NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening

Special Events Case Study

COM 626 Best Practices in Strategic Communications - Leanne Pupchek

Liz Horgan

July 12, 2010

 The NASCAR Hall of Fame kicked off its opening day (May 11, 2010) with
a star-studded ceremony.
North Carolina governor Beverly Perdue joined Charlotte area dignitaries
and representatives of NASCAR's past and present on a stage outside the
Hall for the hour-long opening ceremony.
The city spent $195 million on the project and is touting it as the biggest
and most technologically advanced Hall of Fame in professional sports.
The 150,000-square-foot building is a shrine of memorabilia, exhibits
that recreate old-time NASCAR lore, 154 video screens, racing simulators
and interactive activities.
A free community celebration will follow the opening ceremony and lasts
until 8 p.m. (Fryer
& Whisenant, 2010)
Background and Introduction

The NASCAR Hall of Fame opened to the public on May 11, 2010. It is a

crowning jewel in the strategic vision for the Charlotte region. The roots of

stock car racing trace back to North Carolina, and today many NASCAR offices

and teams are headquartered near Charlotte - over 73% of motorsports

employees in the United States work in what some call "NASCAR Valley" . One

of the sport’s major tracks, the Charlotte Motor Speedway, is located nearby

and hosts major events throughout the year.

The Hall of Fame was conceived, funded and constructed using a public

private partnership 1. Charlotte has a long history of cooperation between the

city’s business and civic leaders who have worked actively together to lay a

foundation for the city’s economic success. With NASCAR a historic and
commercially vibrant element in the area, leaders in Charlotte seized on this

unique asset and incorporated racing and specifically the Hall of Fame into the

strategic planning for the Charlotte region2 . NASCAR was positioned as one of

the pillars of the area brand.

The unveiling of the new facility and the introduction of the NASCAR Hall

of Fame (NHOF) had to be carefully planned. A communications and PR

strategy for the Grand Opening was put in place and implemented by a team of

people at the Hall of Fame.

The Objectives

The goal was to introduce a cutting-edge building and to launch a brand

new business. The communications planning began in January, 2010 for the

May 11, 2010 Grand Opening. In developing the plan, the communications

team identified four main objectives:

1. Drive ticket sales – sell out on May 11, 2010

2. Generate support and feelings of inclusion/ownership among primary

stakeholders (partners, motorsports industry, Charlotte community)

3. Raise national and local awareness

4. Create a positive tone to all media coverage and make an over-the-

top first impression with the media.

The communications team from the NHOF began by researching the industry,

identifying various stakeholders and audiences, and developing the

components of their plan. Input for the plan came from key stakeholders and

partners, as well as from an active committee built with public and private

sector talent for the focused purpose of creating and supporting the overall

communications plan. Strategies were defined, tactics identified and outcome

measurements created. The Grand Opening was to be a communications-led

endeavor.

Target Publics

There were four target publics or stakeholder groups:

1. The Charlotte Community – City employees, uptown employees,

influential business leaders, residents

2. NASCAR Industry – avid race fans, NASCAR employees, NASCAR

celebrities (including inductees and nominees), race teams, racetracks,

vendors, sponsors, fan clubs and artifact donors

3. Business Partners – NHOF sponsors, artifact lenders, joint venture,

local hospitality industry, banks, elected officials, advisory board

4. Media – local, regional, motorsports, national, travel/tourism, social

Once the plan objectives had been determined and the stakeholders identified,

the strategies, tactics and approaches had to be detailed.

Strategies and Tactics

Strategies were linked to objectives:

• Drive ticket sales

o Leverage grand opening with Induction weekend events

o NASCAR celebrities

o 50 day countdown

o Social media

o Leverage momentum from Opening going forward

• Community support/inclusion

o Grassroots activities

o Soft opening

o Community invitation to attend the Opening Day festivities

o Afternoon of Opening Day focus on free entertainment for all

• Raise awareness

o Media outreach and services

o Customer service

Action on the communications plan began with a grassroots approach.

