I have always wondered how much bang for the buck companies get when they sink millions into any of the pro classes. I know NHRA has a nice following, but compared to other sports I would say the ESPN telecasts have a very limited audience. Of course there is the races and the crowds that are there. Does Castrol being on the side of a couple of the Force cars make them sell enough products to make up for the millions they spend on the sponsorship. Some of the cars have sponsors not even related to racing, or cars and just wonder how it is worth it to spend all that money to sponsor a car and not get a benefit. Just curious, wonder if it has ever been studied before.
Sponsorship (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Skip13
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none
Nitro Member
It is advertizing plain and simple. And if there was no return there would be no sponsorship. On the TV side it is easy to determine the return, it is a simple math equation. How much time the sponsor’s logo is on the screen and what would it cost to buy that time. And there are companies that keep track and generate reports to the teams and sponsors. People watching racing will also buy soda, soap and other non automotive related products.
Just using round numbers if a 30 second add in the show costs $100.00 and you can read GEICO (for example) for 4 minutes 15 seconds during the show then the value to GIECO is $850.00 (8.5 30 second spots). When the name is spoken it counts as 10 seconds, so if the announcer says the GEICO car wins! And then they interview Morgan and he says the GIECO team is doing a good job, that counts as 20 seconds of time. That’s why (for better or worse) the drivers almost always mention the sponsor in the interview.
Obviously if the car goes to the finals it is going to get more exposure than one that bows out first round. One that crashes or blows up and makes it on SportsCenter or the local news it getting more exposure as long as you can read the logo, and all that counts. Once you blow the body off, you lose that and the exposure clock stops-LoL
Many of the teams also have a website, or coupon on the handout cards that can be tracked back to the race team. So if you go to Quick Lane they know the contact came from the racecar. The markets where we race will know that the sales of Castrol GTX went up the week we were in town.
Some of it is harder to track, the trucks are rolling billboards on the highway, but they are being seen, and there is value to that. Show cars will help awareness for both the sponsor’s product and the event coming in. OK so maybe it’s not so simple, but it is tracked and if there wasn’t a solid return, the sponsor would try another form if advertizing.
There is much more to it, but that's a start.
Alan
Just using round numbers if a 30 second add in the show costs $100.00 and you can read GEICO (for example) for 4 minutes 15 seconds during the show then the value to GIECO is $850.00 (8.5 30 second spots). When the name is spoken it counts as 10 seconds, so if the announcer says the GEICO car wins! And then they interview Morgan and he says the GIECO team is doing a good job, that counts as 20 seconds of time. That’s why (for better or worse) the drivers almost always mention the sponsor in the interview.
Obviously if the car goes to the finals it is going to get more exposure than one that bows out first round. One that crashes or blows up and makes it on SportsCenter or the local news it getting more exposure as long as you can read the logo, and all that counts. Once you blow the body off, you lose that and the exposure clock stops-LoL
Many of the teams also have a website, or coupon on the handout cards that can be tracked back to the race team. So if you go to Quick Lane they know the contact came from the racecar. The markets where we race will know that the sales of Castrol GTX went up the week we were in town.
Some of it is harder to track, the trucks are rolling billboards on the highway, but they are being seen, and there is value to that. Show cars will help awareness for both the sponsor’s product and the event coming in. OK so maybe it’s not so simple, but it is tracked and if there wasn’t a solid return, the sponsor would try another form if advertizing.
There is much more to it, but that's a start.
Alan
Last edited:
Brandon Welch
Nitro Member
I've studied this topic extensively in my job as a marketing and branding consultant and as a FC driver in the licensing process.
To add to Alan's post, sponsorship activation and measurement continues to evolve. A fact about NHRA fans according to NHRA and Scarborough Research: NHRA fans are fiercely loyal. More than any other major sport, drag racing fans are more likely to buy a sponsor's product over a non-sponsor's product and more likely to switch brand loyalty if a brand sponsors the NHRA. This type of loyalty and active fan participation is hard to find.
