Driving to Success at the Las Vegas Grand Prix

When creating a customer appreciation event, Key Meetings and Events (KME) knew they must avoid all the business meeting cliches – windowless conference rooms, endless PowerPoint presentations, flavorless hotel dinners. KME’s client wanted an unforgettable, immersive experience that said to their customers, “thank you, we value your partnership.”

Unlike many organizations, KME’s forward-thinking client recognized how important customer appreciation is when creating loyalty and long-term relationships. “In fact, just 43% percent of B2B firms consider customer satisfaction a key goal.” (Source: Komarketing Associates) By choosing to host a customer appreciation event, KME’s client realized they could differentiate themselves from their competitors and gain significant benefits. “Studies show that organizations that focus on optimizing their customer engagement outperform their competitors by 26%.” (Source: “Giving Thanks: Customer Appreciation Tips,” Juliette Ferraro, 11/21)

Together, the KME team and their client architected a unique program designed to fulfill several objectives:

• Take customers out of the day-to-day
• Deepen relationships
• Build their brand (those who undergo a live brand experience tell an average of 17 other people. Source: WWD, 4/10/19)

It was with these goals in mind that a four day and night experience at the Las Vegas Grand Prix came together with flawless execution in November 2023.

Why an F1 race? Because nothing says “thank you” in a more memorable way than hosting your customers at a once-in-a-lifetime event.

A Pulse-Pounding Event

Imagine $20M cars flying around an urban track at over 200 MPH, sometimes pulling 6Gs as the vehicles hurtle through tight turns. With heart stopping precision the skilled drivers navigate the streets of Las Vegas, including the famed Las Vegas Strip late into the evening, completing 50 laps over three nights. Welcome to Formula 1, commonly known as F1, Vegas style!

It was at the Las Vegas Grand Prix, the city’s first F1 race since the 1982 Caesar’s Palace Grand Prix, that Key Meetings and Events constructed a unique bucket list experience full of the glamor, excitement, and hint of danger that F1 promises.

Las Vegas Grand Prix Event – By the Numbers

The KME team successfully managed:

• Group functions at 4 different restaurants over 4 evenings (Carbone, Javier’s, Catch, Bavette’s).
• 2 activities (biking and golf).
• Golf at 2 different courses (Bear’s Best and TPC Las Vegas).
• Tables at 4 different clubs on 3 different nights (XS, Tao, OMNIA, Marquee).
• A group gathering at the ARIA pool cabanas.
• Attendee swag bags with the company logo including a personalized jacket, hat, F1 book and binoculars.
• 2 different hotels (Bellagio and ARIA).
• 2 different sets of tickets (Bellagio Fountain Club and F1 Skybox Tickets).

A Different Approach to Meetings

There were no business meetings, no PowerPoint presentations, no agenda other than to fully appreciate the excitement, pageantry, and skill on display. KME’s client was intentional in their program design; they focused on spending quality time with guests through a series of laid-back cocktail hours, dinners, and daytime get-togethers to really accentuate enjoying the moment together.

While the Grand Prix was the star, meals, accommodations, and activities had to be orchestrated flawlessly to ensure the magic touched every aspect of an attendee’s time in Las Vegas.

We Can Do Hard Things

Las Vegas was overrun with ~300,000 visitors versus their initial projection of ~100,000 attendees. While the desert mecca is known for handling large numbers of guests, the crush of visitors meant the KME team had to develop workarounds as the city sorted out disconnects between venues and the race. Las Vegas streets, choked with traffic, were impassable.

With a history of hosting complex events where curveballs are not unusual, the KME team took matters into their own hands. They developed a strategy to avoid the worst of the traffic congestion, including hiring a local who knew the roads and the players in Las Vegas. This resulted in attendees being in the right place at the right time, avoiding the traffic snarls that bogged other attendees down.

Several other issues like a hotel data hack and a complex ticketing process caused additional headaches. But thanks to advanced planning and onsite flexibility, these issues were invisible to the attendees.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

It sounds super cheesy, we know, but like an F1 pit crew who’s tasked with doing their jobs precisely and with incredible speed – the fastest F1 pit stop ever recorded took less than 2 seconds – the KME team worked together to maximize coordination, managing to be in several places at once to execute all activities, while keeping the budget within the client’s expectations.

Attendees thoroughly enjoyed themselves, having a once-in-a-lifetime experience, unaware of any struggles happening on the back end.

KME’s client  was so delighted with the success of this event, planning has already begun for the Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024! 

Growing loyalty pays. Remember, it costs 4-5X the amount to acquire a new customer versus retaining an existing one. (Source: Forbes, “Customer Retention versus Acquisition,” 11/22) An important tool companies have in their retention toolkit is bringing customers together at an amazing event. This investment of time and effort demonstrates to customers how much they matter.

As the experts at WWD put it, “Great events create memories. No matter what stage of the buying process… a customer is at, they’ll feel connected to your brand way beyond the event.”