Motorsports Marketing
Why Become A Motorsports Marketing Partner?
Motorsports is a great way to market your business to brand loyal consumers. According to a recent survey conducted by SEMA, the motorsports market has grown 26.5% over the last five years. This growth has outpaced other forms of marketing avenues.
No matter what the venue, racing is fun, exciting and it often takes place on beautiful sunny days. The danger, drama, outdoors environment, added to the roar of engines, smell of hot dogs, burning fuel and screeching tires make motorsports an All-American pastime with a huge audience. Add a few marching bands, movie stars and 4-star generals and you have the ingredients for a day not soon forgotten.
Indeed, there is great interest in racing nationally and internationally. Television crews cover all major league races live. A winning driver, who is interviewed often, gives the sponsor free exposure. The cost of such exposure in any other advertising medium is often ten times more expensive than the cost of having a logo visible on camera during television or trackside coverage. Many companies base their entire marketing plans around their motor sport involvement because they know it can catapult them to market share supremacy.
With the recent changes in our economy, consumers have become savvier in how they select who they purchase goods and services from. With your company becoming involved in motorsports marketing, advertising and sponsorship you will be out in front of those savvy and brand loyal consumers.
Motorsports Marketing Facts
• Motorsports marketing, advertising and sponsorship is the fastest growing worldwide marketing outlet
• Motorsports is America’s #1 growing spectator sport
• 72% of motorsports fans state that sponsorship influenced their purchasing decision. This is the highest percentage of any professional sport.
• Motorsports fans listen, read or watch motorsports related items each day through television, radio, print articles and the internet.
Market Demographics:
• Over 50% of motorsports spectators have annual incomes in excess of $50,000
• Over 27% have a college degree and employed in professional or managerial positions
• Gender mix of 60% male fans and 40% female fans
• Of the 40% female fan base, 85% of them make the purchasing decision for the household
• Employment stats: 72% full time, 10% part time, 18% retired/other
• Over 64% of motorsports fans are married
Driving Sales
Motorsport marketing geared towards driving sales can be an extremely effective promotional tool. Many successful companies use motorsports marketing to stimulate consumer interest, which in turn, generates sales. – Motorsport marketing also drives traffic to their web sites and increases online purchasing. This contributes to a significant rise in overall sales volume as well.
Heightening Visibility and Creating Positive Publicity
Motorsport marketing provides wide exposure in broadcast, print and electronic media. This exposure creates positive publicity and heightens visibility of your company’s products and services. The various media covering a racing event usually include sponsor names and/or photos. Additionally, the media coverage you often receive as a sponsor would prove too expensive if purchased outright, assuming it was even available. Motorsports sponsorship often generates publicity that could not have been bought.
Enhancing Image and Shaping Consumer Attitudes
Companies are often looking to improve how they are perceived by a particular audience. One way of achieving this goal is by becoming aligned with well-liked sports personalities. Professional auto racing is the largest spectator sport in the world and reaches a consumer market that crosses all boundaries of age, race and gender. Sponsoring a racing team/driver is an excellent way to shape the buying attitudes of this vast demographic and will help to generate a positive reaction towards your company and its products and services.
Dedifferentiating from Competitors
The mere act of sponsoring a racing driver or team, especially an exclusive sponsorship, is a significant way to create competitor differentiation. Your company name can stand out head and shoulders above the competition. Motorsport marketing is a powerful weapon against a competitor with a larger advertising budget. Sponsorship allows smaller companies to compete with their industry giants and consumers often perceive sponsorship in a positive way. Using sponsorship can give you a decided edge over your competition.
Enhancing Business, Consumer and Employee Relations
Motorsport marketing that offer hospitality allow companies the chance to entertain key customers and solidify business relationships. Using sponsorship in connection with a consumer rewards program increases goodwill and customer retention. Companies that use motorsports sponsorship as part of their employee reward and incentive programs experience increased productivity.
Brand Identity
A powerful branding program will create a concept that will stay in the minds of your prospects. You must be memorable and stay in people’s minds, but first you have to get inside. This requires focused, sharp, to-the-point branding. You do this by defining your brand.
A company involved in motorsports markiting can get its message across to millions of potential customers, generate good will in the community and most importantly, increase market share and profits. Pure and simple, sponsorship of a race team is a marketing play, a way to make more money by getting more people to buy products or services.
Over the last few years, many new companies have come to the forefront as motorsports sponsors. Companies that never considered motorsports marketing as a viable medium are using it today to get their message across. UPS, Viagra, the U.S. Military and a host of other companies have learned that motorsports markiting can put them on the map.
Brand Loyalty
There is a famous story that circulates in the Marketing Department at Great Western Bank in Los Angeles. Several years ago, a man walked into their Bellflower branch (Los Angeles) and asked to see the manager. The manager came out and the customer informed him that he had his last paycheck in hand and that he wanted to deposit it into a new Great Western checking account.
“That’s fine”, commented the manager, “but you look rather young to retire and never work again.”
“Well”, replied the customer, “I just won the lottery and I want to bring all of my money to Great Western Bank.”
The manager smiled and asked, “You must have passed six other banks on your way to this one. Why do you want to deposit your money at Great Western?”
“I’ve been a Lakers fan my entire life”, stated the new millionaire. “Great Western sponsors the team, puts their name on the building they play in, so that’s where I’m bringing my money!”
This story taken from the book “Sports Marketing” by Phil Schaaf illustrates one of the major benefits of sports sponsorship – brand or product loyalty. Fans do notice which companies sponsor their favorite team or racecar driver. NASCAR reports that 72% of their fanbase are more likely to buy a product from a sponsor. This level of brand loyalty is typical of all race fans. Other forms of sports sponsorships generally support only 20% brand loyalty.
Marketing Partners
Wolfe Pack Racing offers many viable options that can bring your company directly to brand loyal consumers who base their buying decisions on the sponsors they see involved in motorsports. Here are three basic types of marketing programs:
Primary Partners have the most visible presence and provide major dollars. They purchase primary logo placement on the racecar, team equipment, uniforms, etc. They make it a practice of getting the most for their considerable investments by developing additional promotional and hospitality programs.
Associate Partners purchase secondary status on racecar and team signage. These companies obtain positions on racecars in order to maintain or grow their company image. They spend less than the Primary Partners do but they are big in their own markets.
Supporting Partners are often smaller companies, or again, large companies where success in their industry requires at least a motorsports presence. Such sponsors are in racing to enhance a portion of their marketing program. They do not spend as much as the big boys but still gain more than the cost of their investments. Supporting Partners can also be brands that accompany a group of other brands on the car in a cooperative marketing program.
If you would like more information on how your company can get involved in motorsports marketing please contact us by filling out our contact form.
