The Ritz-Carlton is the official hotel partner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.
The partnership raises exciting possibilities. Each side represents how an organization operates at the top of its field — the service, celebration, relaxation and incredible destinations of The Ritz-Carlton, and the high speed, athleticism, and precision engineering of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. For 2023, The Ritz-Carlton wanted to bring these pieces together and build awareness of the partnership like never before — the question was, how best to do it?
The answer arrived in a new strategy, focused on high-profile experiential events executed around the world during the 2023 Formula One Season.
Through in-person and on the ground activations, The Ritz-Carlton and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team could become the center of attention in key markets throughout the 2023 Formula One season. From a VIP party in South Beach to live painting a Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One car in Budapest with George Russell, Ritz-Carlton hotels could become engines of buzz and excitement on race weekends. These activations would create unforgettable experiences for fans and guests on the ground, social content geared to the next-gen luxury consumer, and rich opportunities to garner earned media and PR.
2023 represented the biggest year to date for the partnership between The Ritz-Carlton and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team. Each of the below activations included social-first content shared on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, in addition to the real-world events that were executed at hotels and racetracks around the world.
Select activations include:
The Silver Arrows Lounge — this reimagined Paddock Club space brought the service and style of The Ritz-Carlton trackside for select race weekends across the 2023 F1 Season.
Continuation of the Travel Poster Series — travel posters created by The Ritz-Carlton Artist Partner Louis-Nicolas Darbon inspired by the experience of race weekends across the F1 season. For 2023, poster artwork was offered to sale for charity, beginning with a special event at The Ritz-Carlton, Mexico City.
The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne opening — scheduled to open during The 2023 Australian Grand Prix, opening festivities at The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne included a special tour of the downtown hotel by its designers for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Driver Lewis Hamilton.
The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach and The Miami Grand Prix — custom Ritz-Carlton wrapped G-wagons drove the streets, and a VIP party shared the South Beach nightlife with guests.
The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest, and The Hungarian Grand Prix — While Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Driver George Russell met an adoring crowd outside The Ritz-Carlton, Budapest, Artist Partner Louis-Nicolas Darbon gave life-size replicas of the Mercedes W14 race car an ice-cream themed summer paint job.
To evaluate the impact of this partnership, the most important KPIs are VTR (Video Thruplay Rate) and Impressions. Based on these metrics, the partnerships has performed above expectations throughout 2023:
Highest-profile hero videos from The Ritz-Carlton from events have produced a VTR well-above benchmarks - 11%, and the partnership’s experiential events generated well over 10 million cumulative impressions.
At the end of a season full of exciting, innovating, and unforgettable events, The Ritz-Carlton’s experiential strategy to leverage its partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 let it cross the finish line in pole position.
