This year, one in five Americans will be fully working from home. And, while every telecom provider claims they have the fastest internet, one in three people call bull$hit on the speeds and feel their internet isn’t fast enough to let them work from home.
At the same time Verizon’s internet service has been expanding across the country and we were looking for ways to amplify our offerings on social media and reach newer audiences. Leveraging our existing partnership with Team Penske, let us do just that by showing not just tell how powerful our network is—by turning to one of the most unlikely jobs to do from home to prove our worth: INDYCAR Racing
Together with Team Penske we created a social activation and stunt that would help drive reappraisal and consideration of Verizon internet, and as the ol’ saying goes, the proof was in the pudding.
For one day, we ran test laps with two-time INDYCAR champions Will Power & Team Penske at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway to prove that no matter what job you’re doing, if you’re working from home, you can rely on Verizon internet to get the job done.
But to up the ante even more, we told the pit crew chiefs to work from home while the driver, Will Power, ran 220 mph laps. Solo.
Instead of being at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, pit crew chiefs were scattered across the country in Davidson NC, Charlotte NC, and Dallas TX. For the first time in Team Penske history, pit crew chiefs were over 500 miles away from the racetrack itself, relying on Verizon internet to do their job. While working from home, pit crew chiefs made team history—they kept driver Will Powers not only safe but also optimized the car’s performance to ensure qualification for race day. Turn-by-turn, race strategy and engineering adjustments were made in real-time as 9 live feeds delivered video, data & voice comms.
While we were able to overcome distance, and create a high-performance social activation, this campaign almost didn’t happen. Convincing Team Penske to participate was an uphill battle because practice time, known as test laps, are precious. Each team gets a limited number of test laps where they can evaluate the car’s set up, tire performance and speed, all with the goal of optimizing for qualifying and race conditions. So, to have their pit crew chiefs working far from the racetrack and relying on Verizon internet was a gamble. We, of course, knew we could do it—but it took major trust from Team Penske on our part, to participate and do something so far out of the ordinary.
Ultimately, the real-time test worked. We were able to run cameras, crews and of course internet between all the different locations to create a high octane film that highlights how reliable Verizon’s internet is. This film then ran on Verizon’s Penske’s and the driver Will Power’s social channels to leverage a combined reach of social followers. Then to drive engagement, our driver, Will Powers hosted an Instagram story that let followers get behind the wheel to make turn-by-turn decisions and get first-hand racing insights.
Indy from 500 Miles Away was a first of its kind activation that proved any team can rely on Verizon internet to work from home, even if they are working at 220 mph and are scattered across the country.
With zero paid media Team Penske and Verizon saw a huge lift across both social channels:
Social Engagement +121% cross channel
Highest Compliment Rate, Ever +22% on Instagram
Share Rate +238% Cross channel
While there was a huge jump in engagement and shares we proved that if a pro-racing team can work from home using Verizon internet, so can you.
