NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 Secondary Analysis
NASCAR is a racing company based in the United States of America. This company is best known for its stock-car racing, according to Wikipedia. On Facebook, NASCAR does a great job of keeping fans up to date with relevant content. This strength shows in their numbers: 5 million followers on Facebook. On Twitter, NASCAR holds an audience of 3.31 million. This account tweets frequently, but most of the content features copy with very industry-specific lingo that is unreadable by someone of moderate interest. These tweets also almost always include a link to a much longer article on NASCAR’s official website, which is not what tweet readers engage most with.
On Instagram, NASCAR is slightly under the 1 million followers mark. These images generally lack a captivating attribute. The page does, however, offer a multitude of highlights that offer interactive Giphys and wallpapers. The page also did a collaboration with the rap group Migos.
The Instagram did not have a recent story within the past 24 hours and the profile image was of noticeably low resolution.
NASCAR’s decline in the past few years is disappointing, but it is not too far gone. The name “Fox Sports” represents many sports related television programs. Fox Sports, unlike NASCAR, is an international company. Foxsports.com is an extension of Fox Sports, as well.
This brand’s Interactive division even has a video game under its belt: Fox Sports Hoops ’99. Fox Interactive was defunct in 2006, but in its heyday published forty games. Some of the more popular characters included the Simpson family and various other Simpson characters. On Twitter, Fox Sports has 2 million followers. This content is a mix of interactive and copy tweets that include heavy sports lingo. NASCAR content does not seem to stand a chance among the football muddle now and the spring sports to come. Tweet after tweet is the same roundtable discussing NFL standings, and the same goes for the MLB in the spring. On Instagram, Fox Sports has almost 800k followers. Much like NASCAR on Fox, they have a multitude of highlights on their profile. If these tools are not utilized properly, they are just noise. The content on this Instagram page is more developed than both NASCAR and NASCAR on Fox’s pages on Instagram.NASCAR on Fox on Facebook features popular driver profiles such as Joey Logano and has much of the same social media gusto as the regular NASCAR page, but only has 1.7 million followers. This is to be expected, though, given this is a crossover page. NASCAR on Fox on Twitter has less followers than the main NASCAR page, but offers more engaging and readable content with high production value that is evident in its film production. On Instagram, however, NASCAR on Fox stepped up its game. Since the beginning of 2019, the content has improved immensely in its content quality. The page is up to almost 200k followers. They have several highlights, but perhaps too many. The highlights filled more than my desktop screen could view at once. An avid fan might appreciate the surplus of content, but this could make traveling through them a bit overwhelming for an average fan.
The Coca-Cola 600 jumped through four different name changes. However, this likely did not affect the brand awareness of the race. Coca-Cola is memorable in itself, as is the partnership they have with NASCAR and Fox Sports to put on this event. As long as the iconic sponsor’s name remains in the race title, recognition will not suffer. This event is represented by a hashtag across social media platforms: #CocaCola600. On twitter, #cocacola600 is mostly used by journalists and others involved with the race to provide updates to their followers.
Content from a fan or attendee’s personal twitter was few and far between. One tweet even read, “Watching the 1994 #CocaCola600; wish #NASCAR was still like this!” On Instagram, the hashtag is still mostly industry photos. This content features both racing elements and vintage Coke model cars with a few fan photographs. Coke’s addition to the hashtag with unique pieces that are taggable content is a strength for the hashtag.
In 2014, the Coca-Cola 600 race featured a FanCam that is still accessible online today. This was an interactive component added to the festivities that can provide memories to look back on from years to come. This race is part of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series.
Each social media platform’s #CocaCola600 page featured some hype for the race, but mostly coverage from past years’ festivities and racing. In general, the other NASCAR pages were primarily focused on promoting the upcoming Daytona 500, which insinuates that the heavy Coca-Cola 600 hype will begin after the Daytona 500 or simply closer to the event. Even with this assumption, only promoting the closest upcoming event is dangerous. Avid NASCARfans know the racing schedule and various pertinent information about the Coca-Cola 600 but many average fans that this race should be trying to reach do not. Social24 is a program developed by Nielsen that uses an “omni-channel approach to sponsorship measurement that takes into account live event broadcasts, highlight shows and social media activity.” Social24 concluded that NASCAR is experiencing a 2%-5% incremental value added to their television exposure because of social media. “Some brands with aggressive social media campaigns tied to motorsports have experienced nearly a 50% valuation boost from social activation beyond their TV exposure,” according to Nielsen. Nielsen also says, “The Cola-Cola 600 was the third-most valuable race of the 2016 NASCAR season by QI Media Value, behind the DAYTONA 500 and the GEICO 500 at Talladega. A combination of 286 unique brands received TV exposure in the U.S. market, generating more than $51 million.”
Without proper promotion, these potential viewers and ticket-buyers are only focused on the Daytona 500. Any Fox outlet that exists without the NASCAR name attached to it focuses its resources on putting out content featuring ball sports; NASCAR coverage is often pushed to the NASCAR pages or barely gets a mention without some sort of unforeseen excitement. is, “American.” The Coca-Cola 600 is known as an epic race weekend that is a great place to have a family weekend in an exciting, competitive atmosphere. The race will air on FOX and live stream on FOX Sports GO with a subscription.
NASCAR fans are 14.4% more likely than the general population to have attended a country music event within the past year. There will also be a pre-race Salute to the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. This event already has an established hashtag: #KnowYourMil. The Eli Young Band will be NASCAR’s headliner for the Pre-Race Concert, according to racetrack before the green flag as a part of this salute. Dirt road racing will also take place during the weekend event, as it is an iconic NASCAR tradition.
On race day, purchasing a special pass will permit attendees to get inside the track for the Pit Party. During this event, fans will be able to ask some of their favorite racers a few questionsand enjoy live music. The Charlotte Motor Speedway released a signature craft beer “600 Ale” last year, and will unveil their newest addition to their collection: Redneck Hill. The beer is named after the hill between turns 1 and 2 that was a prime partying spot in the 1960s for race fans. The spot is a prominent part of the track’s iconic lore and was visited by Willie Nelson, Marty Robbins, and the Pixar team while researching for their upcoming movie. This movie became Cars, according to ESPN.
NASCAR has a strong relationship with its customers. Nielsen writes, “NASCAR fans are also terrifically loyal. Seventy percent say they buy from companies that support the sport, 20 percentage points higher than the average sports fan, according to a 2015 study released by Repucom.” Cutting prices can be used to bring ticket sales back in (according to Gensler), but many races offer tickets as low as $10.
A customer base that is somewhat or very interested in NASCAR include the military. 11.6% of the general population polled for somewhat interested to very interested in NASCAR. Both active duty military and veterans have an above-average interest for the brand. 13.1% of active duty members of the military displayed the same interest in NASCAR. Even more prominent,19.2% of veterans displayed said interest in NASCAR. With all this data, it is not surprising that NASCAR fans are 65% more likely than the general population to be military veterans, according to Nielsen.