The 5 marketing lessons that made the Woking team's 2024 livery presentation a masterpiece.
It might seem that Mclaren has simply unveiled the new livery on January 16th, but there is a lot to analyze about what the Woking team has achieved with this surprising and perfectly thought-out launch strategy. Let's delve deeper into it.
1. Perfect timing
If you want to capture the attention of an audience it is essential to choose the perfect moment, in this case when all Formula 1 fans are eager for pre-season content, especially if it is about their favorite team. Not only were McLaren followers looking for news on the new car, reposting memes and covering races, but The entire F1 community is in a period where even the smallest piece of news, especially if it suggests what awaits us in 2024, attracts all the attention.
McLaren recognized this opportunity and with a targeted strategy created chaos during the calm, immediately engaging its 22,2 million followers across all channels (with 70% coming from Instagram and TikTok), already marking himself as a winner. Papayas surpassed all of their competitors in terms of Google search volumes, with a very visible spike showing how they came into the spotlight straight away on launch date.
2. A 100% social launch
The most notable aspect of McLaren's 2024 livery launch is its 100% digital and 100% social nature. This choice broke with the conventional launch models of Formula 1 single-seaters, which are usually revealed in one fell swoop, both the car and the livery, and in February, following the dates set by the teams. McLaren, however, has now focused all its attention on social media, fueling a conversation that has involved fans from all over the world, before presenting the official single-seater, the MCL38, on February 14th.
With the deletion of all content on their Instagram profile and suggestions in the form of a reel, they have allowed the public to speculate, share and have the entire social media landscape talking about McLaren generating interest and anticipation for the actual reveal – an approach they have successfully used in 2023 with their post-race reports, The Race According to Social Media, What time respond to the announcement of the 2024 livery.
3. A design chosen by the fans
McLaren's 2024 livery design is perfectly in line with what its fan base he wanted to see. At the end of the 2023 season, the team held a poll to vote for their favorite livery of the year, and Stealth Mode (used during the Singapore and Japanese GPs this year) was the winner.
The choice of color, therefore, was not random. McLaren has put a car on the track that people like Papaya Army, which matches perfectly with one of its main sponsors (which implies less overall weight for the car) and which is once again very digital. Why? Surely there is a good chance that you are reading this article with your phone in dark mode. Today, more than 80% of the population chooses dark mode over light mode, so the colors, contrast and all the elements provided by this campaign will perfectly match the aesthetics of your phone. Brilliant, right?
An aspect that not everyone has noticed is that McLaren is giving a change to its identity, starting with its branding. The team replaced the main font, Space Grotesk, with a bolder and more modern one, which better fits the brand's values: young, dynamic, different and fearless. This change has currently only been applied to social channels, but it could be a sign of a deeper change.
4. Effortless media coverage: McLaren unveils new livery for 2024
Attracting media attention whenever and wherever you want, especially when it comes to traditional publications, is no easy task. During the break, the headlines are crowded with speculation about teams and drivers, in the so-called “Winter Silly Season,” which keeps the paddock active even during the break period. McLaren brilliantly captured the media's interest, giving them what they wanted: facts, reality and a fresh topic to cover. As the only relevant piece of news from a verified source, McLaren's 2024 livery reveal grabbed headlines across all major motorsport publications globally, helping to boost brand awareness.
5. Featured Sponsors:
Money is the engine of teams in F1 (and everywhere else), so they couldn't forget to draw attention to its partners. Revealing the livery, regardless of the car's performance, is also a great strategy to focus on sponsors as they make up (and in some cases enhance) its aesthetics. But at Mclaren they went even further. They created what is commonly called an “Easter Egg” game, allowing you to see hidden details that you might miss when looking at the entire design. This prompted people to zoom in on some of the images, identifying details like the chrome numbers, and also appreciating close-ups that highlighted their partners' logos.
With the launch of the livery, it's clear that McLaren is going all-in for the 2024 season. They know what they can do and they are ready to prove it, as they did with this almost flawless marketing masterclass, this is because, let's face it, the entire Papaya colored car that appeared in the first seconds of the presentation video would have been spectacular.
