Getting the right formula

The correlation between social media and consumer engagement came out strongly during India’s maiden Formula 1 Grand Prix that concluded recently. MindShift Interactive tracking social media conversions around Formula 1 to generate insights on how fans, sports enthusiasts, sportsmen, celebrities and brands reacted to this milestone in India’s sporting calendar exclusively for the strategist. Here are the highlights.

Formula 1 is all about speed and glamour and along with a thrill of what lies ahead. As teams and drivers geared up to race at the first ever Formula 1 race in India, brands worked towards connecting with their consumers. In order to achieve successful engagement, it is mandatory for businesses to evaluate the right mix of content, strategy and platforms. It’s the route the brand employs, the intentions it enters with and the value it offers that defines the effectiveness of their campaign vis-à-vis their competition.

 

First a quick glance at how various brands used the F1 platform. Figure 1 is self-explanatory.

Being the title sponsor and the basis of the number of campaigns (three: Airtel Simulator Challenge, Airtel Race Pack, Airtel Grid Girls) around the event, telecom giant Bharti Airtel led the pack — being the No 1 “spoken about” brand on social media during the event. The Airtel Simulator Challenge generated 86 per cent of the conversations; the Sahara Stake Buyout generated 64 per cent of the conversations and the Red Bull Racing Event, Delhi, 61 per cent. Incentives such as winning Formula 1 tickets, attending the race or spending time with teams were added motivations to keep conversations going.

Platforms where brands engaged heavily were Facebook and Twitter, while YouTube and blogs were additionally selected by Kingfisher and Red Bull. Although investments in terms of creation of applications or offering incentives were the highest on Facebook, Twitter reigned as the winning platform across social media for Formula 1 in terms of active engagement, gaining 700 conversations.

Conversations on twitter were primarily about broadcasting views, gathering event details and extensive two-way conversations between brand believers, sports celebrities, authorities, businesses, media and other influencers. Facebook, which led with brand campaigns and contests, created buzz via updates on the respective fan pages. YouTube was leveraged by brands to showcase their videos and allowed users to create videos of their own to participate in contests.

It is also interesting to track how the buzz progressed with the event. Figure 4 represents the cumulative conversations that began a month prior to the event and went on until a week after. Brands, organisers and audiences participated in a healthy dialogue with one another, showcasing the need for more conversations and less thought-disseminating content from brands.

During the first half of October, the Sahara-Kingfisher association around Force India generated a peak of about 170 conversations. As the date for Formula 1 neared, campaigns and news from the organisers were key to the buzz created, rising from 87 to 258 within a week. Queries regarding tickets, reviews of the circuit by drivers and emotions of audiences were largely expressed during this period.

The highest results were tracked three days before, during and after the event, peaking to 546 conversations that showcased the event having received the desired buzz thanks to the hype that was created around Formula 1 by the advertisers involved. Formula 1 discussions were dominated by male audiences with 84 per cent conversations initiated and responded to by them. While they took over various social media platforms, Twitter was where they shared sentiments and posted enquiries about Formula 1. An interesting insight from the research displayed that while only 16 per cent of the conversations were done by females, they used the social media to write news articles, blogs and tweets, with a heavily positive tonality. A number of females were actively talking about the event as it happened, as part of the audience at the event or viewers on television, showing a fair number of interesting conversions leading up to the final event.

The learning here is that women are getting more interested in the sport and could turn into a potentially large audience that can be targeted with customised messages to suit their requirements versus delivering a similar message that would appeal to a largely male audience segment.

Respondents were categorised on the basis of information shared by them on their social profiles. Consumers, termed as individuals/fans, led the category scoring 55 per cent. This comprised sports followers, fans and other audiences influenced by their associations with Formula 1.

Social media is one of the few mediums that provide a platform for real time dialogue between the consumer and business. A sentiment analysis shows that 76 per cent of the conversations about Formula 1 were positive in nature. Most spoke with pride and excitement, while others explained what this opportunity meant for India. Figure 5 highlights the positive and negative topics discussed.

Consumer tonality towards Formula 1 in general was positive, peaking at 137 conversations as the event neared. A significant increase in negative comments was noted as the event took place. The unfortunate turn of events at F1 Rocks with the Metallica music show being cancelled resulted in a huge outpouring of negative emotions across various platforms.

While the event was live, Twitter took on the role of providing live updates from audiences discussing Formula 1 as well as stating the pride they felt to be hosting it in their country.

A learning for businesses is that it helps to create space for consumers to share their viewpoints and allow them a platform that advocates healthy discussions. Timing is key in all this and businesses must understand this in order to create a truly sustained engagement.

The conversations were analysed against the AIDA (awareness, interest, desire, action) model, originally presented by Elmo Lewis to explain the four cognitive phases that buyers follow when accepting a new idea or purchasing a new product.

All conversations tracked passed the ‘awareness’ stage, but dipped during the ‘interest’ stage due to the inconsistent engagements maintained by associations, although sports enthusiasts and fans continued to converse. Desire and action, both combined to a 5 per cent response level, where conversations about the desire to purchase tickets or statements of purchase were made. A 5 per cent conversion from ‘awareness’ to ‘action’ is a valuable insight for marketers to undersand the potential of the medium to generate sales leads.

Does the enthusiasm for F1 match that for cricket? The answer is a big no. Simply put, you can’t compete with India’s most loved sport but you can play alongside it and create your niche. There are a lot of Indians that have taken more than just a liking for Formula 1, and thus, there is potential for this space to grow.

Regardless, India is a country that would be happy to cheer both!

Adapted from “Social Media Study on 2011 Formula 1 Grand Prix: Insights on Consumer Sentiments and Brands Associated With Formula One” by MindShift Interactive