In June 2020 due to health emergency many countries were facing severe lockdowns. As a consequence, esports industry is experiencing an unprecedented boom, as people are seeking new forms of entertainment and social connection: +500M new gamers in lockdown and 2.7 billion total players in 2020. Our client thought it was the perfect time to look for new champions for its first e-sport squad. Our objective was letting everyone know about the recruiting and find the best racers around. The budget was close to zero: under €1k budget for production and under €5k for media. The project was first developed by Ford of Italy and immediately localized by France, Poland, Greece and Ireland.

In the last three years the brand has been promoting a new positioning. The goal: to position the company in a more dynamic and modern prospective. As a part of this new vision the brand put together its first egamers squad, competing in major esports competitions, with the aim to engage young audience (18 yo/36 yo, mostly male) tapping into gaming and esports fans. The project Racing Stories was created to recruit new champions for the team during European lockdowns, where esports experience a consistent growth across the globe. Racing stories is the first racing experience that turns every Instagram account into a video game, with no need of controller, console or new apps on the phone.

To spread the word about the recruiting for the brand eracer team with everyone we went where everyone is, Instagram, and did something they don’t expect: the first racing experience that turns every IG account into a video game. The target was younger audience (18 yo/36 yo, mostly male) with interests related to the gaming world. The project revolves all around the chance to give the user the chance to experience a console game through his/her mobile, with no new apps needed.

To develop Racing Stories design we started form the GUI of the original console videogame, Forza Motorsport 7, and turn into the GUI of Instagram stories. Some elements of Forza Motorsport 7 have been kept as they are but adapted in the service space of the stories. Timelap, circuit, auto and stopwatch icon were moved in the top right corner. Interactions as slider and swipe up + emoji are the result of an adaptation of actions featured in the original game that have been turned into IG stories interactive buttons. As in a common video game every button/interaction is accompanied by a brief description.

The project has been launched in Italy at the beginning of June 2020 and shared, by the other European markets, until the end of 2020.

The brand was renewed and refreshed by the project. We managed to engage a target group that had never showed active interest in the brand before. Plus, the consumer had the chance to enjoy free of charge entertainment in a moment where everybody was compelled to stay at home with too much time in our hands. The objective of spreading the word about the recruiting of the best e-racers around for Team Fordzilla was reached beyond any expectation: 5 elite champions were enrolled across Europe. The project had no sales objectives. Major KPIs were: 2.7 million organic impressions, 300 thousand organic interactions, an incredible 46% completion rate on a 52-chapter game.