In my last blog, I talked about how exciting it is when a new racer announces a new sponsor.
Too often, though, that sponsorship doesn’t truly support the sport because of a lack of activation. We hear the word activation and think, of course—be active, push the sponsor. But what does activation really mean? It’s how you promote, engage, and drive ROI for the company backing you. This can be achieved by growing social media followers, encouraging fans to purchase merchandise, and ultimately increasing sales for your marketing partner.
So how do you do this? There’s the low-hanging fruit: decals on the car and apparel, sponsor posts on Facebook, tagging them in race recaps, mentioning them in interviews, and offering to display the car at a storefront or trade show. All of that is great—but there’s so much more you can do to take things to the next level. Do the things that set you apart. Show the business you care about their success, not just the next check.
As a marketing partner, you can deliver the numbers—the views, clicks, and engagement that specific posts receive. This shows how many potential customers are seeing their name and logo. You can also provide reports on race attendance and, when available, viewership numbers. They always say four eyes are better than two—the more people watching, the greater the chance the business’s logo gets seen.
You can also offer unique discount codes to help drive direct sales for your marketing partner or invite them to the track to experience racing firsthand. Show them the true racing experience. This builds excitement and makes them feel like part of the team. In the end, you all share the same goal: to be number one. For them, it’s being the number one store in the area; for you, it’s being number one on the track.
In the past, we had a marketing partner who was introducing a new brand—High Class White Trash. We ran a giveaway where all you had to do was provide a name and email to be entered into a raffle. This gave them valuable contacts to promote the new brand to—and for us, well, we had fun giving away swag while helping a friend and partner grow his business.
In another activation idea, we partnered with my longest-standing marketing partner, New Hampshire Oil Undercoating, to give back to veterans who were participating in our Track Day for Veterans program. Every veteran who attended one of our races through the program received a do-it-yourself kit from NHOU. For Joe, the owner of NHOU, this really hit home. Not only did this get his product into people’s hands, but it also allowed him to do something very important to him—giving back to veterans. That’s also something very important to my dad and me.
Activation has to be unique. You can—and should—always do the basics. These are expected and help drive consistency and repetition of the brand name and who they support week in and week out. But being creative—through unique posts, videos, and promotions—drives people to interact and participate. That’s when people truly learn about and remember you, your marketing partner, and the great product they’re ultimately selling.
Connecting with and doing things that matter to your marketing partner’s mission is key. They always have core priorities in their business—so learn them, act on them, and make them happen.
More sales for them mean more revenue for their business—and potentially more sponsorship money for you—when you can clearly show why you’re a valuable marketing partner and worth the investment.
