Sponsorship diminishing in V8s?

[mmciau]

We are all noticing the diminishing sponsorship and/or re-positioning of sponsors in the V8s.

I'd suggest that sponsors are getting less exposures as the years progress with V8s because we, (joe public) are seeing less and less of the V8s in terms of meetings and greater "time between meetings'

The sponsors are not getting fair exposure!

Mike

[NAC]

I agree that some of the races the "time between meetings" seams as if it is forever. As far as exposure goes the TV station plays a big part in this. I believe they do need to do a run up and down the grid through out a race (while trying not to loose good hard racing) and at least give them all a mention. I know they do try but I have to say at some races all it feels like you have only seen 6 or 6 guys racing and you missed out what else is going on.

Apart from on the track it is also up to the sponsor / team to get the most out of that sponsorship. Some do a good job and others are crap.

[Denosaur]

If the calendar was made more consistant that would help, not to mention the fact that if the teams and VE$A backed of a little in terms of there minimum pricing for a deal. Last I herd, an interested sponsor baulked at the prospect of having to pay $250k for a 20x10 size sticker. Since then, he has put up the "no motorsport sponsorship" policy.

[Matthew Ronke]

Originally Posted by NAC

Apart from on the track it is also up to the sponsor / team to get the most out of that sponsorship. Some do a good job and others are crap.

I don't think you can say its the sponsor job. I remember reading an Auto Action summit 12 - 18 months ago with the teams and V8 Supercars. It was stated the problem was that V8 Supercars Sponsors were lazy.

I think that is the wrong mindset for V8 Supercars and teams to have, and probably the reasons why Sponsorship is getting tight. There are other sports and other mediums out there that are doing the hard work for the sponsor and that is why they are getting the money.

I saw part of a documentary on the New Toyota Nascar and Waltrip was producing the TV adds for the sponsors as part of the deal. The receiver of the funds is doing the work to justify monies not the giver of the funds doing the work to justify the money given.

Just because you put their name on the side of the car will not cut it in the Sponsorship market of the future no matter how good TV Ratings are.

There is a V8 Supercar Urban Myth, that Glenn Seton gave McDonalds a spot on his helmet at Bathurst for nothing to show them how much exposure they would receive. It was well talked about and everybody was talking about how good it was for Glenn that McDonalds were onboard. The story goes that when Glenn re-approached McDonalds confident that the exposure they got was significant enough to warrant investment from them, McDonalds countered by asking how much Glenn was going to pay them for the extra exposure he got from having McDonalds associated with him.

Its a tuff market out there and saying sponsor are lazy is missing the mark, they are a lot smarter about how and were they spend their money.

[Trevor]

It is all about value for money, at the end of the day, the sponsors will do their homework and if they can see they are geting the right kind of exposure and they can put a dollar value on it, they will continue.

If not - goodbye

[Wood-duck]

The simple fact of the Matter is that the sport is getting too expensive...and the exposure is not as great as the gods at VSA would have us all believe.

Here is an example: This year is the last year that the Brisbane Broncos NRL team will have ERGON Energy as it's principal sponsor/main jersey sponsor. They are now shopping for a replacement for 2008-9. The asking price is around 800k a season I am led to believe. Now, being a Brisbane Boy, the Broncos are a glamour NRL club and a household known entity across the East coast and in NZ, the team is (or was..) filled with superstars of League. The team gets terrific exposure in mainstream tv and in print media. Now, I am not a league fan at all, but you cant really hide this...

Lets compare this 800k investment with what an alternative investment will get in V8's. Wasnt the rumour doing the rounds that Dodo are around the similar mark per season with HRT ? Two stickers on a front bumper and one on a rear.. for 14 appearances a season, whereas the Broncos play every weekend (at least 26 times a year + finals and pre-season) and nearly all of their games are prime time etc.

I wish there were more mainstream sponsors in V8's and teams had to beat company's off with a stick, as this would flow down to the fujistu and feeder series. The problem is the sport is pricing itself out of the Australian sponsorship market.

