When you picture an automotive auction, chances are you envision a bunch of rednecks standing in a barn & bidding on beat up vehicles. However, Barrett Jackson auctions on Speed Network are no regular auctions. They are the epitome of collector car auctions. The cars are hot, the bids fly sky high within minutes, and everyone who’s anyone in the collector vehicle market is in the audience.

As a fan of vintage vehicles, Barrett Jackson auctions on Speed Network are my Superbowl. I love seeing these beautiful vehicles rolling across the auction block, and it’s fun to window shop and pretend you have the crazy amounts of money thrown down to own them. It’s basically porn for car lovers. Just search #cargasm on Twitter and you’ll see what I mean.

In terms of having their audience engaged, Speed Network is absolutely killing it with Barrett Jackson. From their super engaged main Twitter and Facebook accounts to the Social Garage on air segment aired between auctions, the 7 person team behind the campaign has their well oiled social media machine purring like a kitten.

My personal favourite aspect of Speed’s Barrett Jackson event is the Hagerty Fantasy Bid. As North America’s leading collector car insurance company, this is great sponsorship on Hagerty’s part too. Several fantasy bid cars are chosen throughout the day, and viewers guess their bids through the website or via text. Points are racked up when you guess close to the actual hammer price, and winners receive all kinds of prizes, ranging from iPads to gas cards.

Another cool feature added this year is the Social Garage. Every now and then, the cameras roll away from the audience and over to the Social Garage, where the team invites viewers to submit their questions and engages with the audience over the air. Viewers can respond to questions via Facebook and Twitter, and I noticed more than one fan mention on Twitter that hearing their question or answer on Twitter made their day. The Social Garage is a fantastic interaction strategy that does an excellent job of engaging an audience and getting them involved with the live event.   

Speed Network has been actively promoting its Twitter account by airing its announcers personal Twitter handles and advertising its hashtags, #BJA2012, in the case of Barrett Jackson. A search on #BJA2012 reveals pages and pages of tweets and conversations, and that’s only counting today.

The key to Barrett Jackson’s social media success is consistency. The chatter doesn’t stop when the auction ends. It continues on Facebook, where their 65,000 strong fan base posts pictures of their own cars and engages with the team behind the scenes. All of this helps to build momentum for upcoming auctions, with more and more viewers tuning in each time.

The collector car market is a niche one, for those privileged enough to be able to purchase their dream vehicle. Barrett Jackson and Speed Network are doing a fantastic job at reaching out to their car loving audience and making them feel like they are part of a community, no matter whether they are lucky enough to have that Corvette in the driveway or, like most of us, just enjoy the eye candy.