New Website to Launch in December; RCR First Team to Work with NASCAR Digital Media
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) has enlisted NASCAR Digital Media (NDM) to oversee design and development of the organization’s new website, the companies announced today. The new rcrracing.com will soft launch in December followed by a full rollout in early 2017.
RCR undertook a rigorous search process, interviewing more than ten agencies and web design firms before awarding the project to NDM. In doing so, RCR becomes the first race team to collaborate with the fast-growing NDM on a website build.
The fully customized site will feature an improved user experience and compelling, original content to enhance the overall digital experience for fans of RCR and its stable of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR XFINITY Series drivers.
“Our digital efforts have become a major focus for RCR and many of our partners over the past few years,” said Ben Schlosser, Chief Marketing Officer of RCR. “We needed a contemporary website which allows us to fully showcase engaging content for our fans and partners. RCR looked at a number of qualified digital providers and chose NDM because of their proven approach and the compelling opportunities to collaborate on content. We understand that NDM is discussing similar projects with other race teams and we’re proud to be the leader in the effort.”
NDM will build rcrracing.com to accommodate RCR’s growing number of fans across multiple devices, with a flexible design offering multiple ways to present content. The revamped site will feature driver-specific content, complete race and driver schedules, videos, photo galleries, race updates and more.
“As the NASCAR digital platform continues to expand, we’re making more of our capabilities available to partners,” said NASCAR Digital Media Vice President Colin Smith. “Richard Childress Racing drivers have loyal and passionate fan followings, and we’re uniquely positioned to help the team better engage those audiences across a constantly evolving digital landscape.”
NDM has led a myriad of successful digital initiatives since NASCAR reacquired its digital rights and launched a new platform in 2013. The flagship site, NASCAR.com, is the sport’s premier destination for fans and in 2016 the platform will eclipse one billion page views for the third consecutive year.
Through this partnership, RCR will have access to NDM’s content management system that allows developers to publish timely content across creatively designed layouts. The team will benefit from other tools to drive fan engagement, including data-driven insight from daily digital interactions with NASCAR fans, industry and sponsors.
The announcement represents another step in the continued growth and evolution of NDM, which plans to work with more race teams on website builds in the future. Earlier this year, NASCAR announced that NDM will bring all digital advertising sales and operations in house, beginning January 1, 2017.