Drivetribe

Drivetribe emerged in late 2016 from the combined vision of former "Top Gear" personalities Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, alongside serial entrepreneur Ernesto Schmitt and producer Andy Wilman. The venture was conceived as a digital hub for automotive enthusiasts, a specialized social network where users could form and join communities, or "Tribes," based on their specific motoring interests. This journey began after the founders' departure from the BBC, creating a parallel digital venture to their new show, "The Grand Tour," on Amazon Prime.

Financially, the platform launched with substantial backing, securing a total of $12 million from notable investors, including Breyer Capital, Atomico, and 21st Century Fox. The business model initially focused on leveraging the massive global automotive advertising market through native advertising and social commerce. It later evolved to a four-pronged approach encompassing content creation, distribution, data insights, and client engagement with major brands like Audi and Renault. The platform's tech stack was built to extract real-time data analytics from user interactions, providing valuable insights to the automotive industry.

Despite rapid initial user growth, reaching 140 million monthly platform users by 2021, Drivetribe faced financial headwinds. The company reported significant losses in its early years and found sustained profitability challenging. In January 2022, facing industry-wide marketing budget cuts and the global chip shortage, the company announced the shutdown of its website and app. The brand, however, did not disappear. Richard Hammond acquired the Drivetribe brand, transitioning the business to focus on its successful social media channels, particularly YouTube. This strategic pivot was followed by the acquisition of video production agency Centric Creative in October 2023, repositioning Drivetribe as a full-service automotive content production and distribution house, offering end-to-end marketing solutions for automotive brands.

Keywords: automotive community, social media, content platform, digital media, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, video production, automotive marketing, online publishing