Wagner Research Proposal

Fan Disconnection: Interactivity and Social Media in Motorsports

Racing is something that has been a part of my life since I was little. I have grown up around Nascar all my life. I have also been racing since I was 16 years old. As I dive deeper into Interactive Media and what I want to do with the rest of my life, I am beginning to go back to my roots. I know that after I graduate from the iMedia program that I want to work in some form of racing. Therefore, I have begun to question the sport of racing from a marketing and social media perspective.

As I have been thinking about this research project I have been considering my true passion of racing. As we talk more and more about social media and interactivity in class, I have been thinking about racing in general from a social media stand point. I have realized that there is a true lack of social media in the racing world compared to other sports. For example, many other athletes tweet about their lives personally and professionally. Not many Nascar drivers or racecar drivers in general, if any, tweet on a regular basis. I think that fans need to have that connection with the drivers, and they are simply not getting it. I have formulated the hypothesis that the lack of fan interaction from many different angles, including social media, is why Nascar and other racing are struggling at this point.

Through my research, I hope to answer the question as to why social media is not used as much within motorsports as it is in other sports? Does this have an impact on motorsports fans? Is this disconnection what is causing the sport to lose fans? All of these questions bring interesting insights and value to the topic. If something is not done to challenge the way that fans perceive the sport, I am fearful that Nascar and other racing will begin a downward spiral. People are simply not as interested in the sport as they used to be. There has to be some reason for this, and I am determined to figure it out.

I also want to touch on interactivity in my research. How do motorsports fans interact with social media, websites, and brands? How much attention do fans pay to the marketing and branding that goes on within the sport? Ultimately, with answering all of these previously mentioned questions, I hope to provide new insight to the topic of social media in motorsports and to expand on the ideas of marketing, interactivity and social media.

The method of collection is an important part in the research process. My research will be based partly on previous research in social media and marketing in other sports and partly on my own research. I plan to conduct interviews of both interactive media professionals and professionals within motorsports. I also want to formulate a focus group to allow me to get the opinions of fans of the racing world.

There are so many different angles that I could take with this research. I hope that as I am conducting the research, my topic will become even more narrowed and insightful. This topic is a true passion of mine and I hope that it will add value to the sport of racing and impact the way that professionals in the sport think about the fans.

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