Fox Sports, AllRecipes Launch NASCAR Food Community

Meredith Corporation announced Thursday a partnership with Fox Sports and Allrecipes.com to launch a digital hub for NASCAR fans, just in time for the Daytona 500 this Sunday.

The Fox NASCAR brand page and community launches this weekend.

“In developing our marketing campaign for Daytona, we decided one of the best ways to spread the excitement about the race was to encourage viewers to make an event out of the experience, similar to how people get together to watch the Super Bowl or Kentucky Derby,” Barbara Blangiardi, Fox Sport’s Marketing’s SVP, strategy and creative partnerships, told Publishers Daily.

The digital hub will feature original content, recipes, videos and race day party tips to NASCAR fans hosting Daytona 500 parties.

“Getting together to watch NASCAR races live or at home is already a common American pastime,” added Marc Rothschild, SVP of Meredith Digital. “Food is at the center of many of these gatherings. Fox Sports realized this, as did Allrecipes, so it is a perfect combination of content for NASCAR fans.”

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Rothschild said advertisers will come from “any brand seeking to engage home cooks, entertainers or NASCAR fans.”

He added that Meredith Digital's Shopper Marketing capabilities make CPG brands “an especially strong match, since we can help people hosting viewing parties organize their shopping lists and get relevant, geotargeted offers within the site experience.”

Allrecipes.com will promote Fox NASCAR coverage on the brand page and encourage fans to tune in and watch the events live, while Fox Sports will drive viewers to Allrecipes.com for inspiration to prepare their own viewing parties at home.

Content will be generated by brand partners, as well as a group of Allrecipes contributors called “the Allstars,” who will share 25 of their custom Daytona Day party menus designed for NASCAR fans, with more to come for future races.

Chef Tim Love, one of the featured talents on “Top Chef,” will create an official “Happy Daytona Day” party menu for the Web site as well, featuring dishes like Tailgate Potato Salad and Juicy Extra Flavored Grilled Chicken Wings. Love is also headlining as chef for “Jeff Gordon's Daytona 500 Kickoff Celebration,” airing Feb. 20 on FOX.

Allrecipes also has the capability to identify race day recipes that surge in popularity during race week in Daytona. The data can be used to customize user experiences in each local market for subsequent races.

It may sound odd that a male-dominated brand like Fox Sports is partnering with a female-dominated food publication. But this may be a way for Fox Sports, which is gearing up for the start of the NASCAR season, to tap into a different audience using Meredith’s Allrecipes.com food-focused social community and brand page.

According to Rothschild, when Allrecipes relaunched its Web site five months ago, it enabled brands to create “communities of interest around food." “This innovative partnership will help consumers best plan their viewing parties and let brands who support NASCAR connect more deeply with this valuable audience,” he stated.

This year marks the 16th year of Fox Sports’ partnership with NASCAR and the 13th year of delivering live coverage of the Daytona 500.

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