Taylor Swift ‘Eras’ promotion at IMS highlights female racers

With Taylor Swift taking over Indianapolis this weekend, Indianapolis Motor Speedway has marketed around the bonanza to educate the singers’ fans of about women in racing. The track, owned by Penske Entertainment, is working with racing equipment manufacturer Bell Helmets and the Women in Motorsports North America group to create 11 specially designed helmets that correspond to the 11 eras of Swift’s career.

IMS, Bell Helmets and WIMNA distributed the helmets at locations throughout downtown Indianapolis, and each one has information about a female racer that’s posted on the display case. The helmets went on display on Thursday and remain through Monday, at which time they will be auctioned off, with the proceeds set to go to WIMNA, which promotes the growth of women in racing both on and off the track. IMS also got the Swift Alert app, which describes itself as “the ultimate app for Swifties,” in on the activation, as it has embedded a graphic showing where the helmets are this weekend.

For IMS, the activation is a way to talk to women and girls about racing, and social media engagement suggests the effort is resonating. IMS said that as of this report, 1.5 million impressions have been generated through the promotion so far, and that its social media accounts have gained over 1,000 followers since last week, almost all of whom are Swift fans. The initial post announcing the effort from last week has more engagement than almost all of the racetrack’s messages from the year, slightly topping its announcement in May that the start of the Indianapolis 500 race was being delayed by inclement weather. IMS also wrapped a show car in Swift themes and has it posted at the Indiana Convention Center this weekend.

Meanwhile, e.l.f. Cosmetics, an IndyCar industry sponsor, is also getting in on the Swift promotion in a partnership with Purdue University. The sides are hosting a “STEM Era” activation at the Circle Centre Mall in Indianapolis that will promote STEM learning and feature a Lip Oil Change makeup station. Purdue’s Women in Engineering Program is part of the effort.