A general view of the the race track during the Daytona 500 on Feb. 14, 2021 at Daytona ... [+]
Through a new partnership with Qualtrics, Nascar is changing the way it analyzes data from its highly regarded Nascar Fan Council.
Qualtrics, an experience management firm based in Seattle, will enable Nascar's top executives to evaluate fan experience data this year in a different way.
“The Fan Council has been a core resource for fan feedback,” Brooks Deaton, Nascar's managing director of research and insights, said. “The community has over 15,000 avid fans from across the country that we leverage for industry-wide initiatives.
“Migrating the community to Qualtrics now allows us to look at fan sentiment changes over time and integrate that data across other data streams throughout our business. This allows us to not only see how their attitudes are changing, but to communicate and engage with them in a more prescriptive and personalized way.”
Nascar plans to utilize the new partnership with Qualtrics immediately. The data from the Fan Council helps the sanctioning body determine what direction the sport should go in when evaluating several issues, including the type of racing, aerodynamic package and what tracks to race at.
Qualtrics’ goal is to help Nascar understand how and why fans think and feel the way they do about certain issues. With changing expectations as the Next Gen car is set to take its first official green flag at the Los Angeles Coliseum on Sunday, Feb. 9 for the Busch Light Clash, the new data will let Nascar focus on creating first-class experiences for fans.
“Looking at it broadly, we know that Fan Council data is one important piece of the overall puzzle for Nascar,” Deaton said. “The relationship with Qualtrics is helping us integrate data in a more seamless way.
“Their integrations within customer data platform systems and throughout the research industry are creating easier processes for us to sophisticate the data we collect and leverage. Additionally, the longitudinal insights around these avid fans represent a critical part of the decision-making process.”
For Qualtrics, Nascar is not the first major sport the firm is working with. The NBA used Qualtrics in the 2020 Orlando bubble to make sure players' voices were being heard during the peak of the pandemic.
“With each new partnership, we learn more about the fan experience and how it’s evolving,” Qualtrics Head of Sports Industry Scott Ahlstrom said. “Working with incredible organizations like Nascar and the NBA gives Qualtrics the chance to help organizations innovate and invent the fan experience of the future.”
One of Qualtrics' goals is to enable Nascar to see how the fan experience changes over time, and why they evolve the way they do. This will add an extra level of personifying the Fan Council, which will then help Nascar create changes in a timely fashion.
“Qualtrics will also enable Nascar to respond to attendee feedback in real time, meaning that if a fan reports a negative experience, reps will be flagged so they can fix the problem in the moment and create a better experience for that fan,” Ahlstrom said. “That also gives reps the chance to uplevel experiences for fans who offer positive feedback. This data becomes currency to the brand and allows Nascar to innovate beyond what was originally possible.”
As the 2022 season approaches, the partnership between Nascar and Qualtrics can potentially elevate the sport to reach more Gen Zers, Qualtrics said, and that will help Nascar's overall growth.
