NASCAR Drive

UX / UI, Creative Direction, Brand Identity

NASCAR needed to overhaul their live video product, turning a simple in-car camera experience into a comprehensive ‘hub’ that could engage fans for an entire race. This new product would help keep our avid fans and attract new casual fans. The changes we made became the foundation for the new product called NASCAR Drive.

Solutions

Better UI for easier navigation, more features and space for sponsor creative

Adaptive design for the mobile and tablet product

‘Driver Hub’ with live driver data and social media streams

Product Hub with login access to other NASCAR.com products

Live leaderboard for a more immersive overall experience

Strategic and Design Considerations

  • TV rights: Restrictions from broadcast agreement – for example, no live commentary – meant product could not replace televised races.
  • Technology: To offset those restrictions, we added new video functionality and race and driver data to engage our avid fans. 
  • Emerging trends: Integrating social media and Fantasy games would entice more casual fans.
  • Driver Star Power: More visuals to promote popular drivers

Updated Video Functionality / UX

Enhanced video functionality was a key value proposition, so users needed to quickly understand how to access and use it. Early on, we made sure we understood how it all fit together.

Desktop Execution / Phase 1

With functionality determined, we were now ready to develop hi fidelity mocks. We started with desktop, where we assumed returning fans preferred to engage our content.

Mobile Execution / Phase 2

We learned a lot watching fans interact with the desktop product. The biggest takeaway? They liked Drive a lot, but only as a singular, standalone  product –  not as a hub for other products. We made adjustments with our new mobile designs.

Branding and Sponsorship Opportunities

We needed a simple, clean logo that complimented various types of sponsored branding. Using the one color NASCAR barmark gave the product a unique look and helped it standout against the product’s dark visual landscape.

New logo (dark and light variations)

Typical layout for sponsored content

235%

When released in 2016, time on page increased by 235% (from 12 minutes on RaceBuddy to 42 minutes on Drive.)  These results, coupled with updated functionality, made Drive a marquee product that would eventually represent 10.3% of total sold revenue in 2018 (1.062 million dollars)