Sure, It’s a Nice Logo—But That’s Not the Real Story
There is a high level of excitement when a racer announces a new sponsor, I can attest for that myself. Though how often do we see that sponsor no longer on the car 2 years later? Where did they go? Why are they not sponsoring anymore?
One of my greatest achievements in racing is being able to celebrate a 10 year marketing partnership with NH Oil Undercoating. 10 years! The major factor behind that is a shared activation, us telling their story, them telling our story, how they fit together and making sure I fulfill what they want from our partnership.
Activation of a sponsorship is one, if not the most important part of a marketing partnership, but also the toughest parts of it. How hard can it be, you make an announcement on social media, share some posts from their channels, put the logo on your car, fire suit and t-shirts and away you go. Maybe you even bring the car to their place of business for a day. You have now advertised their brand. But wait, is that really activation? In reality, creating good activations of a marketing partnership takes thinking, planning, and effort.
Don’t get me wrong—those elements are all necessary parts of activating a sponsor and they are very important. But if your goal is to keep a sponsor involved in the sport and supporting your team for more than a year or two, those items alone are not true activation; they are simply fulfilling the terms of the sponsorship agreement. Real activation goes beyond that baseline. It’s the difference between just placing a logo on the car and creating meaningful marketing opportunities for the partner. A simple rule I’ve learned is this: a logo is advertising, but activation is marketing.
Companies sponsor racing because they want increased exposure, more customers, unique content, and further relationships. Logo placement only go so far with achieving these goals. So, help give the teams that support you and racing exactly that!
In my next post, I’ll share some of the activation ideas we kick around within our team and give you a glimpse into some the ideas we have pitched to various potential partners.
