Introduction
Formula E is a global entertainment brand with motorsport at its heart
Formula E’s founding mission was for its race through the streets of the most iconic cities in the world - with a grid full of the best racing drivers and teams around. Their goal was to show just what sustainable mobility was capable of, driving electric vehicles to the fore in the race for a better, cleaner future.
Since making its debut in the grounds of the Olympic Park in Beijing in 2014, Formula E has grown into a global entertainment brand with motorsport at its heart. Now, with 12 teams and 24 drivers on the grid, the championship has become a destination for the world's best motorsport teams and racing talent.
The Challenge
Integrating interactivity into the website and app and driving engagement via on screen TV graphics
They wanted to make their website and app more fan-centric and improve the quality of the race day experience for those not able to attend in person. The ambition was to improve their existing live blog with a range of interactive elements to drive more loyalty. They needed to enable in-house production teams to take complete control of the fan experience, before, during and after each race, all within one easy to use platform. A solution that also supported the use of TV graphics to encourage engagement and display results in real-time was essential.
Selecting a Partner
A flexible real-time content management solution
When choosing a solution, Formula E identified Monterosa / Interaction Cloud as an ideal fit, in part due to its existing suite of Experiences that could be adapted to fit into Formula E’s existing website. This made it the ideal platform to supply the power behind their objectives; to not only increase the number of fans engaging with the sport but also to improve the quality of that experience, bringing best-in-class interactivity and connectivity.
From an operational perspective, Studio – the platform’s real-time content management interface – allows Formula E’s in-house production teams to take complete control of the fan experience. Its APIs futureproof the solution as it enables them to implement automation.
Solution
Building a valuable direct fan relationship
The Live Hub is presented as a constantly updating interactive feed on the Formula E website - similar to social feeds that fans will already be used to. In this case, feeds are curated with unique content and interactive features that can exclusively be found on the Formula E website and app. This is essential, as it fosters a direct relationship between Formula E and their fans, within Formula E’s existing owned and operated website.
The Live Hub can be used as a companion to watching the race on a big screen or as a place to check in on the action at any time, enabling a deeper connectivity with fans throughout. Commentary and social posts are interspersed with light gamification and polling e.g. Who do you think is going to win the race? / Which is your favourite race track or pilot?, and these interactive elements serve to increase engagement.
The platform also supports a TV graphics integration, where a QR code was placed on screen during the race, which encourages fans to download the app. Once on the app, they were able to engage with a range of predictors, the results of which were then fed back into the broadcast, via on screen graphics.
All of this is generate, automate and powered by Monterosa / Interaction Cloud.
Results
Delivering on Formula E’s goals
The goal of the Live Hub experience is to increase traffic and retention on Formula E’s owned and operated digital destinations, resulting in:
Over 479,000 total users users across the tournament
6 mins average dwell time
The Live Hub fulfils the objective of building a direct relationship with its audience via interactivity and immersive content, giving fans a reason to keep coming back to Formula E’s digital platform.
Also, by providing a way to collect and enrich first-party data and insights into its fanbase, this forms the basis of a new route to monetisation via sponsor activations and ecommerce.
Formula E’s Live Hub signifies the first step in a journey to build a deeper, more connected relationship with its fan base - a real community with a two-way conversation that brings fans closer to the action, allows them to express their opinions and participate but also gives Formula E the tools it needs to build a sustainable community. It is an acknowledgement that not all fan engagement should be on social media only and that sports organisations can now deploy platforms like Monterosa / Interaction Cloud to develop and own those direct fan relationships themselves.
+479k
Total users
6mins
Average dwell time
