Superbike presence on social media drives fan attention towards www.worldsbk.com – Imola race next Sunday will further increase interest

Zug, Switzerland, 23 September 2010 – The HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship (SBK), which is promoted by Infront Sports & Media, has successfully extended its involvement in new media, strengthening the interaction with fans from all over the world and providing enhanced return for sponsors. Thanks to a revised lay-out and increased content, the re-launched worldsbk website now has an increased number of visitors, many of them accessing the page directly through the most popular new media platforms.

From January to August 2010 alone there has been a 328% increase in visitors to the SBK website via Facebook compared to the entire previous year. The fan base on the popular online platform itself is particularly valuable as every contact is multiplied due to each of the fans associated friends also coming into contact with the page. Exposure is therefore multiplied as the fan base is only a small representation of the actual Facebook audience.

 

YouTube has also proved valuable with over 10.4 million video downloads between January and August 2010. Additionally the iPhone application which is very similar to the SBK website in terms of graphics has provided fans with a fantastic way to stay up-to-date whilst on the move. 980,000 visits to the SBK site came directly from iPhone resulting in the worldsbk.com site experiencing an increase of 28% page views.
 
Continual international growth and appeal
Infront Motor Sports, a subsidiary of the Infront Group, provides full promotional, marketing, sales and broadcasting services to the HANNspree FIM Superbike World Championship. Thanks to the new media initiative, the benefit for sponsors has again increased. The social media analysis completed by Infront shows that fans from all over the world including Europe, USA, Australia and Japan have been visiting the worldsbk web page. The strongest visitor increase between 2009 and 2010 (from 1st  January to 30th August) was in the UK with a 124% increase followed by Italy with 94% and Australia with 85%.

 

WorldSBK.com - the official website
In 2009 the official website, www.worldsbk.com, was re-launched with a new design, increased content and improved navigation.  As a result in 2010 the website has played an integral role in increasing exposure for sponsors. The number of unique visitors grew 72% from 1.4 million in 2009 to 2.4 million so far for 2010, while total visits have also increased by 50%.

 

Key features of the revised website include: live timing, the latest news, results, statistics and downloads as well as a photo gallery. The video content within the site has also secured a huge amount of fan participation and interest. With an integrated YouTube link providing one click access from the SBK site to YouTube coverage of the events, users can watch all the action without leaving the site. There have been  a total of 360,000 channel views, along with 495 uploaded videos.

 

“It’s great to see the fans' acceptance and interaction with the SBK social media and their interest in staying connected with the championship. As a result, they remain in touch with the brands involved, which is an extra bonus for our partners”, said Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports. “Having achieved this positive result we will increase our efforts in new media and continue to strengthen interaction with SBK fans online.”
 
About FIM Superbike World Championship
FIM Superbike World Championship is the world’s leading road racing World Championship using production-based motorcycles. The series is one of the sport’s fastest growing and most promising properties; popular with fans, manufacturers, broadcasters and commercial partners. It is promoted by Infront Motor Sports in Rome, the motor sports division of the Infront Group and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The 2010 season is the 23rd in the history of the series. It is global in its scope, with 13 rounds in 12 countries, covering four continents and visiting many prestigious racing circuits.

 

The upcoming race weekend held at Imola, Italy on 26 September is creating huge excitement as the current leader Max Biaggi’s performance could lead to him becoming the 2010 Superbike World Champion ahead of the season’s end.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

Jörg Polzer
Manager, Communication & PR
Infront Sports & Media AG
Tel. +41-41-723 15 15
Fax +41-41-723 15 16
press infrontsports.com
www.infrontsports.com

Julian Thomas
SBK Press Office Manager
Infront Motor Sports
Tel. +39-06-50 96 64 32
Fax +39-06-50 96 64 45
julian.thomas infrontsports.com
www.worldsbk.com