempted to complete an entire F1 season with just £20,000 while juggling a full-time job. 

We absolutely loved his passion and saw that the F1 community did too. There was so much desire from fans who wished they could follow in Brandon’s footsteps, and that’s what got us thinking; if Heineken is going to be at every race next season, why can’t they be there too?

Ultimately, this campaign was all about understanding the community. Creating the world’s first season ticket for the F1 was a no-brainer from a conceptual perspective, but even the simplest ideas can fall short when they’re not crafted with the target audience in mind. In the end, it paid off as we saw over 1.6k earned media and social coverage with over 800k engagements.

CM: How did you approach designing the assets for the campaign?

JM: Playing with the IP of two of the world’s most recognisable brands is never easy, especially when you’re trying to bring the two together, seamlessly.

We wanted the Season Ticket to feel instantly recognisable to a fan, so we took materials from the car, from carbon fibre, to rivets and even the paint, and used them to craft the ticket. Complete with two Heineken 0.0 bottle caps to signify the fact that the ticket allows the holder to bring a plus one to every race.

We then worked with director Dean Moore to shoot the ticket in the most dramatic style possible. Blending shots of the ticket with epic footage from F1 to give fans a taste of the experience they could unlock.

Across all partners, we had some huge F1 fans behind the scenes, turning the project into a reality. It was incredible to see them respond so positively to the idea.

CM: Any major challenges in the brief, and how did you overcome them?

JM: Being given the chance to work for a brand as iconic as Heineken and F1 is a creative’s dream. But as with any brand partnership, there’s always the fear that an idea can get lost as it’s passed from one stakeholder to another.

Luckily for us, that fear was unnecessary thanks to the strength of the partnership between both brands. Heineken is no stranger to executing campaigns to the highest standard, and it’s no surprise that the brand that puts on 26 races, in 26 cities, is a well-oiled machine when it comes to process.

The passion and care from teams on both sides of the fence made planning a campaign that sends fans across the globe on an F1 mega-trip (which in itself is a bit nuts) incredibly easy… I guess that’s what you get when you’ve built a relationship over a decade.