As the official hotel partner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, The Ritz-Carlton wanted to bring the superlative style and service of its stays as close to the Grand Prix experience as possible. In collaboration with Mercedes, the result was the trackside Silver Arrows Lounge.
Objectives for this campaign:
The Silver Arrows Lounge arose from a desire to create something new and tangible from The Ritz-Carlton’s partnership with Mercedes — going above and beyond a typical ad campaign to unite the style and service of The Ritz-Carlton and the luxury and thrill of racing from Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One in a dedicated space — an elevated, elegant trackside escape that could honor the spirit of both brands.
At select race weekends across the Formula One season, trackside Paddock Club spaces would receive a pop-up transformation, reimagined with custom details and decor, food and beverage programs, and the highest level of service for attendees.
To bring this vision to life, The Ritz-Carlton and Mercedes turned to trusted designers. Crucial to the execution was selecting elements that would reflect the connection between the brands, from badging down to the most considered detail, heightening awareness of the partnership through a refined and considered setting.
Aside from an incredible view of the action on the circuit, visitors receive an experience akin to visiting a Ritz-Carlton property—an on-site concierge, staff from the The Ritz-Carlton offering gold standard service, haute cuisine, signature cocktails—and finishes that speak to each brand’s dedication to luxury—like brass accents, leather, and tables inlaid with track outlines.
In addition to creating an indelible experience for VIP race guests, the Silver Arrows Lounge also dovetailed with the social and digital content strategy of The Ritz-Carlton. The Silver Arrows Lounge created an additional touchpoint for experiential storytelling during Grand Prix activations to be shared on brand social channels and placements on the web. Content for these channels was created with and featured works by The Ritz-Carlton Artist Partner Louis-Nicolas Darbon — a substantial benefit when opportunities for capturing race content can be otherwise limited.
Across the 2022 season, the Silver Arrows Lounge set the standard for trackside luxury in Miami, Singapore, and Mexico City.
In addition to becoming one of the most sought after ways to experience race weekends, The Silver Arrows Lounge generated interest and excitement in the digital space. Weekend experiences through Marriott Bonvoy Moments received notably high bidding — for the Miami Grand Prix, packages including access to the Silver Arrows Lounge auctioned for a total of nearly 20 million Bonvoy points.
For a deeper dive into the background and story behind the Silver Arrows Lounge, articles were commissioned and featured on The Journey, The Ritz-Carlton’s digital hub for travel inspiration.
Positioning the Silver Arrows Lounge as a social media content anchor point also proved successful, with video posts from the spaces achieving impressive results as part of Grand Prix race and hotel coverage. During the Singapore Grand Prix, content featuring Silver Arrows Lounge content generated over 1.4 million impressions and 280 thousand engagements.
As we crossed the finish line on the 2022 season, the Silver Arrows Lounge offered an outstanding showing, perfectly capturing the partnership between The Ritz-Carlton and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team with a luxury trackside experience, with more to come in 2023.
