Renault F1 Team: Staying power

A continuously-developed community-building game gives enduring value.

The Site

The Renault Formula 1 Team site has a rich resource for fans, providing information and interviews alongside driver profiles, team news and race schedules.

Part of the site is dedicated to registered e-members but the team has provided a set of open access interactive games. Users may register to include their score on these games on a leader board, with prizes on offer including race-day pit lane access. The set of games rolls out across the season. Each relates to an aspect of racing – pit stops, braking etc – and is supplemented by a ‘slideshow’ of pertinent facts or history and a brief interview with a relevant team member.

The Takeaway

Interactive games on corporate sites often struggle to maintain interest beyond the initial novelty: three years after we first featured this site it has been developed and is still going strong. A sure sign that it has proved its value.   The stance taken by Renault F1 – integrating related content, enabling players to compete against one another and win prizes – elevates its games feature beyond a simple ‘toy’ to an absorbing interactive experience that tells the users something more about the team and the sport. The leader board enables users to feel part of a community of enthusiasts, while rolling out the games across the season encourages repeat visits and maintains interest as well as buying the team time to develop the rich content.

First published on 05 September, 2006