2020 hindsight into a year of amazing growth and engagement for RACER

As the RACER brand enters its 29th year, we continue to be grateful for the support of our loyal readers and advertisers. Our fast-growing audience is validated and energized by companies that appreciate their passion. However, not everyone understands this. Over the past three decades we’ve occasionally heard the tired old mantra that advertising directed at racing fans is “preaching to the converted.” Recently, we’ve been told that social media influencers from outside of motorsports are the “only way” to grow our sport. #whatever 

Let’s keep it real and look at some compelling metrics that underscore the energy and true social media influence of the RACER audience. In 2020 RACER.com had 44% growth in unique users resulting in 2,015,500 more users that in 2019 and 3,423,224 more that in 2018, which represents 108% growth in just three years. The RACER audience is also engaged. In 2020 there were an astonishing 4,200,644 story shares from our site and 105,122 onsite comments.

2020 set all-time records for every calendar month and last year also set an all-time record for average monthly users at 709,324. This underscores that RACER’s North American-based audience is engaged in the sport every day — not just on race weekends or during the season. Last year there was significant growth in age groups under 45 as the 18-24 segment led with a 187% increase. There was also a 9-point gain in female share, up to 22% of our audience, which highlights racing’s biggest opportunity for growth.
Despite conventional wisdom that assumes magazines are dead, in 2020 RACER magazine’s paid print and digital subscriptions grew by 13.4% (24,642 to 27,939). The magazine also earned a strong 70% annual subscriber renewal rate and it is encouraging that so many subscribed when they could no longer obtain RACER via their local newsstand due to the pandemic. 

RACER magazine is the soul of our brand; the foundation of our authority in covering the sport. We think of RACER as the ultimate collateral piece showcasing the heroic beauty, technical excellence and emotional power of racing. Why not consider making it part of your marketing mix along with our digital and social media channels as we prepare for the restart of a lifetime in 2021? 

RACER media offerings have become the most important and influential cultural gathering place for motorsports fans in North America. We never forget that we do what we do for you. RACER’s mission is to celebrate and give voice to your passion for motorsports. You are our reason for being because you embody the sport’s brave spirit and high energy that generates the emotional gravity that is powering RACER’s growth. The sport cannot move forward and grow without you — especially now as we all look forward to an uncharted post-pandemic world.

If you would like to support our RACER team please take a moment to invest in a print or digital subscription to RACER. Also please support the advertisers that support RACER and RACER.com because they are the reason our site is not behind a paywall like so many others. They share and respect your passion for motorsports and are the foundation of our sport’s future. 

You can learn more about the RACER brand’s growth and influence HERE.

Thanks for reading and all the best.

Paul Pfanner

Founder and CEO, Racer Media & Marketing, Inc.