Santander x Formula 1 Sponsorship
Applied Client Project
In Spring 2025, as part of American University’s Master’s in Marketing program, we collaborated with RedPeg Marketing on an applied client project for Santander. Our task was to design a 360-degree marketing strategy to maximize Santander’s U.S. partnership with Formula 1 and Williams Racing. With a $500,000 assumed budget, our plan needed to drive awareness, deliver unique fan activations, and position Santander as a leader in financial empowerment within the motorsports industry.
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I worked in a three-person team where responsibilities were shared equally in an “all-hands” approach. My primary contributions included shaping campaign messaging for clarity and consistency, developing experiential activation concepts, and ensuring that every tactic aligned with Santander’s financial empowerment mission and U.S. market goals.
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Santander faced the challenge of transforming its global motorsport sponsorships into a meaningful impact in the U.S. Formula 1’s popularity is surging in the U.S., yet many fans remain unfamiliar with Santander’s brand. The key opportunity was to leverage the F1 and Williams Racing platforms to connect with affluent U.S. consumers, enhance brand recognition, and create authentic fan-first experiences that linked motorsport passion with financial growth.
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We began by analyzing Santander’s sponsorship assets—IP rights, trackside branding, fan village space, and hospitality packages—and mapping them against F1’s U.S. race markets (Miami, Austin, Las Vegas). To ensure broad national appeal, we created a multi-channel strategy with four pillars:
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Experiential Activations – Interactive fan village activation featuring “Openbank Paddock Cafe”, interactive roadmap kiosks, and custom giveaways, seamlessly blending the thrill of F1 with financial empowerment.
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Digital Engagement – A fan-designed Williams Racing livery contest (“Design the Drive”) and social-first video content to build buzz beyond race weekends.
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VIP & Hospitality – Curated premium experiences that replicate the Santander Cafe in Miami and on-site Santander representatives.
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Integrated Storytelling – Campaign messaging centered around “You’re in the Driver’s Seat” to position Santander as a partner helping customers take control of their financial journeys.
Every idea was evaluated against Santander’s need to add value to the fan experience, reinforce trust in financial services, and showcase innovation.
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Our final campaign proposal, “You’re in the Driver’s Seat,” integrated digital, experiential, and hospitality channels into a cohesive brand story. We delivered a comprehensive marketing plan, including activation concepts, messaging frameworks, a tactical timeline, and KPIs to measure impressions, engagement, and brand lift. The plan balanced nationwide reach with localized U.S. race activations, ensuring Santander would “own” its role as the financial partner of motorsport fans.
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The project received strong, positive feedback from the RedPeg team, who commended the clarity of our storytelling and the feasibility of our experiential concepts. The final deliverable demonstrated a practical, execution-ready approach that aligned with Santander’s sponsorship objectives and offered scalable ideas to increase brand awareness in the U.S. Formula 1 market. While this was a simulation, our campaign design reflected real-world strategy used in global sports marketing, as we even saw a very similar activation at the British Grand Prix after our proposal.
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This project reinforced the importance of striking a balance between creativity and clarity—especially in high-stakes sponsorship marketing. I learned how vital it is to craft ideas that are both bold and operationally feasible, while always keeping the fan experience at the center and differentiating yourself from other brands.