This week in the Business of Being a Race Driver I look at promoting a product for free in hopes of turning that into future sponsorship, technology sponsorships today and 7 common mistakes with sponsorship programs from the sponsor’s point of view.
- Megan Meyer talks to sponsorship consultant Alex Striler and asks the question, Do I Promote Products for Free in Hopes of a Future Sponsorship? “In general, when we’re talking about going from product to dollars, instead of a team going to a company and saying “I need money! I need money to race, will you sponsor me?” a better approach is to say, “I’m going to all these races, I’m going to be in front of all this media, I’m going to have activation with all these customers in all these markets and I’m looking for a marketing partner. We’re looking for a partner in marketing to position alongside us on our delivery if they help play for our marketing plan. So Mr. Marketer, if you want to reach the markets I’m reaching and you want to piggyback on my work, sponsor my program by buying media—I’ll use the money to buy media for both of us.” That’s usually the first way to start getting money for some videos or some placements. That’s how Jason started doing it with Eibach, he started making videos that would’ve cost them a fortune to make on their own, so they started paying him for the videos and paying more money as the season progressed.” Make sure you read the full interview for additional insights.
- Drive Sports Marketing has posted a new article on how technology sponsorships and why today they are more present than ever. It is a fascinating look at how “technological innovations tested by the various teams are then reused and adapted to other contexts, such as urban transport or even the field of medicine.”
- Sport Dimensions looks at 7 Common Mistakes With Sponsorship Programs. “Unfortunately, many brands struggle to identify an appropriate sponsorship program that would generate significant value, or they fail to develop ideas to utilize their sponsorship properties effectively. If you are set to get involved in sponsorship, there are some common strategy gaps to identify that might reduce the impact of your program.”