From Digital to Gaming, Formula E Shifts Into High Gear

Formula E races feature only electricpowered vehicles eliminating the exhaustfilled racetracks consumers usually associated with car racing The sportamp8217s fanbase is growing particularly among younger consumers Last season Formula E races attracted 400000 attendees as well as 850 million digital video views and 400 million TV viewers worldwideFormula Eamp8217s chief marketing officer Jerome Hiquet is tasked with educating consumers about the sport and advancing its causes Ahead of the Los Angeles TV and Innovation Week and CMO Summitamp160amp8212 where he39s presenting on innovative digital experiences and the gamification of racing amp8212amp160he spoke to MediaVillage about Formula Eamp8217s approach to fan engagement across platforms the organizationamp8217s social activism and how his organization stands out in a crowded sports industryAlli Romano Formula E is relatively new on the motorsports scene For someone who isnamp8217t acquainted how does it differ from other auto sports Jerome Hiquet There are two main differences The first is accessibility The fact that we are electric racing allowing us to be in the core of iconic cities We can be in Paris and go by the Eiffel Tower and this year weamp8217ll be in the Olympic Stadium in Seoul We come to the peopleThe second is gamification We bring the fun to the fans and create the possibility to engage We have a gaming feature called Fan Boost where before each race you can vote for the driver you want to have the extra power on the car that you can activate during the race These are very powerful tools for engagementBut like any more traditional sport you need to have an exciting sport an exciting race and a great driver The foundation remains the same Everything has to be excitingRomano Whatamp8217s at the core of the Formula E brand and how do you deliver that to consumers Hiquet Formula E is all about bringing people one step closer to electric vehicles We are looking at ourselves as the intersection between sport entertainment and social purpose Everything has to be exciting engaging and predictable and then you can build on that You can connect with Formula E through three dimensions You can watch it digitally or on TV or come to an event We have races in 12 iconic cites around the world We have a diversity of products and experiencesRomano How is technology advancing your sport and how are you adapting to new platformsHiquet In the last two years our growth in digital views engagements and followers has taken a huge step forward Weamp8217re on television in 180 countries Gaming is more of a platform to reach new audiences It helps us to create the bridge between potential audiences and we focus on both gaming and sports funTwo months ago we launched Ghost Racing Formula E where you can be the 23rd driver Going forward we need to think about the digital world content creation virtual reality experiential opportunities and maximizing all touchpoints We need to be on all the different platformsRomano How people consume sports is changing rapidly Fans are multitasking on multiple screens How does this influence Formula Eamp8217s content strategy Hiquet Consumers are not as loyal as in the past so we consider all the possible touchpoints We create content about the races the drivers and the cars all year long Because we have all these important elements we can create experimental activations In London for example we have a car there throughout the year that people can see and touch We were in New York during the climate marches because it was a good combination of our electric car product and sportsDuring our 12 race weekends we also have a lot of interactive experiences We just signed a deal with Lego to make a car for next year that people can play with We try to maximize all touchpoints with fans Thatamp8217s the future of mediaRomano You mentioned Formula E was involved in Climate Week NYC 2019 Whatamp8217s the connection Hiquet Beyond sports one of our ambitions is social purpose amp8212 and technology is very important We want to help accelerate the democratization of electric vehicles For example from season one to season four our batteries were not powerful enough to allow the drivers to race during a full race of 45 minutes with the same charge So they had to change cars Now for the first time the batteries are powerful enough to last a whole raceTo get there a lot of technology innovation has been done for us and through us it is also applying to mainstream electric vehicles We know people worry that electric car batteries wonamp8217t last long enough to drive to work and come back home Innovation and technology can help us improve the spectacle of races and then we can help bring technology to consumersBe sure to join Hiquet and other savvy chief marketers atamp160the Los Angeles TV and Innovation Week and CMO SummitPhoto credit WikipediaClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleagues The opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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From Digital to Gaming, Formula E Shifts Into High Gear

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Alli Romano

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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From Digital to Gaming, Formula E Shifts Into High Gear

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Alli Romano

We Are the Outliers - By Jack Myers

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