The Business of Being a Race Driver for September 20, 2022

Boardroom

This week’s Business of Being a Race Driver has a lot of video content so settle back with a coffee, tea or water and take notes. I kick things off with some inspiration from Enzo Mucci and then dive into various approaches you can make to potential sponsors, as well as the kinds of benefits that sponsors want, a look into a day in the life of Pippa Mann when she is not on track and much more.

The Business of Racing

The Business of Being a Race Driver for September 20, 2022
  • A bit of inspiration from Enzo Mucci in the video above. NEVER GIVE UP!
  • Ikoniqa advises racers to talk about your ideal sponsor’s problems…seriously. “The fastest route to attracting real partners in your motorsport sponsorship ventures is to publish content that speaks directly to their problems and denotes how you could act as a potential solution. That’s the TLDR of this blog. Let’s break this down for all the drivers and riders out there looking to work with new businesses in the 2023 (or whatever year is upcoming) racing season.”
  • Here is another Lesson for the Day from Motorsport Marketing consultant Daryl Curtis: Old Dogs Need To Learn New Tricks!It does not matter how old you are, there are always new things that you can (and should) learn.”
  • Megan Meyer discusses The One Thing You Should Absolutely Avoid When Getting New Sponsors. “Part of growing your brand and earning funding is adding sponsors to your roster. But how do you go about finding new sponsors? One helpful tool is conducting competitor research to see who already supports motorsports. But simply tracking down other teams’ sponsors and asking them to also help you out isn’t the best tactic when it comes to research. In fact, it’s best to stay away your competitors sponsors all together. You want to track them down to know who to stay away from!
  • Sport Dimensions offers up suggestions on 4 Ways to Generate Motorsport Sponsorship ROI. “You can deliver big-time ROI with the right sponsorship activation in place. We define sponsorship activation as what you do with what you own. Simple as that. We also consider activation the driving force behind the ongoing value you expect to see from your sports marketing programs.”
  • Sport Dimensions also publishes the very useful Definitive Guide to Motorsports Marketing. “The nearly $6 billion world of motorsports marketing is a challenging, rich and intensely exciting realm to operate in. Some of the largest brands in the world have built their presence from simple grassroots programs to dynamic, multi-series dynasties. From the outside looking in, they make it look easy. But for marketing managers, executives, and those interested in working with motorsports sponsorship programs to market their business it can quickly become overwhelming without the right know-how and support in your corner.”
  • Recently, Alex Striler hosted the 2022 Motocross Sponsorship Summit and with it some great information and advice on sponsorship acquisition. I have posted a number of his videos taken from the summit and below you will find a few more. The best way to keep track of all the videos he publishes is by subscribing to his YouTube page. And don’t think that this advice applies only to motocross. The advice applies to all forms of motorsport sponsorship.
The Business of Being a Race Driver for September 20, 2022
The Business of Being a Race Driver for September 20, 2022
The Business of Being a Race Driver for September 20, 2022
The Business of Being a Race Driver for September 20, 2022
  • Power Sponsorship also looks at The Most and Least Powerful Sponsorship Benefits. “Our understanding of how sponsorship works has been revolutionised. The sophistication of sponsors has grown exponentially, and technology and media fragmentation has meant that it is both easier and more difficult to connect with people in a meaningful way. All of this has had a huge impact on both the benefits available to sponsors, and the relative value of those benefits.”
  • Finally, here is Part 3 of the Sport for Good Playbook: How brands use storytelling to drive awareness and action. “In this installment, we’ll explore how brands go about championing their purpose and amplifying their message through sport. With input from sustainability experts at the likes of Sky and Unilever, we’ll consider the importance of storytelling for driving awareness and inspiring action, and how external partners and third-party platforms can be effectively leveraged to build an authentic campaign narrative.”

A Day in The Life of Pippa Mann

The Business of Being a Race Driver for September 20, 2022

I have mentioned on numerous occasions how much work is involved in being a race driver off the track and this is a great illustration of that. Here is an example from Pippa Mann of a day in her life that she posted on her LinkedIn profile and I am copying here with her permission. One important fact to keep in mind is that her role with Shift Up Now is that of an unpaid volunteer but a role that she is passionate about.

  • What do race car drivers do when they’re not at the race track? Well, I’m at home in my home office for 3 days before I leave again, and I wanted to give you an idea, so here’s my rough to-do list…
    • Upload photos to the #ShiftUoNow website from this weekend and to my website
    • Update all partners and partner drop-boxes – both personal partners and Shift Up Now partners
    • Upload data and video for clients from this weekend to the cloud so they can download
    • Organize, sort and name all data and video from the past two race weekends, and store in the appropriate folder on my external hard drive
    • Buy a new memory card reader because the current one I’m using to read data is slower than molasses
    • Create track notes for two clients for upcoming events, and distribute
    • Invoices – otherwise a girl doesn’t get paid!
    • Continue to follow up with organizations and race tracks about upcoming events I’m trying to get my clients signed up for this fall
    • Prepare for 3 meetings in regards to potential 2023 partner prospects for Shift Up Now later this week
    • Meet with the marketing team for Bell Techlogix, Inc. as we prepare for the Bell Techlogix / Shift Up Now online event this fall
    • Attend the Indy CIO event representing Shift Up Now, and Bell Techlogix’s support of us to the Indy tech community
    • Email our Athletes with details of the final dates of upcoming Shift Up Now Member webinars this fall – we’re focusing on “How To Get Into Racing / Next Steps” again with 3 separate online webinars
    • Build the landing pages for each of those 3 webinars so they’re ready to go out in our September newsletter later this month
    • Prepare for the launch of our limited edition #IfSheCanSeeHerSheCanBeHer T-shirt tomorrow morning
    • Send out emails to Athletes with any upcoming earning opportunities through social media partnerships
    • Try to get to inbox zero – because 100s of unread emails makes me anxious
    • Trawl through both the junk folders related to Shift Up Now and my website in case something ended up there that shouldn’t
    • Start to book meetings for the week starting Monday 26th because I’m in town for 3 days that week
    • Wash my race suit and fireproofs used in practice, and all other laundry from the race track this weekend
    • Pack, because I’m about to be away for another 8 days
    • Find time to work out
    • Stay on top of social media
    • Find the time to go on a date with my husband and PUT THE PHONE AND LAPTOPS DOWN. 😅
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.