IndyCar’s first new street course race in 10 years, the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix, paid big dividends across just about every metric imaginable. The Nashville race became the most-watched NTT IndyCar Series race on cable in NBC Sports history, posted viewership 181% higher than NBC’s 2020 IndyCar race average, and is also believed to be the most-watched IndyCar cable race in 23 years. The three-day race festival, which included major concerts, family and food events also attracted more than 125,000 people to downtown Nashville and pumped an estimated $25 million into the local economy.
For the race, BUNTIN provided a deep suite of integrated communications, content and activation assets to drive ticket sales to race fans, music fans, festival goers, tourists, experience seekers and foodies - including specific outreach to Hispanic adults. The agency leveraged its data and targeting capabilities to identify, reach and optimise key audience segments across relevant channels and tactics.
“This amazing event certainly lived up to its ‘must-attend summer event’ billing in our city,” says BUNTIN co-president and CCO, Dave Damman. “From placing a show car on a rooftop downtown to the sight of cars racing three-wide across the river, it was an event of 'firsts' - just the kind of thing our agency is fuelled by.”
The Grand Prix will return to Nashville in 2022 and 2023, and plans to become an annual date on the IndyCar Series schedule.