Joe Gibbs Racing wasn’t sure what it was going to look like, but they had the foresight to know social media was going to impact NASCAR.
Their website was already getting its lowest traffic when it should have been spiking. Digital media, although still in its infancy, was quickly being taken to. Perhaps they needed to change their approach to the online world.
Bryan Cook had already made a name for himself as a freelance designer. Having grown up in Miami, Cook, who now goes by Boris (more on that later), loved both racing and artwork. Naturally he wanted to combine his two passions, and began teaching himself computer based programs and website building.
His choice of college was easy, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte because it was close to NASCAR. Although he continued to excel in art, he didn’t want to spend all day in front of a computer. But with a degree that was a bit unorthodox, his words, Boris would need to find non-traditional ways into the sport.
The school’s motorsports engineering department needed a website; he built one in addition to providing logos and other needs. Eventually, he landed a contract with Chip Ganassi and suddenly was pitching 10 to 15 paint scheme designs a week. In the end, Boris submitted approximately 200 designs, 20 of which made it on track.
“The biggest one was the Target car that ran for about six years. It was Juan Pablo Montoya and Reed Sorenson’s, and it had those jagged spikes up the front,” he said. “The story I heard was Chip Ganassi liked it and would never let them change it, which is why it lasted for so many seasons.
“I got to design Montoya’s first car for when he debuted back in the day. Before he was full-time and they were trying him out. It was a Havoline car, and it had some Colombian flags running up the quarter panels.”
Ganassi’s merger with Dale Earnhardt Incorporated brought an end to their partnership. The next opportunity wasn’t hard to find as he took a job with SPEED Channel. But his first day on the job changed everything when he received a phone call from a friend, who at the time was working for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Did he know someone who could tell stories and share videos? A bit taken back, even admittedly shaken at the possibility, Boris called him back 10 minutes later. He had the perfect person for the job.
Making an Impact
At the time, the position didn’t have a title, but Boris received creative reign. After starting out with an initial insider blog, the growth of social media, as the organization predicted, made it natural for him to travel and provide live updates. He also brought Joe Gibbs Racing’s graphic and content needs in-house.
“I came in and it was just the perfect fit,” Boris said. “It was great.”
Today, Boris handles many areas. The Gibbs website has been redesigned, something he pitched on day one. He provides race updates during the weekend on all four Gibbs cars. Behind the scenes pictures and videos, from the track and the race shop, have become a must-see.
From Facebook to Twitter and Snapchat, Boris is on top of what the latest and greatest social media avenue is. There’s a willingness to try just about anything that pops up. Others, unfortunately, he just can’t dedicate the time to.
“I read a lot of trends. I try to stay outside of the sport and keep a perspective outside of it just to keep myself fresh, but since I love the sport I always try and think when I was younger, what would I have wanted to experience?” Boris explained. “To me, the beauty of social media is we’re now on the people’s terms. We’re now on the fan’s terms.
“It’s really all about what they want and where they are. So if they’re on Snapchat, that’s where we need to be. It’s where we can meet them and where our content is best going to thrive.”
The longer Boris has been with the company, the more freedom he’s found. By now, he has a pretty good understanding of what Joe Gibbs would like, the sponsors, as well as what Chris Helein, the Vice President of Communications, and Dave Alpern, the President of JGR, will and will not let him do.
More importantly, he’s come to know many of the individuals around the shop, so exploring and documenting something isn’t much of a problem. It took a while to build that trust, though. Race teams are protective of their parts and pieces, and Boris is very conscious of what should and shouldn’t be shown in a picture or video.
The access he provides fans to the shop or inside the haulers is just one area where Gibbs stands above the rest.
“I put a lot of pressure on myself of what’s going to be really excellent not just in the NASCAR community, but what would Jalopnik or a bigger publication, what would they want to show?” Boris said.
Videos from the shop floor of a car being wrapped have become a big hit, especially with the sponsors. Gibbs might not have been the first organization to produce those videos, but like much of their content, Boris has made them trendsetters.
“Those have shown up on Jalopnik and USA Today and different places,” he proudly shared. “With things like that, I think how do you get the average person to see NASCAR is more than what they might think it is and really latch onto it.”
The Inspiration
Boris was born from Boris Said. Actually, it came courtesy former Gibbs driver Joey Logano. Upon meeting Cook, whose hair does strike the resemblance of the road course ace, Logano couldn’t help but call him that and it quickly stuck.
With the name comes a personality. Boris is biased. He’s emotional. When the organization does well or has a bad day, Helein and Alpern want that to play out online.
Over the last few years, many organizations have hired qualified individuals for the job, instead of using their public relations representatives. Roush Fenway Racing did so about a year ago, and the change was evident as they now use more GIFs and graphics.
Stewart-Haas Racing has built a nice following for their New England accent tweets when the series visits New Hampshire. But Boris continues to stand out by pushing himself to not only show a personality but to make the Gibbs pages different from all the others.
His inspiration is fellow creative type Gary Vaynerchuk. Described as a public speaker, entrepreneur, and Internet personality, Vaynerchuk has a unique and charismatic way of speaking to an audience. Boris follows a lot of his work, which includes how to succeed on social media.
“I came in, and I knew the novel thing about social media was that it was social. A lot of people just look at the media part and think it’s another way to put out media, but you have to have the social aspect,” Boris said. “(Vaynerchuk) really explains it well and he just hammers on it, reinforces it, keeps it at the forefront of, hey, you have to be connecting one-on-one with somebody.”
Think of it this way: back before the Internet was around a business was heard about through personal interaction. But the Internet is a non-personal space, and when looking to communicate with a company, there’s no guarantee you’ll receive a response by email or a phone call.
But now the Internet is more mature, and it can be a one-on-one experience. Interacting with one person could end with you reaching thousands. For Boris, that’s what makes it fascinating because while some may think social media is new, the platform has been around.
Instead, as he continues to prove, it’s how you use it.
What’s Next?
“(Social media) has changed so much for the better since I started,” Boris explained. “It was really frustrating when it started. NASCAR was with Turner (Sports), and they had whole different structure, and they just didn’t get it
“It’s new people now, and they definitely get it. Same with teams. It was a little bit of a learning curve.”
Every team is on social media and Boris gives credit to all for what they do. Some of the other representatives he’s close with have even picked his brain. It’s good for everyone to work off each other, he said.
Late last year he helped NASCAR with doodles on Snapchat. He even posted on their behalf as a guest on the account. Most of the time, though, he believes in competitive pressure. Plus, creative people always put pressure on themselves to constantly be creative.
As the 2016 season rolls on it’s already apparent Boris has upped his game.
In NASCAR, the scenery is always the same: team shop, racecars, racetracks, and drivers. Not repeating yourself with posts can be challenging, but Boris likes to think of each weekend as a new story to tell. This year, there’s also the added element of Joe Gibbs Racing celebrating their 25th anniversary.
The biggest area he looks to highlight is the people. People and personalities have great stories to tell.
“Snapchat is what I’m most excited about for this year because that is the ultimate storytelling platform,” Boris said. “You can’t really overload people on it.”
When Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500 last month, Snapchat was filled with celebration pictures and videos. It was a good mix between both the behind the scenes access and showing his personality through the excitement of the big win. Boris has also begun to use Snapchat for pre-race videos of driver introductions and the cars on the grid.
“Since a lot of people are doing it, you have to up the ante of being creative and grabbing attention and telling a story better because people are expecting a better video, and they expect better graphics,” he said.
“That’s the big challenge and goal for me. Keep video at the forefront.”
Boris. Just another reason why NASCAR teams are trying to keep up with JGR both on and off the track.