Extreme E’s worldwide acclaim is no accident. Besides a titanic effort in terms of organization and logistics to ensure the project becomes a reality, spreading the message and alliances achieved are a very important element.
The competition’s marketing since its launch has been essential, and a key player has emerged as the driving force behind the competition.
He is Ali Russell, a workhorse in marketing and communications dedicated to promote an idea that many thought was crazy in its early days.
Long experience
The Briton’s appearance on the scene was not an improvisation, as he has a distinguished career, especially in sports. And in those experiences not related to any discipline, sustainability and social responsibility were always in his path.
In 1995, Russell began his journey with organizations that had a vision of protecting the environment. So, he joined Tetra Pack, a company specializing in packaging development to protect nutritional value as well as the taste of products inside them.
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Then, in 1998, he made a career breakthrough that would catapult him. He joined Coca Cola’s team in London. There he worked as marketing director, a position he occupied for three years.
A landing in sports
After major experiences at Coca Cola and Tetra Pack, Russell turned his focus to sports marketing. He started his career in this field when joining Edinburgh’s rugby team, which marked a milestone in his professional life.
That was his starting point to join solid institutions such as English Premier League’s Queens Park Rangers, ranked as one of the best tournaments in soccer worldwide.
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He was also part of Rangers Soccer Club in Glasgow, Scotland, one of the most winning teams along with Celtic. After six years of advising organizations in that discipline, Russell moved on to other competitions.
Moving into new-age motorsport
Ali Russell switched companies on several occasions, but never gave up on his vision for sustainability and fighting climate change. This is how in 2012 he began his electric motorsport experience, joining Formula E.
In early 2014, the world got to know the first 3.44-kilometer, 20-turn circuit in Beijing’s Olympic Park. Since then, Russell has been widely credited with grabbing TV channels’ interest and contracts were signed with Fox, ITV, CCTV, Canal+, Sky Deutschland and Mediaset.
With just two years of racing, Formula E has signed deals with more than 200 broadcasters around the world and viewing figures are impressive. The decisive E-Prix races in recent years have attracted approximately 1.2 million viewers.
Alongside Formula E, Russell faces new challenges with Extreme E, a successful project with two impressive days seen in all corners of the world, through partnerships with various broadcasting platforms.
Russell’s latest coup so far is the contract signed with National Geographic to broadcast interesting content related to the series of electric sports cars throughout Latin America.
Written by I Jhonattan González
