SPEED Channel Debuts New Analytics Tool

Motor sports network SPEED Channel has incorporated a new technology into its experience at NASCAR races that measures the impact of its events and how many people it is reaching.

The technology, which is called Event Intelligence and was announced by eShots at last week’s Event Marketing Summit, includes event benchmarking capabilities that help marketers compare an active event with past events, events at similar venues and other events in their industry; a lead quality index that measures how effectively clients are reaching their target market; and social media/viral marketing metrics that measure how widely consumers help extend an event’s reach via Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Flickr, mobile phones and email.

SPEED Channel’s footprint at NASCAR races incorporates four interactive areas, including a green-screen photo booth that simulates its announcers’ on-air desk.
After data collection and the photo op, consumers receive an instant email in which they can adjust the image with stickers or choose which announcer they would like to be pictured with in their photo before sending it out across their social networks.

“What is really exciting for us is being able to measure the impact of the event through the social media,” Nancy MacDonald, director of marketing and promotions at SPEED Channel, told Buzz. “That is definitely important for us because it allows us to see how many people we are reaching and justify the cost and budget. We learn more about our viewers, who is reaching out to whom, and the impact of how many people we are reaching.”

One important piece of data SPEED has uncovered is how NASCAR fans’ social media behavior differs from other consumers. NASCAR fans primarily utilize mobile phones and Facebook, according to data collected so far. Agency: eShots, Chicago.