Leveraging Your Current Partnerships and More Race Driver Business Advice

Spire Motorsports Car
Photo via Spire Motorsports

Leveraging your current partnerships is so important as these partners already know and understand your value. This week in The Business of Being a Race Driver, I bring you details on a 3-Day Challenge that looks at how to leverage these partnerships.

I also bring you 3 branding mistakes you must not make, how to know when a sponsor is about to leave and what a NASCAR teams looks for in a sponsor.

This week I have once again separated the posts into two groups and will continue to do so moving forward. In the first I look at the business of racing from the driver’s point of view and in the second I look at the issue from the sponsors point of view. Implementing the former is obviously important but understanding the latter could be the difference between landing that sponsor or not.

All this and much more in this edition of The Business of Being a Race Driver.

The Business of Racing

From the Driver’s Point of View

MotiV8 Training has another 3-day challenge coming up on November 28th. This 3-Day Challenge is on leveraging your current partnerships. MotiV8 asks this question: Does this sound like you?

NEEDING MORE FROM YOUR CURRENT PARTNERS?

We all need financial partnerships to go on this journey. We are going to strategise how we can potentially gain more sponsorship with our current partners.

NOT SURE ON THE BENEFITS, VALUES & OPPORTUNITIES YOU CAN GIVE YOUR PARTNERS?

This is the time to focus on what you can offer in 2023 and show case not only your current partners but potential new partners on what the experience is like working with you.

If you can relate…

then this 3-Day Challenge is for you.

Click here to LEARN HOW TO LEVERAGE YOUR CURRENT PARTNERSHIPS 3 DAY CHALLENGE

Megan Meyer cautions you to make sure that as a race driver you don’t make these 3 branding mistakes. “Putting a business behind your racing career is a layered and long-term process, but one that is well worth it if you want to be successful in motorsports. You know that sponsors are the key to your career success and that building a well-rounded and attractive brand is what will land you the sponsors of your dreams. Now is a great time to review all of your branding efforts and see what’s working and what’s not helping you or if it’s a waste of your time.”


While this is written with an audience of rights holders in mind, 4 warning signs that a sponsor is planning to exit by Power Sponsorship is just as applicable to a race driver. “Have you ever been blindsided by a sponsor exiting? Thought a renewal was a sure thing, or at least a strong probability, only to get a “no”? There were probably signs along the way, but as much as rightsholders read a myriad of motivations and probabilities into every stage of the initial sales and negotiation process, they don’t read between the lines when coming up to a renewal.”


If you are looking to connect with a rich sponsor on Twitter, you better think twice. According to Forbes, Billionaires Don’t Care For Twitter, Forbes Survey Finds—And That’s Before Musk Took Over. “The response was part of a broader apathy toward social media among billionaires. Nearly half (46.8%) of those surveyed said they have no social media accounts at all. Of those who did report being active online, the most popular landing place was LinkedIn, which 25.8% of surveyed billionaires said they used, followed by photo-sharing app Instagram (22.6%) and Facebook (21.6%). At the bottom of the pile were Chinese photo-sharing app WeChat (4.8%), Whatsapp (3.2%) and TikTok (3.2%).”


Another fascinating legal implication from the collapse of FTX is how it could affect endorsement liability. Sportico looks at the issue in FTX ‘Ponzi Scheme’ Lawsuit Could Set New Mark for Endorser Liability.


From the Sponsors Point of View

According to Investopedia, “Return on investment (ROI) is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency or profitability of an investment or compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. ROI tries to directly measure the amount of return on a particular investment, relative to the investment’s cost.” Ultimately a sponsor has to get their money’s worth if they are going to continue to invest in (sponsor) you. The following articles explain more about ROI in a sponsorship and motorsport marketing context.


Kim Skildum-Reid of Power Sponsorship has prepared an infographic on Sponsorship, Data, and Maximising Brand Returns. “I’ve prepared this infographic to illustrate the differences between data-focused sponsorship and fan-focused sponsorship, the pros and cons, and how each approach impacts on brand results.”


General Motorsport Marketing News

NASCAR racing team Spire Motorsports has posted an informative article on the Top Five Questions to Ask Yourself When Considering a NASCAR Sponsorship. “Perhaps you have been approached by someone in the NASCAR industry about sponsorship – this could be sponsoring a specific race team, becoming the race sponsor or even an Official Partner of NASCAR itself. What are your next steps, how do you proceed? There are at least five fundamental questions that you should ask yourself when considering a NASCAR sponsorship. Let’s take the top five questions and dive into each for more context.”

Mark Boudreau
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.