The StoryStream team were at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year to take in the sights and sounds of this brilliant event.
Over the last 25 years, the Festival of Speed has grown to become one of the Worlds blue ribbon and must attend Motoring events. Whether you are a fan of cars, bikes, motorsport or heritage motoring, the Festival brings together the best of the best in a completely unrivalled surrounding.
With visitor numbers well over 100,000 on each of the three days throughout the weekend, it’s easy to see why manufacturers are increasingly choosing Goodwood to showcase their latest models to potential new customers.
The move to experiential…
Over the last few years there has been a move away from the traditional ‘ Motor Shows’ by car brands. They represent a huge investment and in the age of always on, real-time news, most new car unveils are known and seen well in advance. This means car brands are looking for new, more authentic ways to engage car buyers at live events and create buzz across social media.
The robots are coming
On-stand, the brands introduced better and more innovative digital technology to bring product to life and engage with people. The Future Lab was buzzing with people wanting a glimpse of imminent vehicle and engineering technology. Following the Robocar’s first ever autonomous uphill climb using only artificial intelligence, we were able to see and feel what it was like in the Roborace fully immersive VR experience of the run.
You be the star
At the Ford stand, Mustang fans could star in their own “Bullitt” movie poster and trailer and then on the big screen watch the original Mustang GT from the movie on the famous hill climb. BMW encouraged the public to engage with the cars and all manner of photo opportunities and interactive activities and share their experiences using #BMWGoodwood.
Bringing the Cars to life
The theme of this years event was the 70th anniversary of Porsche. For such an illustrious and successful manufacturer, it’s 70th anniversary is certainly a moment to be celebrated and StoryStream helped bring the best of the Festival #PorscheFoS to Porsche fans Worldwide on their Goodwood website. Featured across the Estate was a range of contemporary and classic Porsches. The Porsche Experience stand was tremendous and had the latest models including the 919 Evo tribute LMP1 car that smashed the Nurburgring lap record, the 911 GT2 RS and everyone enjoyed the fun, interactive rides and experiences.
This year the supercar paddock featured some of the most expensive automotive exotica ever taken to the festival. In the supercar lineup were the likes of McLaren’s new 600lt, Ferrari’s 488 Pista, Lamborghini’s Centenario Spyder and the recently launched Aston Martin DBS Superleggera. In the re-birth of an old favourite, the new Toyota Supra also tackled the hill climb.
The manufacturers really upped their game this year with their stands to blend experience and entertainment alongside the latest and best off the production line. Some of note were the Jaguar Land Rover ‘Pavillion’ where the public could experience the thrill of an F-Type, the quirk and fun of MINI and their cars where you could even get a haircut and Ford where people were invited to ‘go further together’ and leap off the first story of the stand with a giant stunt cushion awaiting below.
We all left Goodwood happy and tired, chatting about our highlights and favourites. If I could sum up what makes Goodwood Festival of Speed great, it’s that it is not just a motor show. It is an interactive motor experience. From the hill climb, to the paddocks and stands, everyone gets involved and there’s a real buzz everywhere.For the smart brand marketeers out there, the trick is to capture and recreate this buzz and attendee experiences on their own media so that fans and owners across the world can feel what it’s like to be at Goodwood and be part of this fantastic event.
