The fans are making their voices heard. NASCAR is listening. And experts in the field of social media now rank NASCAR No. 1. When NASCAR formed a Fan Council for fan input and advice on important topics related to the sport, the last thing anyone expected was an award – let alone two awards. But in recent weeks, this unique “advisory board” of the sport’s most avid fans has earned national acclaim by winning the Forrester Groundswell Award in the Business-to-Consumer Listening category and the Vision Critical 2009 Panel of the Year Award.
“The outside attention is flattering, but we’re most happy about the inflow of smart and passionate input from a group of our most dedicated fans,” said Brian France, chairman and CEO of NASCAR. “NASCAR fans are known to be vocal about the sport they love. They want to be heard, and we want to hear them. The NASCAR Fan Council is turning out to be an extremely valuable platform that enables NASCAR to consider fan feedback in key decisions about the direction of the sport.”
NASCAR introduced the NASCAR Fan Council in 2008 to gain a better understanding of its fan base. In 2009, regular consultations with the council, an online community of 12,000 avid NASCAR fans, resulted in two important changes to the sport:
Double File Restarts, Shootout Style: When fan sentiment ran high for a new restart format – in which the leaders line up side-by-side following cautions to restart the race – NASCAR picked up the comments, validated and initiated a new double-file restart rule, to overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Earlier and consistent TV start times: When fans voiced their opinions about event start times, NASCAR listened and quantified sentiment, resulting in earlier and more uniform start times for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races in 2010.
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