Vodafone McLaren Mercedes VIP

Hosted VIPs and media at the garage of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes at the largest outdoor event in Budapest to date.

Situation

Vodafone celebrated the completion of their network development project with a large event in downtown Budapest that inspired the audience to try something new using the upgraded mobile network. The key element of the event on the 1^st of May was Jenson Button’s demo run with a 2011 Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 car and related activities.

Task

Café Communications managed the local public relations and media tasks. Their client service team invited me to join the group of people who worked on this special project because of my previous experiences in the field of motorsports and strong connections to the people involved in this scene. My specific role was advising them on media relations, take part in events and most importantly host media and VIP guests at the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes garage.

Action

This was a strictly confidential project right until the official announcement a few weeks before the actual event took place which meant that even the internal discussions needed due diligence. On the site it was crucial to cooperate closely with the event directors, representatives of Ignite London, McLaren Racing as the timeframe was very tight, and several parts of the car was absolutely state of the art.

Result

Once in a lifetime opportunity for VIPs and media to gain access to a current Formula 1 car under controlled but still friendly circumstances. Press coverage emphasised that the car was real and authentic that further underlined Vodafone’s and McLaren’s credibility and commitment.