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Sponsorship Weekly
By Bill Catania
Racing Sponsorship Is More Than Logos on Race Cars and Billboards
ERIE, PA (Feb. 1 - 2006) Here we go again, the time of year when
fellow racers and clients of mine send me their racing proposals to
review, only to find the same old disappointing routine – a proposal
threaded with clichés like “Your logo here”, or “We’ll paint
the car in your colors.”
Stating that you will put a company’s logo on your car is
important, but if that’s all you’ve got, you are in trouble! Making
a big deal of putting a company’s logo on your car is about as obvious
as saying that the sun will come up in the morning. It is the least you
can do, and something that is expected. It’s not something that will
set you apart from the other 250,000 weekly racers across the United
States, that compete for over $2 billion in annual sponsorship dollars
earned by all types of racers.
The same is true with tracks – selling a prospective sponsor solely
on the value of having a billboard at your facility is actually less
exciting, and less valuable, dollar for dollar than buying advertising
on a road side billboard from Lamar or Viacom. At least a billboard
along the highway will be seen by tens of thousands of passers by on a
weekly basis – about the same as the annual attendance at a
local/regional race track – and judging by the numbers, local racing
attendance is not something to brag about these days!
So what to do? How do we transform logos on cars and uniforms into a
respectable return on increasingly scarce and valuable marketing
dollars? The answer is ACTIVATION!
What is activation? Think of activation as the fuel that makes
sponsorship go. A sponsorship program without activation is like an
engine without fuel – it won’t go, and doesn’t stand a chance of
success. The same is true with you and your sponsorship program - a lack
of activation will set you and your race team or track up for failure.
Activation is “the way that companies maximize their sponsorship
investment.” By design, sponsorship should begin with investment in a
team or track, decorated with logos and colors, and all of the happy,
fun things that look pretty on TV and from the grandstands, and end with
in-store promotions, sweepstakes, distribution agreements in grocery and
convenience stores, and licensing contracts. This is just to name a few
of the types of common activation programs utilized by many of the
national race teams.
Companies invest, on average, an additional $1.30 for every dollar
that they spend on their initial sponsorship with a track, series or
team. This fact is not confined to racing sponsorship, and includes all
forms and types of sponsorship. In 2005, or any year prior, did your
sponsors spend $1.30 on sponsorship activation for each dollar they gave
to you for sponsorship? Did they spend 25 cents? Did they spend a penny?
Did they even know they were supposed to spend activation dollars? Do
they know what activation is? Chances are, the answers are NO, NO, NO,
NO and NO! I would bet that your sponsor would answer “YES” to the
question – “would you like a way to measure your sponsorship
investment, even if its costs additional money?” Not only is it your
job to educate your sponsors about activation, it’s your
responsibility, and your key to a long-term relationship, rather than a
revolving door.
Activation also provides ways in which to measure sponsorship. You
hear about return on investment all the time, but seldom does anybody
talk about how to measure it – especially in the world of racing
sponsorship. In terms of motorsports marketing and sponsorship, one of
the only ways to measure is to have some form of activation in place.
Did you ever wonder why you see NASCAR logos, drivers, and cars on
products you find at Wal-Mart, or your local grocery store? It is not
uncommon for a company to sponsor a race team, for the purpose of
creating a special promotion, which will set their product apart from
others on the shelf, dairy case, or freezer. Companies that sponsor
motorsports at the national level utilize, or activate, their
sponsorship by selling retailers on creating special in-store displays
and ads in their circulars, to bring special attention to products that
might feature the driver or series that they sponsor. Finally, while the
product is featured in the store, it is sold at a sale price, and in
some cases, fans can see a show car at the grocery store that is
participating in the promotion. By design, all of these elements working
together will result in additional product that is sold, and an increase
in sales for both the sponsor, and the retailer. When its all said and
done, the sponsor will measure how much additional product they sold
because of their sponsorship, in addition to the value of exposure and
having a presence on the car, and will decide if they experienced a
positive return on investment.
Contrary to popular belief, many of the same strategies and tactics
utilized by Fortune 500 companies and large consumer packaged goods
companies can be executed at the local and regional level, with some
creativity and forward thinking.
RaceQuest is a marketing services company, dedicated to helping
local/regional racers, and promoters, with their sponsorship marketing
efforts. RaceQuest founder and fellow racer Bill Catania has authored
two popular books on racing sponsorship, “RaceQuest Marketing Manager”,
and “Turn-Key Racing Sponsorship Programs”, which focuses on
sponsorship activation.
RaceQuest also offers marketing consultation, representation,
proposal development, proposal templates, and a full line-up of racing
uniforms & apparel. Visit www.racequest.com or call 814-244-1539 for
more information.
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