THE WORLD OF MOTORSPORTS IS GOING CRAZY
No one knows racing like the iconic gas station brand Sunoco. With deep ties to motorsports dating back to the 1960s, the brand was looking to reestablish its rightful place on the podium.
As the longtime Official Fuel of NASCAR, Sunoco was losing relevance (and awareness) to brands who drafted off the rapid ascension of other racing bodies, particularly sim racing and current hottest-sport-on-the-planet Formula 1. One thing was clear — the brand needed to find a way to defend its turf from the wannabes all trying to grab a piece of the track.
Complicating matters, the racing universe had become a heated track of intense drama and social chatter between fans of the different racing entities — particularly NASCAR and F1, and the question of whether or not NASCAR's top star Kyle Larson could ever cross over to F1. This made Sunoco's desire to reclaim motorsports prominence all the more daunting. The last thing the brand wanted to do was get caught in the middle.
A TIMELY OPPORTUNITY TO THREAD A UNIQUE NEEDLE
At the center of the racing social chatter was the intense drama featuring none other than NASCAR G.O.A.T.-in-the-making Kyle Larson — regarded as one of the most dominant drivers in the world. But no matter how good Larson may be, the big question spurring debate amongst racing fans was — could he compete in F1?
With Sunoco’s deep ties to NASCAR and recent re-entry into F1, the brand had an opportunity to activate a cross-platform content idea that could drive awareness of its motorsports prowess and capture the cultural chatter that was peaking in a sport they had deep connection with. If done right, it was the perfect way for Sunoco to regain its authority in the racing world.
MAKING HISTORY BY MAKING SUNOCO THE INSTIGATOR
Amongst motorsports fans, the drama and chatter could not be ignored. NASCAR vs. F1 permeated podcasts, YouTube vlogs and social feeds. Sunoco could have slapped its logo on a car or title sponsored a race, but the brand identified a timely chance to stand out by putting itself at the center of the debate with fans feverishly spinning NASCAR vs. F1 into a feud for the ages.
The question? How could Sunoco authentically engage in a way that doesn’t piss off fans from all racing bodies while finally answering the lingering question about Kyle Larson’s ability to cross over from one circuit to the other?
The answer? Something that had never been done before in the world of racing: bringing different entities together by pitting them up against one another. Enter "The Sunoco Sim Challenge" — a NASCAR vs. F1 three-lap virtual sim race taking place at the only track utilized by both racing bodies (Circuit of the Americas), starring Kyle Larson himself.
BRINGING THREE PILLARS OF THE RACING WORLD TOGETHER FOR AN EPIC SHOWDOWN
To push "The Sunoco Sim Challenge" idea over the top, Sunoco signed Kyle Larson to an appearance deal as the centerpiece of the content. The brand then tapped the eSports arm of its F1 team (Kick F1 Sim Racing), which brought EA Sports into the fold and led to an agreement for Sunoco to use their F124 game property.
For the first time in motorsports history, Sunoco captured a live sim race across two continents that pitted drivers across racing bodies (Kyle Larson of NASCAR, Formula 1 Sim Racing World Champion Brendon Leigh and F1 legend Romain Grosjean) against each other on the same track.
And in the process, demonstrated that no one knows racing like Sunoco while giving Kyle the chance to prove he has what it takes.
As you can imagine, the motorheads went absolutely nuts.
REAFFIRMING SUNOCO AS RACING ROYALTY
In the modern-day social stratosphere, setting out to capitalize on a hot topic that’s driving chatter is easier said than done. You can’t just participate in the conversation — you need to drive it. And that’s exactly what Sunoco did with "The Sunoco Sim Challenge."
With its ground-breaking, first-of-its-kind activation bringing together multiple worlds of racing, Sunoco saw its highest social brand interactions of the year — an 1,100% increase over everything else. The video content itself netted a 78% completion rate — well above social averages.
But above any and all results, finding a way to prove the haters wrong? Now that was priceless.
And that’s how Sunoco showed the world once again that no one knows racing like they do.
