Building a community of fans.
F1 has millions of global TV viewers but no direct relationship with fans. There was no ecosystem to engage fans, understand their desires, and create better value services. Television reach was no longer enough. If the brand could find a way to build direct relationships with fans, it could unlock growth and gain access to first-party data that could transform the business.
As the fans engaged, we listened, learned and served back more of what they wanted.
Social listening and fan panels confirmed our suspicion. Fans do not see themselves as customers and standard CRM efforts were not going to break through to this audience. For both hardcore and casual fans, a direct line to the drivers, teams, and the sport overall was mandatory. The brand needed to behave like an entertainment brand to truly connect.
We built an F1 community and established an emotional connection with fans beginning with content and free value-added services. We earned the engagement and trust of fans before asking them to subscribe for personalized experiences and customized offers. Each race became an episode in an unmissable drama series, leveraging the drivers, managers, and circuits as the characters. We guided fans into the world through an F1 insider viewpoint. Explainers and ‘story-so-far’ updates brought the stories to life through a hyper-responsive email, push, and overlay programs.
Essentially, we leveraged fan relationship marketing to create long-term engagement and brand building while also providing the ideal context and content for sales activation. A weekly cycle of data enables us to risk a series of innovations that can be tested for relevance against audience data. New services become an extension of fandom and community engagement built on first party data. Innovation becomes business as usual.
Use the form below or drop us an email at [email protected]. We’re always up for a quick text or WhatsApp message too. You can reach us at +1.917.488.6157.