While it is an effective start for measuring the value of a sponsorship, most companies have evolved beyond the measurement of logo placement on television. Companies create activation programs designed to meet specific business objectives. This could be a lot of different things:
1. Building awareness (not a problem for Castrol, but MavTV might have this as one of their objectives; in this case signage on the car is important)
2. Product trial (for example: Traxxas giving fans the opportunity to play with their RC cars at the events)
3. Employee performance incentives (in-event hospitality is great for this)
4. Building customer loyalty (hospitality, on-car branding, in-store promotions, driver appearances, etc. can be used to this end)
Basically, sponsors have a lot of varied business objectives, and proper activation should take the form of helping Joe Drag Racing Fan enjoy the race experience even more than if that sponsor was not involved. If a sponsor is getting in the way of your experience then they're doing it wrong.
As racers, it's our job to build a valuable a pool of assets to help the sponsor achieve their objectives. Force is great at this, with his roadshow, all of the appearances they do for sponsors, the old reality show, events at their shops, website and social media involvement, merchandising, etc.
You can see by a small sampling of possible sponsorship objectives that measurement gets a little complicated, but marketers find ways. And the measurement dilemma isn't restricted to just sponsorship, many marketing activities are difficult to quantify.
Bottom line as Alan put it, if a sponsor stays, they're getting their money's worth.
To add to Alan's post, sponsorship activation and measurement continues to evolve. A fact about NHRA fans according to NHRA and Scarborough Research: NHRA fans are fiercely loyal. More than any other major sport, drag racing fans are more likely to buy a sponsor's product over a non-sponsor's product and more likely to switch brand loyalty if a brand sponsors the NHRA. This type of loyalty and active fan participation is hard to find.
While it is an effective start for measuring the value of a sponsorship, most companies have evolved beyond the measurement of logo placement on television. Companies create activation programs designed to meet specific business objectives. This could be a lot of different things:
1. Building awareness (not a problem for Castrol, but MavTV might have this as one of their objectives; in this case signage on the car is important)
2. Product trial (for example: Traxxas giving fans the opportunity to play with their RC cars at the events)
3. Employee performance incentives (in-event hospitality is great for this)
4. Building customer loyalty (hospitality, on-car branding, in-store promotions, driver appearances, etc. can be used to this end)
Basically, sponsors have a lot of varied business objectives, and proper activation should take the form of helping Joe Drag Racing Fan enjoy the race experience even more than if that sponsor was not involved. If a sponsor is getting in the way of your experience then they're doing it wrong.
As racers, it's our job to build a valuable a pool of assets to help the sponsor achieve their objectives. Force is great at this, with his roadshow, all of the appearances they do for sponsors, the old reality show, events at their shops, website and social media involvement, merchandising, etc.
You can see by a small sampling of possible sponsorship objectives that measurement gets a little complicated, but marketers find ways. And the measurement dilemma isn't restricted to just sponsorship, many marketing activities are difficult to quantify.
Bottom line as Alan put it, if a sponsor stays, they're getting their money's worth.
none
Nitro Member
Brandon is exactly right about different sponsors having different goals. The CAT deal that was out here for a while had the main goal of recruiting technicians. They certainly knew that not many in the stands or even watching TV were going to run out and buy a D9 but they could make contact with prospective employees and also reward their big customers with a day at the races. In a relaxed atmosphere you can do a lot of selling.
Very good marketing tool. The MATCO tools people also use the program as an incentive, sell 500 socket sets (or whatever) and get the VIP package when the races come to town. Sell 1000 and Antron will come out on your truck for a day.
Alan
Very good marketing tool. The MATCO tools people also use the program as an incentive, sell 500 socket sets (or whatever) and get the VIP package when the races come to town. Sell 1000 and Antron will come out on your truck for a day.
Alan
Brandon Welch
Nitro Member
This is the first time in my life I've been mentioned in the same breath as Alan Reinhart. Awesome!
The hard part is using all that knowledge to find a company willing to make an investment in drag racing, but we're working on it.
Thanks Mike! This thing is the most fun over 200 with flames out either side window.
The hard part is using all that knowledge to find a company willing to make an investment in drag racing, but we're working on it.
Thanks Mike! This thing is the most fun over 200 with flames out either side window.
mick
Nitro Member
noticing one of the best still frames is the
starting line shot, even better if it's PS with a staging duel;
the right lane with the money shot.
2012 AAA of Texas NHRA Fall Nationals Final Eliminations from Dallas Part 5 of 6 - YouTube
dave connolly @ 4:00 and jeggie @ 8:18
