Winning Hearts and Minds with Hardcore Data
Long before Drive to Survive turned Formula One into a Netflix reality show, we were handed a brief from the McLaren racing team.
Formula One was already huge. But despite being one of the world’s biggest sports, it had a slightly unusual relationship with its fans.
Millions watched. But relatively few supported a specific team.
Sure, they debated tactics. Developed strong opinions about tyre compounds. Even had favourite drivers.
But teams? Not so much.
It was almost as if it did not matter which colour car was hurtling past the finish line.
Which was a problem. Especially if you were McLaren.
Because the more fans a team had, the more valuable it became to sponsors. And the more sponsorship money it attracted, the more it could invest in making its cars go faster.
So our challenge was simple enough. Turn impartial Formula One viewers into dedicated McLaren fans.
Formula One fans may not always be loyal to a particular team. But they are still obsessed. With the technical details. Give them tyre strategy, radio chatter, G-force data or brake temperatures, and they are all in.
So we wondered what might happen if McLaren became the one team willing to give it to them. Surely that would earn a little loyalty.
So began The Race 1.0b, a real-time digital companion offering fans a level of behind-the-scenes access they could not get from the live broadcast.
Understandably, there was some hesitation.
Formula One is a sport measured in fractions of a second, so teams are generally not keen to share potentially useful information willy-nilly. But we convinced McLaren that the benefits were worth the risk.
So on race day, we connected their 750-horsepower racing cars directly to the internet, giving fans access to an eye-watering amount of data.
The kind of thing that is boring in science class, but considerably more exciting when hurtling round a track at 200mph.
Alongside the raw data, fans could access live race updates, team radio and insights from the drivers and pit crew.
Together, it gave them a new way to follow the race. Not just as spectators. But through McLaren’s eyes. Turning access into allegiance.
One race at a time, neutral viewers began edging towards McLaren fandom. Admittedly, having Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button behind the wheel also helped.
The success of the first season meant we got to keep tinkering. More data. More functionality. Even more ways for fans to get involved.
The Race 1.0b also picked up some fans amongst award juries, winning a Gold Pencil at The One Show Awards.
But perhaps the greatest compliment came the following season, when other teams started copying us with versions of their own.
Suddenly, it was not just about which team had the fastest car. It was also about which one could give fans the best seat in the digital grandstand.
