NASCAR: Leading a Marketing Transformation in a Time of Crisis

It’s February 2011 and Brian France, CEO of NASCAR (the National Stock Car Racing Association), is facing a crisis. Over the past five years, participation in NASCAR weekend races has dropped by 22 percent and viewers by 30 percent. Major marketing sponsors recently left the sport. At the same time, the US economy has only just begun to recover from an economic downturn that has had a negative impact on auto racing as a whole. Some NASCAR executives told Brian that these trends in attendance, audience, and sponsorship were due to the recession and that NASCAR should continue as usual. But Brian felt the industry needed profound change and that, as NASCAR CEO, he was the one leading that change. With Brian at the helm, NASCAR has launched an unprecedented amount of qualitative and quantitative research to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the entire industry. The NASCAR consumer was at the center of this investigation. Enthusiastic and highly engaged consumers were the focus of a decades-long successful business model in the industry. But in 2011, marketing had to change in NASCAR when it became clear that consumers were disengaging from the sport. As consumer research unfolds, Brian and NASCAR executives must make tough decisions and set priorities. The case focuses on four key areas in which NASCAR executives must make decisions: digital marketing and social media, targeting the next generation of NASCAR consumers, empowering NASCAR drivers to excel and enhancing the consumer experience. at NASCAR events. The focus group videos offer students a client-centered look at these challenges. At its core, it’s about great leadership and the transformation of marketing across an entire industry. A closing video from CEO Brian France summarizes how NASCAR executives tackled the tough questions in the case.

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