How a Utah Ad Agency Raced Its Way to a Podium Finish at Le Mans

There are plenty of agencies and agency people that have side hustles and second businesses, but only one has won an iconic auto race with its own car. Max Connect Marketing, a digital agency based in Utah, has a separate business—4 Horsemen Racing—that is built to win races, as it has in Florida and most notably, at 24 Hours of Le Mans, where its car took second place on the podium at the famed endurance race. The business is more than just a race team, however. It’s a fully formed aftermarket car parts company and has even evolved into a high-end performance automotive dealership, one separate from but completely tied to its founding agency. So how did an independent marketing agency in the Mountain West become a player in international endurance auto racing? Through a love for the sport and a notion that an agency that represents many auto dealers should probably know how things run from an insider’s perspective. Brand CMOs have stated that they expect their agencies to immerse themselves in their businesses, and what better way than to actually operate one of those businesses? What started as a proof of concept became 4 Horsemen, a successful and growing business that stands on its own and is making a name for itself beyond Max Connect. No training wheels on this business In 2013, four original owners—Kyle Nelson, Travis Draper, Ryan Johnson and Devin Deaton—came together from three different agencies to found Max Connect in Draper, Utah. They wanted to create an agency that was interested in business outcomes—where everyone acts like an owner—and they decided it would be a digital-first agency. Max Connect has grown exponentially over the last nine years, specializing in automotive, home services, healthcare and real estate. But it’s the automotive work that is closest to the founders and drives 40% of its business. With that growth, Phil Case, president at Max Connect, has no shortage of confidence in his business, "We'll go head-to-head any day with any agency and even put our own money on the table to prove out that we can get better results on behalf of brands." Max Connect focuses on the ecommerce space, according to Case, and bring its digital prowess and technology, which includes the Kudos platform it developed to more efficiently target precise audiences for clients. With a love of automotive and racing—plus proof it was a strong digital market for auto dealerships nationwide—the founders decided to start an ecommerce website as a proof of concept to see if it could become successful, from ideation through to the digital strategy. Thus, the aftermarket performance parts for cars company was born. After growing 4 Horsemen to a million-dollar business, the founders spun it off into its own entity, becoming a sister company to Max Connect. Sponsoring a race team came next—and the owners knew just the right person to make that happen. Ben Keating owns Keating Auto Group—with 25 dealerships throughout the south—and is one of Max Connect’s top clients, but he has also developed a strong reputation as a racecar driver. Max Connect asked if they could sponsor his racing efforts following his success. KFC Asks Spaniards to Draw Its Logo on Desert Sand-Covered Cars While the team sponsors several cars in the U.S. and Europe, it owns one—an Aston Martin that has won several races—in the 4 Horsemen building in Utah. Its sister car in Europe was part of one of the most famous—and grueling—races on the planet, 24 Hours of Le Mans in France. The endurance race attracts some of the top names in racing to see if they can keep their cars running and performing at the highest level for 24 hours. Keating and his team of drivers on the 4 Horsemen and Max Connect team fared well at several top races in the U.S., including 24 Hours of Daytona. The team won its GTE AM class at the Le Mans in France, but was later disqualified for having some specifications slightly off. Last year, it decided to enter again and was able to eke out a second place finish on the podium. On the podium at Le Mans. The team has since done well in other races—including winning FIA World Endurance Championship, 12 Hours at Sebring International Raceway—and intends to contend again this year in Le Mans. And Keating, even though he owns his own marketing agency, Tropocaval Media, utilizes Max Connect for many of his businesses. "These guys are the real deal,” said Keating in a statement. “I spent millions of dollars with Max Connect in 2021, even as we slashed expenses. I own my ad agency, but we did a large study regarding the effectiveness of different agencies and Max Connect was far and away the winner. The money we are investing with Max Connect is one of the most productive investments we are making." Winning leads to agency success The success of the racing team has given both 4 Horsemen and Max Connect a higher profile. It also brings new clients to the agency and serves as a source of pride for its people. “We saw some pretty tremendous impact from an awareness and a website traffic and sales standpoint," said Case. 4 Horsemen is drawing orders from across the globe and, as a result of that growth, is multiplying product categories. It's now a full-blown luxury and exotic car dealership. Case said the growth has been organic but is always assisted by Max Connect, which serves as 4 Horsemen’s agency. To further impress clients on both sides of the business, the team is able to show off its cars and even take people out to a local track near Salt Lake City to demonstrate what its high-performance vehicles can do first hand. “From day one, Max Connect said we're not going to outsource ... we're going to do everything under a single roof," Case said, adding the agency does everything from creative to video content, to paid search to social programmatic display in house. Max Connect currently has 60 team members and brings in $30m in revenue—and growing—annually as an agency. 4 Horsemen is helping the agency reach more people and give the agency a better sense of its ecommerce business, while Max Connect keeps 4 Horsemen at the forefront of the digital marketing ecosystem. Renault Campaign Wants Owners to Leave Their Cars at Home (Sometimes) “Our hope is that we’ll grow the dealership, continue to improve the cachet and position of where they exist in the mind of consumers and that high-end performance,” said Case. For Max Connect, Case sees the agency doubling again in revenue. Its growth rates have been 30% to 40% per year and the agency has been expanding into other verticals, including trucking and other automotive adjacent businesses. “We're excited for the opportunity to continue to have visibility with our racecar and the relationship we have on that end. But I think, most importantly, the thing that drives us forward is we can make a meaningful difference in the lives and in the businesses of our customers, we can drive outcomes, we can help their business. That’s what matters most.”