USAF Switching Seats
A 360° interactive micro-site supporting the U.S. Air Force's NASCAR sponsorship, showcasing USAF Airmen swapping places with the pit crew in various roles.
The problem
The team was asked to develop an interactive micro-site to support a large U.S. Air Force recruitment initiative that coincided with their sponsorship of NASCAR driver Reed Sorenson.
The solution
A full 360-degree panoramic experience that highlighted how skills gained in Air Force training could be applied to a variety of situations, as a NASCAR pit crew and driver switched places with a team of USAF Airmen. The site featured sortable video content, full crew bios, user Q&A and polls, custom map integration, downloadable resources, and access to Air Force career advisors.
As Interactive Art Director for the project, I handled visual and interaction design for the individual panels and content screens. Working alongside a Lead Programmer in a direct partnership, I established interaction patterns and animation styles, my partner identified technical feasibilities, and when problems arose, we tested solutions in real time. The end result was 100% custom UI and a robust 3D experience, built in a very tight time window.
The impact
This site was only live for the duration of the Air Force’s NASCAR campaign, which lasted one season. During that time, it won a Design Licks Site of the Day award and a Dope Award. In addition, it generated over 4,000 qualified recruitment leads, which was a 175% increase over the previous sponsorship. The site had 106 MM impressions, and users averaged over 5 mins. on the site per visit. To this day, it is one of the most unique sites that ever went live.
- 4,000+ recruitment leads
- 175% total leads YOY
- 106 MM impressions
- 5+ mins engagement/visit
Project features
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360 degree panorama -
Streaming video library -
Custom map tracking -
USAF recruiter chat -
Custom video player -
Interactive polling
Lessons learned
I would say without a doubt that the most important thing I learned while working on this project was that the size of your team doesn’t make or break a project if you’re all on the same page. Because we were so tight-knit and able to collaborate effectively, things ran much more smoothly than if we had been working with an offsite team. Not only that, despite working harder than I ever had on a project, it was a blast, and in the end we were really proud. The awards are nice, but the coolest thing I can say about this site is that I’ve never seen anything like it again, even when people were still using Flash to make insane stuff.