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PURSUING SPONSORSHIP: The Missing Ingredient
By Brian C. Mackey

For the past 12 years I have, as a portion of my responsibilities, been part of the sponsorship acquisition circus. I have presented an untold number of proposals and drafted even more. I have seen deals go down, up and sideways and off the board. Some sponsor proposals succeeded, while many did not. Sponsorship is a funny business and I have seen my fair share of weird approaches to sponsorship funding. In addition, I have reviewed an untold number of proposals from outside sources. In total, there have been very few that grasped the complete approach and truly understood the powerful application of event marketing that exists with motor racing.

It does not matter the source of these proposals; whether amateur or professional, so-called experts, or greenhorn beginners, there is often a critically important element that is regrettably missing in motorsport sponsorship proposals.

Nearly all of the presentations feature the basic exposure value that is a major part of the motorsport sponsorship equation. Nearly all presentations make sure that they have addressed the thousands, millions, or even billions of people who will see their race car, and thereby the prospective sponsor’s logo. It’s the so-called “moving billboard” value.

Many presentations make a major point in detailing the incredible amount of brand exposure that can be derived from television by reminding prospects that their corporate logo will be displayed during the editorial content of the television coverage, i.e., the race itself. If the television broadcast reaches a huge audience of prospects, the rationale is that the value in reaching them justifies the sponsor investment.

So what’s missing? What is missing is one of the most important elements available to race sponsors – the one ingredient that separates motorsports marketing from nearly all its competitors for the prospective sponsor’s dollars. It can be summed up by one word: Passion! We express this “passion” through a relatively indistinct term, as “loyalty to sponsor product”. However, it is much stronger than that. I believe “loyalty” is a giant step shy of what we have here. If sponsors understood the degree of this “passion” that exists, they would quickly understand just why motor racing is such an incredible marketing opportunity.

I have read countless articles on the subject. I recall one survey that described that 38% of the viewers who watched a specific race on television responded that they bought a particular consumer product “PURELY” because of sponsorship of one of the race cars. Purely – not because of advertising, not because of price, not because of anything other than the race car sponsorship. That’s powerful stuff!

If a marketing manager, brand manager or any marketing executive realized he/she could influence 38% of an audience to purchase their product “purely” because of one sports marketing strategy, to dismiss it without serious consideration would be foolhardy. Yet, that is what is seemingly done time after time, day after day, as the motorsports marketing proposals cycle into the trash bin!

Motor racing is a passionate sport. It’s not just fast cars, skillful drivers, speed, danger, paint schemes and certainly it is not just the exposure. It is “passion” that explains why all of us are involved with motor racing either as a fan or a professional. It explains why drivers seemingly risk their limbs to compete. It’s why fans stand in the rain, walk for miles, wait for months, stand in long lines, spend millions of dollars for tickets, just for a chance to witness a motor race. It’s an untold something-or-other that invades the heart and won’t let go – ever.

For marketers, this presents a unique chance to tap into this reservoir of positive feelings. To gather among passionate fans and become associated with their favorite chosen leisure activity is a quality opportunity. If motor racing attracted only a few, relatively modest number of “passionate” fans, its platform for promotion would not be noteworthy. But, the sport’s growth over the past several decades to evolve into a major player among professional sports, produces such a massive audience of fans that the groundwork for an extraordinary promotion platform emerges.

Now, add in those numbers. Inform sponsorship prospects that the reservoir of fans is overflowing and the opportunity for untold results to be derived from this association rings loud and clear. Sponsors emerge with a link from the fan’s heart to his/her wallet. Fans simply respond to companies that are part of this presentation. For example, when I was sixteen, I purchased Gulf gasoline because they sponsored J. Wyer Gulf-sponsored Ford GT-40s, Ford Mirages and later, Porsche 917s. Sometimes I purchased Sunoco because, you guess it, they sponsored Mark Donahue and Penske Racing. I can’t really explain why other than that elusive link, I felt with the team and driver if I purchased their sponsor’s product. That was over thirty years ago. Can you remember any other marketing platform or strategy of thirty years ago? That seems to me to be an incredible influence and yet it is just standard operating procedure among passionate fans!

We are all ardent followers of this sport or we wouldn’t be here. There must be a transfer of the “missing ingredient” in presentations in order to fully communicate the sport’s effectiveness as a promotion platform. Marketers will understand. Collectively, we need to get beyond just numbers and tell them why this sport holds such tremendous opportunity. It has very little to do with “exposure” and everything to do with who this exposure is reaching. It is passionate fans who passionately follow this activity and passionately respond. Plain and simple. If we communicate this effectively, perhaps we may all find ourselves with prospective sponsors who demand to be part of this phenomenon. Wouldn’t that be music to the ears of un-sponsored race teams and drivers?

About the author: Brian Mackey is president of Mackey Marketing Group, Inc. a motorsport marketing agency.

Article courtesy of “Ernie Saxton’s Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News” newsletter. A one year subscription is available for $79.95 from Ernie Saxton Communications, 1448 Hollywood Avenue, Langhorne, PA 19047 USA. Telephone: 215-752-7797, Fax: 215-752-1518.

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