The design process is an important one when it comes to creating both stunning hotels and high-performance race cars. Thanks to Marriott Bonvoy’s partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team, they received incredible access to the team’s famed motorsport designer and engineer, James Allison. Marriott chose to use this time to create content that would bridge these two different worlds through the common language of design. James Allison, as a leader in best-in-class design, would speak to Marriott about how he defines elevated design.
Marriott was also challenged in 2023 to execute a platform test on LinkedIn. Marriott Bonvoy had not yet leveraged LinkedIn as a portfolio or loyalty marketing channel and partnership content had never been tested in the LinkedIn ecosystem. To test and learn, Marriott decided that planned design content with James Allison, and potentially future business leaders across their partnerships, could appeal particularly well to their target thought leadership audience on LinkedIn. Marriott sought to deliver on partnership objectives, but also to grow their emerging LinkedIn presence and audience.
Marriott Bonvoy set out to achieve the following with their partnership marketing on LinkedIn:
Channel growth – Deepen engagement with the LinkedIn audience.
Thought leadership perception – Reach new audiences on LinkedIn and build brand favorability.
Engagement – Drive engagement with the program through storytelling specific to LinkedIn.
To develop this LinkedIn-first partnership content, Marriott prepared with research. Marriott consulted with LinkedIn on top topics their target audience would be interested in hearing more about from James Allison. Marriott used this, as well as social listening on the platform, to develop a list of questions and thought starters for the team’s Technical Director.
Marriott shadowed James Allison at the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS factory in Brackley, United Kingdom to understand where he pulls his inspiration from, and how travel and destinations inspire and rejuvenate him. While he led Marriott through a behind-the-scenes tour, James Allison discussed how design failure can lead to success and innovation. This content was inspiring and highly relevant to Marriott’s high-profile target audience on LinkedIn.
The content Marriott captured was concepted and designed specifically for LinkedIn and cut into a series of videos, which were published and boosted with paid media to Formula 1 fans and thought leadership target audiences.
By understanding what LinkedIn users would find relevant in platform and leveraging an expert to talk through those topics, Marriott was able to integrate LinkedIn into a partnership strategy in a way that had not been done before. James Allison is the pinnacle of creativity and innovation from an engineering perspective and having him speak to how he can maintain that level of expertise, as well as how travel often drives it, could inspire individuals striving to achieve the same within their workplaces.
After initial results on LinkedIn were promising, Marriott decided to take their LinkedIn partnership content further. In 2023, Formula 1 had its first Las Vegas Grand Prix, to much excitement from fans. At the Grand Prix, Marriott Bonvoy hosted a panel, titled “Fast Cars and Industry Stars,” featuring a discussion between Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team Principal and CEO Toto Wolff, and former Oakland Raiders CEO Amy Trask (representing another of Marriott Bonvoy’s sports partnerships with NFL). Content captured at this panel was cut into additional edits for promotion on LinkedIn following the Grand Prix and ahead of Super Bowl LVIII, also in Las Vegas.
Marriott saw double the LinkedIn engagement rate benchmark on the James Allison content. Video view rates and video completion rates also exceeded LinkedIn benchmarks. This confirmed for Marriott that their LinkedIn audience was authentically interested in hearing about the technical aspects of their partnership with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS. Top companies reached included Microsoft, Google, PXC, Amazon, and JPMorgan.
In Q4, Marriott added new custom content captured at the Las Vegas Grand Prix and results improved further. Video view rate increased by 29% in Q4 and video completion rate increased by 26% in Q4. Followership increased 10K in 2023, with the majority being attributed to this initiative.
Marriott achieved their goal of demonstrating thought leadership through a partnership with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula 1 Team on LinkedIn thanks to content created specifically for the platform that spoke to topics that authentically appeal to their target audience. Their test-and-learn approach to tackling LinkedIn content paid off, and they are continuing to innovate in the LinkedIn space in 2024.
With this campaign on LinkedIn, Marriott achieved:
Channel growth – Followership increased 10K in 2023 on LinkedIn.
Thought leadership perception – Top companies and job titles (i.e. VP and higher) reached matched Marriott’s ideal target audience.
Engagement – Engagement rates on all content exceeded, and oftentimes at least doubled, LinkedIn benchmarks.
