This week, the Business of Being a Race Driver covers topics as diverse as identifying your target audience, marketing impressions and racing on a budget.
I also look at the reality facing women drivers and the teams that want to run them when it comes to finding sponsorship, some words of advice for sponsors on sponsorship in a recession and much more.
All this in the Business of Being a Race Driver on Motorsport Prospects. Sharpen those pencils, prepare those spreadsheets, and get to work!
The Business of Racing
From the Driver’s Point of View
Megan Meyer explains how to get to know your motorsports target audience. “Your personal brand and racing career would be little to nothing without your fans and followers. Sure you compete and race, but if people don’t know who you are or if they don’t recognize you, then you have little value to sponsorships. Your target audience or target market is the group of people in your orbit online and at the races, and they are the people most likely to not only watch you race but also purchase your merchandise. They’re your people, and it’s time you got to know them. Really know them!“
In Speed costs money: How fast do you want to go? on the Shift Up Now website, Brad McCall of Round 3 Racing discusses the challenge he has faced running women in the driver’s seat of his race cars. “We had established a program putting women on equal ground with men and giving them all the tools to succeed. We were proving that this sport knows no gender. I believe we earned the success to entice sponsorship. Bring on the support. The phone should start ringing off the hook now, right? Crickets. Except for one: Cooper Tires continues to stand with us, and even ramped up their support at WRL events. The company is – and has always been – committed to supporting women in motorsport.”
Videos are now available from the 2023 Motorsports Sponsorship Summit. You can watch them here.
Andrew Petcash has some interesting thoughts in his column 6 Year Old Signs NIL Deal (and the Rise of Athlete “Media” Plays) that you should be paying attention to as an athlete businessperson. “NIL is not just about cash, it’s about leveraging relationships and getting in rooms that were otherwise hard to enter. Athletes are the next wave of successful entrepreneurs. Tie that together with the creator economy…things are going to evolve quickly.”
From the Sponsors Point of View
Sport Dimensions explains how a business can integrate sponsorship as part of their marketing strategy. “There are so many elements that go into a well-run and well-considered marketing strategy. We have been experiencing a massive shift with marketers moving their budget and resources toward digital resources – putting millions of dollars behind search campaigns, YouTube advertising, promoted social media posts and more. That has been what is stealing the headlines, anyway. Quietly behind the scenes, event specialist Bizzabo tells us that 80% of marketers still believe live events (even when needing to run them virtual) are critical to their company’s success. Live events are a broad topic and platform in their own right. It could be proprietary events, sponsored presentations, webinars, or even smaller lunch & learn type concepts.”
In what looks like a timely post, Power Sponsorship has put together their sponsor’s guide to sponsorship in a recession. “The sponsorship industry is staring down the possibility of yet another economic crisis. Reserve banks around the world have raised interest rates dramatically, trying to curb inflation. Economists are all over the map on what the fallout will be. Many are predicting a global recession, some think it will be short and not particularly painful, while some countries are already struggling.”
General Motorsport Marketing Advice & Resources
Sport Dimensions have recently updated their comprehensive Definitive Guide to Motorsports Marketing. “This post is part of Foundations – a series of always-updated content to bookmark to guide your journey through sports marketing and sponsorship.”
James Naumann explains how impressions are the backbone of any marketing program. “Some hard-core successful marketers and sponsor hunters do not like to talk about impressions. If you listen closely what they do not want to talk about is exposure, as exposure is everywhere. They are correct, plain old exposure does not create an outcome. Impressions on the other hand are the building blocks of communicating a message or group of messages over a period. You MUST have impressions to create an outcome. The real question about impressions is where the impressions generated from, how the generation of these impressions is important, how do they create a call to action and how do they work together.”
Sam Carp looks at what is possibly in store for sports sponsorship and marketing in 2023. “In what has turned into a bit of a tradition for me, I’ve started the year by assembling a collection of predictions from those at the heart of the sports marketing and sponsorship industry for a third time. I made some predictions of my own back in December, but will leave it to the experts to share their thoughts on what this year has in store…“
The Costs of Racing
Don’t have a ton of money to go racing? SCCA has you covered. In the video above, Morgan Mehler and Chris Severt walk you through their budget-minded path from autocross to track days to SCCA Road Racing, making friends and meeting helping hands along the way.
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.