In 2004 Gulf Air became the inaugural sponsor of the Bahrain Grand Prix, as part of a major drive to refresh the airline and promote awareness of its new routes and services, as well as supporting Bahrain as a Middle East destination in line with the overall national objectives of hosting the GP. The team had a short lead-in time to pull together the strategy and tactical elements that would address a range of media audiences; from the international travel and lifestyle media to the F1 and global sports media and aviation industry media.