Mini Case Study #3: Alex Albon's Fan Club

Before I get into today’s case study, I’m still after your feedback!

Now that we’ve wrapped the 2024 season and are heading into 2025, I’d love for you to complete my (very!) short survey so that I can try and give you the content you’re most interested in!

Big thanks in advance!

I’ve previously discussed the importance of drivers marketing themselves as individual celebrities away from their teams. My previous case study looked at the missed opportunities in Pierre Gasly’s paid fan club, but today I wanted to do a bit of a deep dive into a fan club that works well: AA23 by Alex Albon.

Williams work in partnership with FanCapital (my dream employers, ngl) to create what is by far not only the best driver engagement on the grid, but one of the best athlete-fan activations I’ve encountered, full stop.

Jump to:

• Homebase (App and website)

  • Fan Passport and stamps

  • Live Updates

• Newsletters

• Giveaways

• Shop

Homebase (App and website)

What is it?:

The core of Alex’s fan ecosystem is his app and website. They operate as a one-stop shop for everything Alex related, which may seem like a given, but as I’ve previously discussed, not every driver website is created equal.

The app and website contain the same content, which includes a mix of news, giveaways, games, and, of course, a shop.

Why this works:

Fans need a single source of truth (that can then also host any exclusives you wish to offer). This is especially true in an increasingly fragmented social media landscape where the very real risk of a US-TikTok ban looms. By owning your own channels that provide fans with everything they need rather than making them jump between platforms, you ensure they know where to go for trusted information.

Fan Passport and stamps

What is it?:

Much like Williams themselves, Alex has a membership card (“fan passport”) for fans. While Williams have their badges, Alex has stayed on theme and lets fans collect “stamps” to recognise regular engagement with the platform.

Following Alex’s recent partnership with BYLT Premium Basics, the brand now sponsors the fan passport, which is also a very effective way to build fan awareness and affinity.

Why this works:

The passport and stamps foster belonging, connection and repeat visitation. You’re giving fans a reason to come back to the app, week after week. Even if it is just for the thirty seconds it takes to collect the stamp, you’re reminding fans you exist and giving them something that helps them to feel a part of the community.

Alex’s stamps are also super cute (and on brand!), and I love that we get the behind-the-scenes of each design.

My only minor critique is that I don’t like having a randomly assigned nickname on the passport, especially when you’re also including our real names. Either make the nicknames customisable, or at least let them be related to Alex in some way.

(I’m also mad because I was busy over the weekend and missed collecting my final stamp of the season! The unfinished collection is going to haunt me!)

Live Updates

What is it?:

As I explored in my post on team apps, live updates are an effective way for fans to feel connected to teams and drivers during a Grand Prix.

Inside the app, fans can receive updates just about Alex and his progress during practice sessions, quali, and the race itself.

Why this works:

Fans get to feel connected to Alex and his race as an individual driver. This ties back to the division between loyalty to a team and loyalty to a driver. Yes, Alex currently drives for Williams, but that may not be true forever. Giving fans the opportunity to continue to build their relationship with Alex away from the team is an extremely effective way to build dedicated relationships that will move with him rather than stay behind to follow a new driver for the team.

Newsletters

What is it?:

I’ve received 96 emails from Alex and his team this season, which is more than I’ve received from Sauber (0), Alpine (56), VCARB (68) and Haas (67) and on par with Aston Martin (82), McLaren (89) and Red Bull (91).

Not every newsletter is particularly significant in terms of relationship-building or storytelling, but it is a consistent reminder that Alex is doing things and has something to offer his fans.

Why this works:

Fans can’t develop a connection with a celebrity if they never hear from them. While the newsletters are written from a third-person perspective (rather than pretending to be “from” Alex himself), they’re informative and give fans a unique insight into Alex’s journey. It would be cool to occasionally get a message “from” Alex, but considering we’re still in the first year of the community, they’re doing well!

Again, my only critique is minor, but I do have to point out that there’s a flaw in the customer journey coding flow and I’m constantly getting emails reminding me to enter competitions and collect badges after I’ve already completed the action. Don’t tell me I’m missing out when I’ve already engaged! They also have the same issue I’ve found with the Williams newsletter, where you get signed up for the newsletter every time you enter a giveaway, even if you’re already logged in to your account. This means you sometimes get three or four versions of the same email because the system doesn’t recognise you as an existing subscriber. Surely there can be an easy fix in there somewhere!

Giveaways

What is it?:

Fans love winning things, so it makes sense for drivers to leverage that very basic piece of human psychology to collect data and encourage engagement.

Why this works:

Giveaways drive loyalty. And just like with the live updates, a giveaway hosted by Alex as opposed to Williams encourages fan connection with him as an individual. It also means more personal prizes can be offered (case in point, the above karting gear giveaway), and his personal sponsors can be spotlighted.

Shop

What is it?:

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Alex has merch, and fans can buy it through the app and website.

Importantly, however, the shop is not the primary focus of either the app or the website. Rather, fans are offered other content of value first, with the shop being a bonus rather than the whole point.

Why this works:

Contrary to popular belief, fans are not cash cows. They will happily buy from you, but you cannot ask or expect them to spend if you haven’t dedicated time to building a relationship and showing them why you’re worth investing in. Because buying merch and spending money on a celebrity is an investment in a fan relationship. My research shows that fans are willing to spend money to the point of going into debt if they feel a strong enough fan connection, but too often, brands put the cart before the horse and think they can just push a shop on fans. Alex and his team are showing the right way to encourage fans to spend as part of their overarching participation (and their sold out collections are proof it works - I’m still sad a shipping glitch meant I missed out on the pets collection!).

I could keep going, but my mini-case study is already over 1,000 words. I am currently working on my end-of-year report, however, so stay tuned for a potential full case study in there!

I’m aiming to get one more newsletter out before the end of the year, with the current plan being an exploration of how teams have summed up their 2024 following the end of the season. Watch your inbox/LinkedIn feeds!

Til next time!