Twenty six one-hour presentations by Winston Kelley, the Executive Director of

the NHOF, were made directly (unmediated) to a carefully targeted cross section
of local opinion shapers: civic organizations (Rotary, etc.), schools and other

local organizations. The goal was to educate people about the NHOF and to

generate awareness, two-way conversation and active interest in the Hall and in

the Grand Opening events. As part of this effort, the financial arrangements

and tax supports for the NHOF were explained so that community

misconceptions could be addressed (for example, the borrowings used to

construct the building are to be repaid through a special increase in the local

hotel taxes and are not a direct taxpayer responsibility). The dissemination of

information from these sessions was put on a grid and mapped in an effort to

track the reaches of this component of the plan’s messaging.

A soft opening of the building (the building itself is a “major star of the

show”, as its design conjures up feelings and images of auto racing) was used

for several strategic purposes. It needed to be done from a construction

standpoint, and provided an exciting “sneak preview” opportunity to further

momentum and increase anticipation. A cross-section of target audiences were

invited to the Hall over the three week “soft opening” period. Each day food

and beverages were served in a research room to encourage attendance at

sessions designed to assess reactions from the attending crowds. Focus

groups were run as well, all in an effort to get feedback and make any changes

necessary before the May 11th opening. A special media preview day was set

aside during this period to introduce the media to the NHOF.

 One of the tactics used to create momentum and to heighten interest was

a 50-day Countdown to the Grand Opening. The countdown was launched with

a celebratory news conference covered by the media, and included posts on the

NHOF website, Twitter and Facebook; countdown clocks were passed out to the

50 media and others who were on hand. Each day at 10 am sharp (to coincide

with the time the NHOF would open each day) a trivia question went out on

Twitter - the person to Tweet the first correct answer would receive a prize

(which featured a branding logo or other visual of the NHOF).

Attention, activities and information geared to the media were multi-

pronged and occurred over the entire 5 month pre-opening period. In addition

to monthly in-person media opportunities, frequent press releases, media

construction tours, outreach calendar listings, a presence at the NASCAR races

held prior to May 11th, and the media preview day, the communications team at

the NHOF worked to make their media relations top quality. Over-the-top

service and delivering southern hospitality were approaches built into the

strategic plan. The team provided a constant flow of news and information to

the media: press kits, streams of B roll footage, an on-line news room, a pool

feed, formatted quotes and news bites. The tactics of providing broad and

straightforward access to information, combined with the design/formatting of

content, were aimed at making it easier for the media to write/do their stories.
This was all intended to help increase awareness of the NHOF and provide

journalists with as much quality news as possible.

Measurements

The NHOF team had specific and measurable goals as a part of each

element in the communications strategy. They were able to measure ticket

sales (goal = sell out) and the number of people attending the grand opening

(goal = 5,000). In order to quantify the feelings of inclusion/ownership among

primary stakeholders, the team used qualitative evaluation to measure word-

of-mouth feedback, social media feedback, and guest comments through

surveys, comment cards and focus groups. They appraised the media coverage,

evaluating the number of: media at the Media Preview (goal = 100), the Grand

Opening (goal = 200), the national morning shows (goal = 1), VOCUS search

news clips (goal = 2000 3/1-6/1/2010), Charlotte clips (goal = 500), National

clips (goal = 500). In addition, they evaluated the tone of news coverage (goal

< 1% negative) and the increases in Social Media following (Twitter and

Facebook fans and web page visits).

Plan Implementation and Challenges

Much of the Grand Opening was a success and went off without a hitch.

Kurt Busch, a champion driver, commented, “it puts us on the map with other

professional sports in having a Hall of Fame…today had that heartwarming

feeling that this was something pretty special…This Hall of Fame, when you

walk in the door, is overwhelming with all of the different exhibits and the

history”. The launch brought together key people from all stakeholder groups

and received good and positive media coverage.

NASCAR is a key part of the Charlotte Region’s branding efforts and is

used in the strategic marketing of the area. The NHOF adds to the draw of the

Charlotte region, and in the first week was proven to be economically impactful.

The NRA convention, which began May 13, 2010, was the biggest convention

ever hosted by Charlotte with an economic impact exceeding $20 million

dollars; arguably, it was drawn to the area because of the vision of City and

Regional leaders and because of the new Hall of Fame.