[mountainstar]

The old days of slapping your name on a car like a billboard and that's it is long gone. At least to those in realityland.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by Wood-duck

Here is an example: This year is the last year that the Brisbane Broncos NRL team will have ERGON Energy as it's principal sponsor/main jersey sponsor. They are now shopping for a replacement for 2008-9. The asking price is around 800k a season I am led to believe. Now, being a Brisbane Boy, the Broncos are a glamour NRL club and a household known entity across the East coast and in NZ, the team is (or was..) filled with superstars of League. The team gets terrific exposure in mainstream tv and in print media. Now, I am not a league fan at all, but you cant really hide this...

Lets compare this 800k investment with what an alternative investment will get in V8's. Wasnt the rumour doing the rounds that Dodo are around the similar mark per season with HRT ? Two stickers on a front bumper and one on a rear.. for 14 appearances a season, whereas the Broncos play every weekend (at least 26 times a year + finals and pre-season) and nearly all of their games are prime time etc.

Interesting but apples to oranges really. Depends what that 800k in benefits buys you and with whom. Holden Racing Team<>Brisbane Broncos different level of exposure in different markets and the B2B dealings may be different as well.

[NAC]

Originally Posted by Matthew Ronke

I don't think you can say its the sponsor job. I remember reading an Auto Action summit 12 - 18 months ago with the teams and V8 Supercars. It was stated the problem was that V8 Supercars Sponsors were lazy.

I think that is the wrong mindset for V8 Supercars and teams to have, and probably the reasons why Sponsorship is getting tight. There are other sports and other mediums out there that are doing the hard work for the sponsor and that is why they are getting the money.

I saw part of a documentary on the New Toyota Nascar and Waltrip was producing the TV adds for the sponsors as part of the deal. The receiver of the funds is doing the work to justify monies not the giver of the funds doing the work to justify the money given.

Just because you put their name on the side of the car will not cut it in the Sponsorship market of the future no matter how good TV Ratings are.

There is a V8 Supercar Urban Myth, that Glenn Seton gave McDonalds a spot on his helmet at Bathurst for nothing to show them how much exposure they would receive. It was well talked about and everybody was talking about how good it was for Glenn that McDonalds were onboard. The story goes that when Glenn re-approached McDonalds confident that the exposure they got was significant enough to warrant investment from them, McDonalds countered by asking how much Glenn was going to pay them for the extra exposure he got from having McDonalds associated with him.

Its a tuff market out there and saying sponsor are lazy is missing the mark, they are a lot smarter about how and were they spend their money.

Sorry Matthew I think you have missed my point here.

What I am saying is some sponsors do a good gob and follow up the branding on the car with other branding, like WOW and the last race, splattered all over the infield or JD's taking their museum trucks, girls shadow cars to each rounds, promos etc etc etc.

The other side to that coin would be a sponsor that isn't that good of following up the dollars that they spend on the car ie they just pay for the logo on the car but don’t really know what else to do to get themselves exposure.

In my eyes if you sponsor Motorsport it's not just about the sticker on the car, it's also about how you use it. This should mainly be left to the marketers of the sponsor but the Teams should also take an invested interest if they want to keep the sponsor and be asking what else they can be doing for them. I may just be getting the driver in front of their clients, or doing hot laps or promos etc etc etc.

[Pro Racer]

it is just the price of sponsering a V8 team is so expensive for the exposure they get, there are other avenues to get the same ammount of exposutre for much less.

[pete55]

V8 Supercars would not have this problem if the cars were less sophisticated. The Australian economy is not strong enough for companies to lay out large amounts to sponsor V8's. As has been mentioned football is probably a much better option in value for money.

[GTRMagic]

It all depends on the level of manufacturer backing a team has.

If a team has a significant sponsorship from the manufacturer, and this covers $2m of their $3.5m operating budget... it is possible that this team can sell the full signage rights to their car to a sponsor for $1.5m (in this instance), and then the budget is covered for the season

When the manufacturer pulls back its sponsorship, as Ford has been written in the press as wanting to do, how precisely do you go to the sponsor and ask them to make up the additional $2m (or some part thereof) with not a square inch more branding on the car, and not any other change.

Is that the sponsor's fault or the team's?

Arguably it is easier to find a $1.5m sponsor than a $3.5m one....

It is concerning that sponsors come and go from the sport... but they dont own teams like in some other categories, so cars are not necessarily lost to competition... presuming replacement support can be found.

