DriveTribe

DriveTribe is an automotive enthusiast social media brand and former online community platform founded by (and featuring content from) The Grand Tour presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond.[1] The platform was a social media website that was categorised by automotive-themed 'tribes', which allowed users to join open groups of car enthusiasts with similar interests.

From left to right, Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson

DriveTribe
Type of site
Automotive social media
HeadquartersLondon, UK
Founder(s)
ParentW. Chump & Sons
URLdrivetribe.com
CommercialYes
Launched28 November 2016 (2016-11-28)
Current statusPlatform shut down on 28 January 2022 (2022-01-28);
website now hosts DriveTribe's active social media accounts

DriveTribe shut down its platform on 28 January 2022, citing reductions in revenue due to lower marketing budgets across the automotive industry and a global shortage of computer chips caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The brand will continue to operate through its social media accounts.

Tribes

Tribes were categorisations and themes, allowing users to find the content most relevant to their area of interest. These range from Tribes dedicated to particular makes and models, to Tribes about road trips, engineering, and even remote-controlled cars. The website launched in November 2016, under Ernesto Schmitt, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May to much fanfare, with several selected tribe leaders to get things started. These early adopters started their tribes a week ahead of the full release to allow new fan-made tribes to reach maturity before the masses were allowed entry. Each tribe had a specific theme and members joined whichever tribe fit their personal tastes. Some Tribes were run by automotive celebrities such as Mark Webber, Damon Hill, and many others.[2]

Leadership and investors

Serial tech entrepreneur Ernesto Schmitt was a co-founder and the former CEO of the platform. Financing for DriveTribe came from, among others, 21st Century Fox and Breyer Capital, who have invested respectively $6.5 and $5.5 million in the platform.[3][4]

Commercialisation

In April 2018, DriveTribe announced its first commercial partnership, with German car manufacturer Audi.[5]

In June 2018, DriveTribe launched a joint partnership with JOE Media and Renault, a six-figure deal focusing on the launch of the Megane RS. Renault UK marketing director, Adam Wood, said the partnership would look to "engage a broader lifestyle market through original content production, influencer led activation and editorial support."[6]

In November 2018, the DriveTribe CEO, Jonathan Morris, described the four elements of the company's commercial model, which include content creation, distribution, and data insights.[7] The latter of which is made possible because DriveTribe's tech stack is built on Apache Flink.[8]

Data

In an article on LinkedIn, DriveTribe CSO, Richard Beech said that data captured by DriveTribe user engagement had allowed the company to connect car brands to "millennials who are affluent and open-minded when it comes to electric vehicles, or mums and dads that own SUVs, but that have limited knowledge about tyres".[9]

Discontinuation of platform

On 10 January 2022, DriveTribe announced they would be shutting down at the end of the month, citing reductions in revenue due to lower marketing budgets across the automotive industry and a global shortage of computer chips caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] Co-Founder, Richard Hammond, stated that they would be keeping the DriveTribe community alive through their established social media and YouTube channel. Jeremy Clarkson and James May would also be making appearances from time to time.[11]

DriveTribe and its food-related website FoodTribe shut down on 28 January 2022.[12] The website now links to DriveTribe's established social media pages, such as their YouTube channel.

References
  1. Jasper Jackson (26 April 2016). "Ex-Top Gear trio Clarkson, Hammond and May to launch DriveTribe website". The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. Retrieved 9 November 2021. Former Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May are launching a website featuring content made by celebrities, professionals and motoring fans.
  2. Davis, Ben. "We take a spin through Clarkson, May & Hammond's DriveTribe network". Econsultancy. Econsultancy media. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  3. Lee, Kristen. "DriveTribe Just Got $6.5 Million From Fox And We Don't Know For What". jalopnik. Gawker Media. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. "Drivetribe raises $12m Series A from Breyer Capital and Fox". Tech City News. 6 September 2016. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  5. "DriveTribe seals first major partner in Audi tasked with telling electric vehicle stories". The Drum. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  6. "DriveTribe broadens ad offering after inking deal with Renault". The Drum. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  7. Niekerk, Piet van. "How DriveTribe has found gold dust in engagement". fipp.com. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  8. "Drivetribe's Modern Take On CQRS With Apache Flink® - data Artisans". data Artisans. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  9. Beech, Richard (6 November 2018). "LinkedIn". LinkedIn Pulse. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  10. "Dear DriveTribe Community". 26 January 2022. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  11. Bruce, Chris (10 January 2022). "DriveTribe Shutting Down Permanently After 5 Years". Motor1. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  12. Coleman, John (28 January 2022). "This is when the DriveTribe website and app will shut down". DriveTribe. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
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