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Stating that you will put a company's logo on your car is important, but if that's all you've got, you are in trouble! Making a big deal of putting a company's logo on your car is about as obvious as saying that the sun will come up in the morning. It is the least you can do, and something that is expected. It's not something that will set you apart from the other 250,000 weekly racers across the United States, that compete for over $2 billion in annual sponsorship dollars earned by all types of racers. The same is true with tracks - selling a prospective sponsor solely on the value of having a billboard at your facility is actually less exciting, and less valuable, dollar for dollar than buying advertising on a road side billboard from Lamar or Viacom. At least a billboard along the highway will be seen by tens of thousands of passers by on a weekly basis - about the same as the annual attendance at a local/regional race track - and judging by the numbers, local racing attendance is not something to brag about these days! So what to do? How do we transform logos on cars and uniforms into a respectable return on increasingly scarce and valuable marketing dollars? The answer is ACTIVATION! What is activation? Think of activation as the fuel that makes sponsorship go. A sponsorship program without activation is like an engine without fuel - it won't go, and doesn't stand a chance of success. The same is true with you and your sponsorship program - a lack of activation will set you and your race team or track up for failure. Activation is "the way that companies maximize their sponsorship investment." By design, sponsorship should begin with investment in a team or track, decorated with logos and colors, and all of the happy, fun things that look pretty on TV and from the grandstands, and end with in-store promotions, sweepstakes, distribution agreements in grocery and convenience stores, and licensing contracts. This is just to name a few of the types of common activation programs utilized by many of the national race teams. Companies invest, on average, an additional $1.30 for every dollar that they spend on their initial sponsorship with a track, series or team. This fact is not confined to racing sponsorship, and includes all forms and types of sponsorship. In 2005, or any year prior, did your sponsors spend $1.30 on sponsorship activation for each dollar they gave to you for sponsorship? Did they spend 25 cents? Did they spend a penny? Did they even know they were supposed to spend activation dollars? Do they know what activation is? Chances are, the answers are NO, NO, NO, NO and NO! I would bet that your sponsor would answer "YES" to the question - "would you like a way to measure your sponsorship investment, even if its costs additional money?" Not only is it your job to educate your sponsors about activation, it's your responsibility, and your key to a long-term relationship, rather than a revolving door. Activation also provides ways in which to measure sponsorship. You hear about return on investment all the time, but seldom does anybody talk about how to measure it - especially in the world of racing sponsorship. In terms of motorsports marketing and sponsorship, one of the only ways to measure is to have some form of activation in place. Did you ever wonder why you see NASCAR logos, drivers, and cars on products you find at Wal-Mart, or your local grocery store? It is not uncommon for a company to sponsor a race team, for the purpose of creating a special promotion, which will set their product apart from others on the shelf, dairy case, or freezer. Companies that sponsor motorsports at the national level utilize, or activate, their sponsorship by selling retailers on creating special in-store displays and ads in their circulars, to bring special attention to products that might feature the driver or series that they sponsor. Finally, while the product is featured in the store, it is sold at a sale price, and in some cases, fans can see a show car at the grocery store that is participating in the promotion. By design, all of these elements working together will result in additional product that is sold, and an increase in sales for both the sponsor, and the retailer. When its all said and done, the sponsor will measure how much additional product they sold because of their sponsorship, in addition to the value of exposure and having a presence on the car, and will decide if they experienced a positive return on investment. Contrary to popular belief, many of the same strategies and tactics utilized by Fortune 500 companies and large consumer packaged goods companies can be executed at the local and regional level, with some creativity and forward thinking. RaceQuest is a marketing services company, dedicated to helping local/regional racers, and promoters, with their sponsorship marketing efforts. RaceQuest founder and fellow racer Bill Catania has authored two popular books on racing sponsorship, "RaceQuest Marketing Manager", and "Turn-Key Racing Sponsorship Programs", which focuses on sponsorship activation. Hero cards - For Racers - What are They and Why They are a Good Investment: Hero cards are just promotional cards of you, your race car and team or Surfer and team. Bigger and better than a baseball card, it should have the relative information of who you are and what you do. While sizes vary – the standard remains 8 x 10 or 6 x 8 printed on both sides. Most you will find will have a picture of the car or wave action of you on one side and the driver or surfer with stats on the other. There is no set rule to this but I do stress a good quality, glossy color design will get noticed before a black and white card. Information should include: Their uses are many but the number one reason is to promote you. Think of them as a large business card that can be used to get your name out there. They are the souvenir for the fan and a great addition to your media kit. As you move up in the ranks – series directors will arrange autograph sessions where your hero cards will be the perfect medium to write your message on to the fans that want to get to know you. Hero cards can run into the thousands of dollars but keep in mind a good quality design can be found for less. Don’t be discouraged if your budget doesn’t allow for you to spend big bucks on a design firm to do the set up and printing of your cards. Look at these options: Shop around to local printing companies. Many have in-house designers that charge a fraction of the cost of big design houses. Work with them to be potential sponsors – they print your hero cards and you post their name on your car. Have a good supply of digital (print quality – high resolution) pictures of you and your car handy. Professional done pictures add to the quality of your hero card – but you must be the judge if your budget allows for them. Many race tracks have photographers that will take pictures of your car and sell you the prints – always have some handy and buy them copyright and royalty free. Lower the quality of the paper or the color quality – but do not take away the importance of the info on the front and back of your card. Some print shops offer package deals just like with business cards – only spend what your team can afford. Remember it may be cheaper to print 10,000 per card BUT they do get outdated after the season so unless you think you can go through that many – it may be better for you to keep the numbers reasonable. Also request to have the electronic files saved on a CD Rom for you so you can have a copy. Sometimes only slight updates are needed for the following year. A good hero card is another way of showing the professionalism of you and your team. In fact – it’ll make you a hero around your fans. RACING CHARITIES All-American Soap Box Derby
Is dedicated to assisting Surfers, and all of our Athletes & Teams of Action Sports achieve their highest level of Success in the business of Pro sports by Marketing & Promotions including close Sponsorship contact & Public Relations. We are here for both the Sponsors and our Athletes.
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Media/photography/Promotions/Marketing/Surfing/Travel/Tours & More -rpmSURFER- Media/photography/Promotions/Marketing/Surfing/Travel/Tours & More |
