Event Title Sponsors

[Ken]

How much does NHRA charge a company to be the Title sponsor of a national event? What does the compaany get in return besides their name tied to the event?

 

[Johnny Mopar]

My guess is the exact figure will vary depending on the location (i.e. major markets would have considerably move 'value' than a small market like Brainerd). I would also guess that sponsors that have multiple event locations get a deal for that level of (multiple) committment.

If you could look through the books, I'll bet you'll find discrepencies as to what the charges are for similar sized markets. I'm sure there are special deals (mostly deserved) out there.

Those are my best guesses. Coming up with a hard figure would probably be impossible to do.

 

[Jay]

I have heard that it is in the $200,000-$300,000 range. It includes the naming rights, signage, as well as spots during the race on the ESPN broadcast. There very well could be more benefits, but those are the biggies. The dollars are accurate within the 2005 and 2006 seasons, as well...Hope that helps...

 

[Eddie Krawiec]

Hey if you know anyone or might have something in mind the Englishtown race for 07 does not have one. Any ideas?????

 

[The Counterfeiter]

I don't care who ya are, that's funny!

If you could look through the books, I'll bet you'll find discrepencies as to what the charges are for similar sized markets. I'm sure there are special deals (mostly deserved) out there.

That's a HUGE "If"! Give it a shot - request a copy of the "books" from NHRA.
They might just throw in a copy of the Policy Manual -

 

[Paul]

Currently, two of the biggest media markets, Chicago and New York, do not have title sponsors for their races. It will be interesting to see if someone steps up between now and the time of race. I would think Castrol would step up and be the title sponsor for Englishtown since their headquarters is located in Wayne, NJ and they are a big part of the sport.

 

[Ken]

Thanks for the replies everyone. The reason I asked was that I thought a company could get alot of exposure. If I had a company and the price was right, I'd sure think hard about it. Free tickets and hospitality for potential and existing customers would make a great impression on people.

Also, I asked because I was wondering if sponsoring an event was less expensive than sponsoring a car, even if the sponsorship was relatively small. I'm sure there are pro race team that would jump at a $200,000 - $300,000 sponsorship deal. Is NHRA competing against the racers for these $$$$$ ?

 

[Mike]

Is NHRA competing against the racers for these $$$$$ ?

Every minute of every day!!!

 

[Eddie Krawiec]

$200-$300 K could get you a whole years worth of exposure with a team vs a one race deal. I think it all depends on what and where the company is trying to market. Thats how you decide what‘s better. I feel that in every sport the racer (or whatever sport rider or player) is always competing against the serious for money. The one thing that I really don't understand is why the sponsor always goes straight to the top teams. Yes I understand the "want to win" but their is bad things about that. If all the money keeps going to lets say the big 3 Force, Don S, Connie K all this does is make super teams.
I would rather see 10 big well funded teams in each class rather the one or two super teams fighting it out. Sometimes it may just take a little money to find that new stand out team. Let's face it you know it all is about money now and not as much skill. The serious should help the racers to find sponsors. It makes it look much richer and the quality of racing goes up. Well that’s all I don't want to stray off topic.

 

[Jay]

Actually, the answer to whether or not the NHRA is competing with teams for sponsors is kinda interesting....See, when companies put their decals on a car, that of course, is the "main attraction" if you will...It is the team and the driver that the fans build the loyalty around, NOT the series...Its the team that shows up with the race cars for appearances, speeches, promotions at the stores, etc....HOWEVER.....In most cases, that is not enough...The sponsor still needs to "activate" the team sponsorship by building awareness and promotion of that deal....Some examples are the things that I just mentioned like appearances, show cars, etc...But other activations are also neccessary....For example, TV commercials, ads in N/D, the race programs, signage at the track, TV billboards (NHRA racing is brought to you by ABC COmpany....with their logo on the screen), customer and potential NEW customer hospitality at the track, product sampling at the track etc...you get the idea...These are ALL neccessary "activations" that really drive these deals home, and you buy many of those from the NHRA, because they control most of it.

Also, I know a lot of people on here complain about the NHRA and how they operate in a lot of different functions, I being one of the most critical, however, let me give you a very good item to think about....No matter what you may think or even say, you NEED to have the NHRA on your side, to a point...The NHRA runs on money, right...? If you have the big sponsor that sees the value in activating their deal, and you are responsible for bringing the NHRA deals on behalf of your sponsor, do you feel that you would now be in a "better light" with the NHRA than other teams that have brought them nothing...? Now, don't automatically assume that if you don't bring them a deal, that they will not do any good, or anything for you. I know first hand, that the NHRA is VERY serious about keeping their car counts up, and that they DO help you if they can, you just need to approach it the right way, and hold as many of the trump, or control cards, as you can. This is terrific leverage for you, to make the best deals for your sponsor.

And at the end of the day, if you are the wagon that carried a bag of money into the NHRA, trust me, it CAN'T hurt your relationship with them. Let history show you that...

 

[Ken]

Thanks Jay - a great lesson on seeking a sponsor. Maybe working with NHRA to make an event title sponsorship part of a proposal would be a good idea. Market the whole NHRA experience to a potential sponsor rather than just focusing on a race time/driver record.