You Know the economy is bad when....... (1 Viewer)

[Rajunz]

.........even the TV blimp doesn't have signage on it!

4 cars in the first round of Top Fuel with no signage on the sides.

I would think that it would be in the best interest of the sport as a whole if NHRA would take the title sponsorship of each race and share it with the unsponsored teams! CSK could have had a Top Fuel car out there on Sunday................

 

[Shazam]

.........even the TV blimp doesn't have signage on it!:

In the words of Alan Reinhart....I gotta get me one of those remote blimps

 

[stanman]

It has nothing to do with the economy!

It has everything to do with the piss poor job NHRA has done over the last few years!

 

[Nick Name]

It has nothing to do with the economy!

It has everything to do with the piss poor job NHRA has done over the last few years!

Oh,.. I was under the impression that the racers got their own sponsorship.

Jay

 

[clwill]

I was under the impression that the racers got their own sponsorship.

But when a racer walks in the door of a major potential sponsor (e.g. Procter and Gamble, or some of the other non-auto/beer sponsors that frequent NASCAR) and they don't have any idea of what NHRA is, how many people participate, what the audience is like, what the marketing opportunity is -- that's not their fault, that's Glendora's fault.

 

[ProStockJunkie]

Oh,.. I was under the impression that the racers got their own sponsorship.

Jay

They are. The objection to NHRA is their lack of promoting the sport, which makes it more difficult for the teams to get their sponsors. If NHRA really wants to be lke NASCAR, they should study NASCAR's promo skills.

 

[XPilot]

Ages ago I was trying to sell advertising for the local track. I emailed someone in the IHRA, and within 24 hours had an email reply with lots of information it. Within a few days, I had a package in the mail from them with even more info. Demographics, attendance, several pages of information.

I emailed the NHRA at the same time. Never heard a thing. Yeah, I know the individual team owners are responsible for getting their own sponsorship, but the NHRA is responsible for promoting the sport. They could do a better job.

 

[Rick Rzepka]

.........even the TV blimp doesn't have signage on it!

4 cars in the first round of Top Fuel with no signage on the sides.

I would think that it would be in the best interest of the sport as a whole if NHRA would take the title sponsorship of each race and share it with the unsponsored teams! CSK could have had a Top Fuel car out there on Sunday................

nhra has plenty of "official nhra" sponsors...too bad for the racers though..

 

[Rajunz]

Did anyone notice how Snake announced that he landed a partnership with Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and not a week later, what happened? NHRA announced their partnership. Like a vulture, I tell ya! When instead they should be spreading the wealth, that would be in the best interest of the sport. That would keep more teams out there operating...........

I fail to see how having a plain white blimp, or solid black cars in your top series is doing anything but harming the perception of Drag Racing.

 

[BaldyLochs]

That thing is cool, I don't care what anybody says. I want that job. I've meddled in indoor promotional blimps at hockey games a little bit in my time. We had one in Fort Worth once that blew out a servo in mid air.....lost all climb & descent control! It floated up to the rafters and wouldn't come down. The poor sponsor who paid to have us fly it around & drop coupons was NOT happy about it. We had to go retrieve it the next morning. I imagine using them outdoors can be hairy with the wind.

 

[nick name]

They are. The objection to NHRA is their lack of promoting the sport, which makes it more difficult for the teams to get their sponsors. If NHRA really wants to be lke NASCAR, they should study NASCAR's promo skills.

Truer words were never written.

Let's see. Businesses are facing increased costs and are looking for ways to maximize their investments and minimize their spending.

NHRA provides a unique opportunity at a fraction of the costs in NASCAR.

Why hasn't NHRA Marketing put two and two together while budgeting a couple million of that 2007 profit for a full court press on the advertising money that's still out there?

Yeah, mixed metaphors, I know. But this is the PERFECT time for NHRA to be the "we try harder" group.

 

[Rajunz]

Did anyone notice how Snake announced that he landed a partnership with Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and not a week later, what happened? NHRA announced their partnership. Like a vulture, I tell ya! When instead they should be spreading the wealth, that would be in the best interest of the sport. That would keep more teams out there operating............

Or like when Bob Tasca signed Ford Customer Service Division, and all of a sudden NHRA announces their new partnership. Racers keep bringing their deals to the table, instead of the other way around!

 

[Lori]

I was there and heard a lot of comments from the stands about how silly that big white thing looked hovering over the track. So, if there is no sponsor on the blimp, who pays for it? Is there a 'rent a blimp' for each town that a national event is being run? Does NHRA own that thing? Just curious.

 

[.]

Might be silly, but way better than a helicopter buzzing around overhead for the whole day(Pomona last November).
I am thankful for the great shots it provided.

BTW, open wheel racing(CART/IRL) *might* be getting their act together in the near future.
They will be going after sponsors as well.

 

[Galaxy Blimps]

The blimp at the race is ours. It is a 60ft blimp with a 14ft diameter. We did not have it sponsored because we where demoing the system for ESPN. We did not expect to make the broadcast, but the footage was so good they wanted to use it. We are getting advertising sponsors lined up for the next race in Florida and possibly a contract for the rest of the year. We are a new technology and company's are hesitant to commit long term contracts until we have some more races under our belt. We are currently replacing our 60ft blimp with a larger 75ft model. We manufacture the ships in house. I will post some pics later on.

 

[Kelly]

Thanks for the info, Tony. Who are you with?

 

[Rajunz]

Thanks for posting Tony, that sure sheds more light on the subject. I definitely appreciate the footage from the blimp. At races where there are no air ships, the coverage seams to be lacking something. Thanks again, and it definitely looks like a cool toy!

 

[DrRocket]

Welcome to our forum, Tony!

I think it's a good idea myself. Looks like the video from the camera mounted on it was very good quality. Were you in that shot they showed waving at us?

What kinds of winds aloft will the craft tolerate? Speed? Endurance? Gyro stabilized camera?

Details man, we want details!!!

 

[Buddy]

Or like when Bob Tasca signed Ford Customer Service Division, and all of a sudden NHRA announces their new partnership. Racers keep bringing their deals to the table, instead of the other way around!

NHRA partnership is part of the deals racers get... You have to customize marketing proposals for companies, and many times a partnership with NHRA is needed to do what the company wants... Its not that NHRA "vultured" the Snake's or Tasca's deal within a week (Believe me, no company will sign over 400k a year within a week of being asked), but I can gurantee they needed NHRA... Ex. Tasca's deal requires some sort of booth or trailer at certain events, so he had to have NHRA partnership... In a perfect world all products would be free, but NHRA offers something and they have a price tag...

CJ Curtsinger

 

[Draw 3D]

The blimp at the race is ours. It is a 60ft blimp with a 14ft diameter. We did not have it sponsored because we where demoing the system for ESPN. We did not expect to make the broadcast, but the footage was so good they wanted to use it. We are getting advertising sponsors lined up for the next race in Florida and possibly a contract for the rest of the year. We are a new technology and company's are hesitant to commit long term contracts until we have some more races under our belt. We are currently replacing our 60ft blimp with a larger 75ft model. We manufacture the ships in house. I will post some pics later on.

Isn't it terrible when facts are produced that goes against current crop of thinking?

Thank God some here don't need facts before posting.

Tony, are you from the AZ area? If so, we may have a mutual acquaintance who has operated the rc blimps for D-Backs home games. He has told me how difficult it can get to control the blimp at higher elevations, I can only imagine the problems you encountered in the open area at the races.