FanSaves founders revved up about NASCAR partnership

December 19, 2023

FanSaves’ software allows fans to instantly tap into NASCAR’s online guide and cash in on deals at restaurants, tour operators and other attractions in the Chicago area, driving traffic to businesses and giving a boost to merchants affected by road closures along the race route.

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When NASCAR hosts its second annual Chicago Street Race next summer, an Eastern Ontario company will help fuel the event’s digital strategy. Last week, digital couponing startup FanSaves finalized an agreement to power the race's online resource guide. The firm will embed its platform in the event’s website and the NASCAR Tracks App following a successful pilot project at the inaugural running of the race this past July. FanSaves’ software allows fans to instantly tap into NASCAR’s online guide and cash in on deals at restaurants, tour operators and other attractions in the Chicago area, driving traffic to businesses and giving a boost to merchants affected by road closures along the race route. It’s the biggest partnership deal yet for FanSaves, a South Glengarry-based startup that was launched in 2017 and now works with more than 80 teams across 24 sports leagues, as well as other organizations such as chambers of commerce. “Not every company gets their brand in the NASCAR Tracks App or on their website,” said FanSaves co-founder and CEO Shannon Ferguson, whose company is also in talks with teams in the “big four” North American pro sports – the NFL, NBA, MLB and the NHL – about using its platform to offer promotions to fans. “It gives us so much credibility,” Ferguson said of her firm’s new tie-in with the premier U.S. stock car racing circuit. “Because NASCAR trusts us, it now makes it easier for these other major league teams to trust us as well. I think a lot of these teams are starting to realize the enormity of the problem that we’re solving.” The deal is another sign that FanSaves' “digital coupon book” is breaking through in the tradition-bound world of sports. The company’s platform – which is available through its website and as a mobile app – lets users access discounts and deals from businesses that have sponsorship agreements with sports teams and organizations, such as chambers of commerce and universities, eliminating the need for paper coupons while tracking customer data and analytics. More than 1,500 brands across North America – including McDonald’s, Staples and Hilton – currently offer deals on the platform. FanSaves charges a yearly subscription fee to license the platform to its customers, which include teams in the American Hockey League, United Soccer League, the National Lacrosse League, Major League Rugby and the major-junior Canadian Hockey League. Unlike traditional coupons, which leave no paper trail, FanSaves’ software tracks every redemption, providing organizations with a treasure trove of data on how many online coupons are used and exactly who is cashing them in – including metrics such as gender, age and location. It’s a value proposition that clearly resonated with NASCAR, which initially piloted its partnership with FanSaves this past summer at the first-ever Chicago street race. NASCAR chief development officer Craig Neeb, who mentored Ferguson and her crew when the startup took part in the Comcast SportsTech Accelerator earlier this year, called the resource guide an “incredibly valuable” tool for local merchants. Thirty-five businesses in the Windy City offered promotions through the FanSaves platform at the inaugural street race in July. Ferguson expects that number to rise in 2024 as more merchants and other organizations look to reap the benefits of digital coupons. “It’s almost like when that hockey player is coming up the ranks, they have to prove themselves at the lower levels,” she said of FanSaves’ six-year journey that started with local partnerships in Eastern Ontario. “We’ve put that hard work in.” With its headcount poised to grow to 10 – its first bilingual employee is about to start managing its partnerships as the company expands into Quebec – FanSaves is hoping to accelerate its momentum in 2024. The company is in the process of raising a $1-million seed round that’s expected to close early in the new year. While FanSaves is on pace to double its revenues year-over-year in 2023, Ferguson is aiming for growth of 500 to 600 per cent over the following 12 months. Fittingly, she uses a sports analogy to illustrate her point. “We really do believe 2024 is like that inflection point on the hockey stick, with FanSaves positioned to really begin to scale,” Ferguson said. “We're hoping 2024 is the year of the major leagues, and we’re kicking that off with NASCAR.”