Evaluation of the plan showed that every measurement objective but two

was either met or exceeded. The two goals unmet were: the NHOF did not get a

morning show to broadcast on site (instead, video clips were shown on several

of the morning shows on the opening day), and they did not sell out their first

day. Feedback from multiple sources has “met or exceeded expectations”.

The focus on high quality service and attention to customer service seemed to

work.

The challenges faced by the communications team and by the plan

included:
• The communications team worked with a small budget, approximately

$150,000. As a result, they could not include much direct advertising.

They had to rely heavily on media coverage, and put a significant

emphasis on the media as a result. They used the billboard attached

to the NHOF to invite the community to the Grand Opening and

reached out on a grass roots level multiple times in order to get their

message out.

• On the day of the Grand Opening, held primarily outdoors, it began

raining in the afternoon. The morning’s ceremony and opening went

off as planned, but the second part, the community celebration, was

negatively affected by the weather. The three country music acts, the

jugglers, mimes and strolling entertainment, all suffered with a lower

than expected turnout.

• The Grand Opening occurred on a Tuesday (racing activities envelop

teams from Thursday through Sunday), an unusual day of the week to

open a venue as most people are used to openings happening on a

weekend.

• The induction ceremony of the first Hall-of-Famers was held very

closely after the Grand Opening, on May 23, 2010. This created

confusion and a drain on the time, energy and availability of

supporters (there were four events to attend for VIPs within a very
 short timeframe – 2 galas and 2 official events). Insights from the

communications team suggest that this was confusing. In hindsight,

they would have done things differently, they would have spread out

the events and had the induction ceremony 6 months later.

• From a personnel standpoint, 100% of the NHOF communications staff

was devoted to the Grand Opening project. Hindsight and plan

assessment suggests that 80% of staff resources should have been

allocated to the Grand Opening, 10% should have been available for

responding to requests/inquiries and for other activity-driven

business-building tasks, and 10% should have been focused on what

happens next.

Assessment of the plan and its execution suggest the following

adaptations/changes:

• Greater focus on ticket sales – economic success supports the other

goals and objectives, ticket sales should have been a more important

priority.

• Revisit the day of the week, Tuesday, as the Opening Day.

• Eliminate the confusion surrounding the back-to-back events,

Opening Day and the first Induction ceremony one week later, by

scheduling the Induction activities several months later.

 • Inclement weather plan – the rain had a negative impact and alternate

planning could have mitigated that.

• Need for an integrated strategic plan - all resources should not have

been dedicated to this effort, There needed to be other plans in

motion at the same time (such as one focused on: operational success

for the first six months, Induction events, on-going community/

taxpayer relations, etc.) and other resources (personnel and financial)

allocated to such activities.

• Longer planning time – planning for the Opening should have started

sooner; more time would have allowed for a greater ability to process

events and requests as staff was full-out during most of the five

month pre-Opening period and had to prioritize (for example, leaving

thousands of emails unread and unanswered).

Going Forward

As the NHOF looks forward, the overall successes of the Grand Opening

were just the beginning. The issue of meeting financial operating goals exists

as current ticket sales are lower than projected. The NHOF was launched in a

difficult economic environment, and some suggest NASCAR’s popularity and

cachet may have peaked. Educational needs persist, as there is local

community negativity related to the partial taxpayer funding which continues to

create a stir. Momentum and on-going base level interest in the NHOF must be

maintained and enhanced – the communications planning goes on.

A special thanks to Kimberly Meesters, External Relations Manager for the

NASCAR Hall of Fame for her time and willingness to share much of the

information laid out in this case study.

 1 The City of Charlotte was responsible for the construction of the building and

owns the NASCAR Hall of Fame; it is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors

Authority (CRVA).
2 The development of center-city Charlotte has been guided by economic

viability, with the convention center once a stand-alone facility now surrounded

by a moderately vibrant city with multiple cultural venues nearby.

Transportation and amenities have all been developed to enhance the

marketing appeal of the city and by extension the region.