Providing memorable experiences to fans and customers makes your brand genuine to engage with. Those experiences don't have to be all in person, but they don't have to be all virtual either. Here's how you can build out experiential programs as a major piece of your overall marketing strategy. The successful marketing focus in the long run will be built sustainably and thoughtfully.
Topics: Marketing Strategy
Read MoreTopics: Marketing Strategy
Sponsorship activation is what you do with what you own. Simple as that.
This can take many forms, but activation is all about bringing your brand to life from things as simple as booth spaces at an event to more sophisticated programs like employee engagement initiatives, virtual engagements, sales contests, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and customer celebrations.
Topics: Sponsorship Activation
Read MoreTopics: Sponsorship Activation
When you enter into something as specific as a motorsports sponsorship to promote your product, service or technology, it is going to pay off to consult experts before you invest any resources. It is hard to know for sure which way is the way forward when this environment functions so much different than other platforms.
In the short run, you will be temporarily "busier" with bringing an agency partner up to speed on your objectives and projects. It takes a bit of time to onboard properly, and this can be a source of fear in starting something new.
Topics: Sports Business
Read MoreTopics: Sports Business
A few years ago, the great minds at NASCAR and Darlington Raceway created the now hyper-popular “Throwback Weekend” to celebrate the dynamic heritage found in every corner of motorsports. In years past, our clients at Shell have used iconic paint schemes from the past from NASCAR and the other series they are involved to tell a story and participate in a way only they can.
We are in the middle of planning our latest throwback celebration for 2023, and we thought it would be fun to look back on some of our favorite throwback work over the last couple of years.
Topics: Sponsorship Activation
Read MoreTopics: Sponsorship Activation
Sponsorship continues to prove itself beyond a logo on a car. In the last 10 years, the business side of sports has exploded and has opened up year-round opportunities to engage your customer base. This expanded hunt for value in sponsorship has turned these brand and team relationships into full-on B2B partnerships that extend far beyond the race track.
Activate your sponsorship with a dynamic approach that engages your customer base where they are.
Topics: Marketing Strategy
Read MoreTopics: Marketing Strategy
We have seen the marketplace adapt to many shifts across our work in different series, sports, brands and partners. Now more than ever, these essential pillars of value are shining through the more mainstream vanities such as views, attendee counts, and impressions.
You will find new and fresh value when your organization limits the inbound noise to focus on these core principles. These principles have been distilled down to their most essential form so you can get right to it.
Topics: Sponsorship ROI
Read MoreTopics: Sponsorship ROI
The last few years have introduced some remarkable companies into the world of sponsorship. Shifting audience demographics, especially from F1, has encouraged brands young and established to get back into the race with a variety of partnerships.
The established brands are looking for a way to build relationships with the new audience while the startup brands are looking to gain trust by association. Ford's re-entry into F1 showcases this beautifully, and we love their promotional launch video linked below. It shows how much more these relationships are than plain sports sponsorships.
Topics: Motorsports Marketing
Read MoreTopics: Motorsports Marketing
Sponsorship ROI does not happen with a magic wand. You cannot spend a lot of money on sponsorship, sit back, relax and watch the new business come in. You must build unique programs using a strategic mix of assets that best aligns with your ongoing business objectives. This requires a variety of specialties working in harmony to generate maximum value for your brand.
Topics: Foundations
Read MoreTopics: Foundations
Your brand's heritage is an excellent asset that your marketing team already has access to. Thinking back to the beginning of your brand, this journey will illustrate all that you have done, created and produced over years of building. Your past is storytelling that no other competitor can duplicate and that no amount of money can purchase.
We believe it is a top strategy year-round, but it works particularly well when you aren't running live events - for example, in the offseason. Another benefit is that it lets you take a breath from the constant push to "new" and reflect on what has worked in big ways for your brand.
Topics: Culture
Read MoreTopics: Culture
So many elements go into a well-run and well-considered marketing strategy. We have been experiencing a massive shift with marketers moving their budget and resources toward digital resources - putting millions of dollars behind search campaigns, YouTube advertising, promoted social media posts and more.
That has been what is stealing the headlines, anyway. Quietly behind the scenes, event specialist Bizzabo tells us that 80% of marketers still believe live events (even when needing to run them virtually) are critical to their company's success. Live events are a broad topic and platform in their own right. It could be proprietary events, sponsored presentations, webinars, or even smaller lunch & learn type concepts.
This post is part of Foundations - a series of always-updated content to bookmark to guide your journey through sports marketing and sponsorship.
Topics: Marketing Strategy, Foundations
Read MoreTopics: Marketing Strategy, Foundations
