Execute break-through, social-first marketing campaigns that are optimized for each social media channel
Across the 2017 NASCAR season, the team developed content that was optimized for engagement and appropriate for each channel, creating a differentiated experience on each. Execution examples aligned with this strategy:
-Significant Facebook live efforts including a produced interview show hosted by Riki Rachtman from Daytona 500 media day and an exclusive interactive segment with drivers following a major competition announcement.
-The day before the Daytona 500, NASCAR launched a video chronicling Dale Jr.'s relationship with his father, set to a Zac Brown Band song. With more than 32M views on Facebook, it's NASCAR's best-performing piece of content ever.
-As part of a growing partnership with Twitter, NASCAR live-streamed one driver's in-car camera via Twitter Live for all 10 NASCAR Playoffs events. On four occasions, the featured drivers drove their cars to Victory Lane, giving Twitter users a real-time view of what it's like to win a race.
-During every Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, a social strategist, video producer, creative designer and members of the social team gathered in a Charlotte social media war room to produce content, churn out GIFs and create easily-digestible graphics, with the main objective of being as in-the-moment as possible in their execution and content delivery. In addition, members of the social team were at-track for each event to capture unique, on-the-ground content.
-Through its popular Our Stories feature, Snapchat exposed millions of users to NASCAR and four of the sport's iconic events. This included "How to Be a NASCAR Driver," where drivers showed off their personal sides a la Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. This Our Story was the result of close collaboration with Snapchat and was unique from others, incorporating footage of drivers shot over several weeks interwoven with graphics.
-NASCAR teamed with the 16 playoff drivers and Twitter to craft unique hashtag emojis that fans could use on the platform during the NASCAR Playoffs. The emojis were so popular with fans that merchandise has been created prominently featuring them.
-NASCAR went all-in on "retro" content for one of the sport's marquee races, the Southern 500. The team developed unique driver and team specific artwork to help bolster the "throwback" aesthetic.
-Throughout the season and particularly at major race events, NASCAR offered fans frequent and unprecedented access behind the scenes via Facebook Live. Highlights included:
-Pre-race shows leading up to the 2017 DAYTONA 500
-Live VR, 360-video of the driver's meeting before the championship finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway
-Facebook Watch page created to support the hit podcast, "The Glass Case of Emotion" hosted by driver, Ryan Blaney.
-The new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship trophy was unveiled exclusively on Instagram with videos to create a page mosaic. This was paired with an Instagram story that shared unique stats and facts about the trophy with animated graphics.
-Double digit growth in engagement and video views compared to 2016
-YoY growth in terms of engagement around key activation windows including season launch (Daytona 500, NASCAR Goes West), NASCAR Salutes and the NASCAR Playoffs
-Media attention to NASCAR's social growth and evolution included over 50 stories across large outlets including SportsBusiness Journal, The Drum, Digiday, Variety, Forbes and SportTechie.
-The Twitter in-car live stream garnered strong interest from sponsors and efforts to monetize the content were exceeded