[n.kuiper]

yea i think that the latest v8x gave a good example of how sponsors can expand on just being a sticker on a car with their article about fpr and orrcon steel and another thing i watch every game the warriors play and would struggle to think of any sponsors i know apart from vodafone because the teams is advertised at the vodafone warriors

[Armco Bender]

One would assume sponsorship from a businesses point of view is more of a tax write off than a business decision based on how much TV exposure you can get from having your name on the side of the car.
So if your business aint making big profits you can;t get the write offs,so can the racing sponsorship.

[Pro Racer]

the Bulldogs at games are refered to as the Mitsubisi Electric Bulldogs, the Blues at Origin time are refered to as the Wizard Blues, the Swans with QBE, the Wallabies are refered to as the Qantas Wallabies and they go all around the world and i think it still would be cheaper, Ford with the Cricket, Toyota w2ith the AFL, Telstra with the NRL, the list goes on, gets the company name behind the teams weekly exposure not once every 3 weeks to a month and for less, do the math.

[pete55]

VESA can't get a series sponsor themselves. Shouldn't that tell them something?

[GTRMagic]

Take a look at BigPond's Access All Areas series.... WOW! There is some serious money invested in infrastructure....

[Bigem]

At the end of the day, are V8 sponsors getting their monies worth and how hard would it be for a company these days to make a viable business case for sponsoring a V8 team/car? I dont believe that they are getting value for money, quite the opposite. Watch any telecast so far this year, and if a TOLL car is not leading, you dont see the leader much at all. Ask Jason bright how much exposure Fujitsu got when he lead at QR for 12 laps> A big fat zero!!! Secondly, how can anyone justify the cash outlay for next to no exposure? Its not sustainable. DJR and SBR are suffering for dollars if the rumors are correct! Thats not a healthy scenario for the premier(sic) series!

[Oldtony]

And with the series running increasingly irrelevant dinosuars how long are Ford and Holden going to be able to justify their involvement?

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by Bigem

Watch any telecast so far this year, and if a TOLL car is not leading, you dont see the leader much at all. Ask Jason bright how much exposure Fujitsu got when he lead at QR for 12 laps> A big fat zero!!! Secondly, how can anyone justify the cash outlay for next to no exposure? Its not sustainable.

Its not all exposure though for a sponsor. It is a part of it yes, but a sponsor is not going to make sponsorship decision based entirely on exposure.

[pete55]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Its not all exposure though for a sponsor. It is a part of it yes, but a sponsor is not going to make sponsorship decision based entirely on exposure.

I'm buggered if i know what else they would use as a criteria.

[Armco Bender]

Sponsors also like to smooze their clients at big events these days pete,probably as much business done in the corporate boxes than there is in the board room.
If it was just dollars and cents a company would just go buy air time on TV and run ads,whats the point of hoping the cameras will focus on your name on the side of a car to justify your reutrns these days.

[pete55]

Originally Posted by Armco Bender

Sponsors also like to smooze their clients at big events these days pete,probably as much business done in the corporate boxes than there is in the board room.
If it was just dollars and cents a company would just go buy air time on TV and run ads,whats the point of hoping the cameras will focus on your name on the side of a car to justify your reutrns these days.

My point is, which ever way you do things, exposure is the most important.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by pete55

I'm buggered if i know what else they would use as a criteria.

Return on Investment. Not limited to motorsport but all sports. No sponsor these days wants to be spending money without seeing a return. The last few years has seen more and more research into finding effective measures of sponsorship.

Other things a sponsor looks toward includes brand alignment, people identifying a company as being part of v8's/football/netball etc and its image. These two in particular are not achieved or measured by exposure but see better results from leveraging opportunities created by a team/championship sponsorship.

[pete55]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Return on Investment. Not limited to motorsport but all sports. No sponsor these days wants to be spending money without seeing a return. The last few years has seen more and more research into finding effective measures of sponsorship.

Other things a sponsor looks toward includes brand alignment, people identifying a company as being part of v8's/football/netball etc and its image. These two in particular are not achieved or measured by exposure but see better results from leveraging opportunities created by a team/championship sponsorship.

I know what you are saying but they still need to get their name/product out there to the general public and that means being seen either on TV or in magazines and newspapers.