By Paul Birdwell (paul@roaringforkagency.com)
This was a remarkable week in sponsorship with a NASCAR driver, Matt DiBenedetto, soliciting sponsorship for his race team over Twitter and getting a response from two fellow NASCAR drivers, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick, who said they would be more than happy to help out!
A NASCAR driver’s plea for sponsorship is answered…by his competitors, Nick Bromberg, Yahoo!
With the 2018 NASCAR racing season now underway it’s no secret that NASCAR has seen declining television ratings in the last decade-plus that have led to drivers, tracks, races, and even the entire NASCAR series itself having problems in securing adequate sponsorship.
In 2018 NASCAR is gearing back to 30 races from 36 which some think could be an answer in not having so much inventory in the marketplace to sell….
Why 30 Races, Not 36, Could Help NASCAR Get Back Into Gear, Dave Caldwell, Forbes.com
….but it’s not really the number of races, or rules, or anything else that is causing the decline in interest in NASCAR in recent years.
All sports are played or performed by human beings, and ultimately it’s interesting and compelling human beings that draw fans and television viewers to events, and for the past decade-plus at least NASCAR has been devoid of any major stars that would attract the attention of the average sports fans to get them interested in the NASCAR product. This is an issue that NASCAR can address by better marketing their drivers in the marketplace, but as NASCAR does that necessary PR work, it also must keep the sport going and with yet another NASCAR series sponsors, Monster Energy Drink, considering dropping their series sponsorship….
…it’s time for the execs at NASCAR and the sport’s drivers to FOCUS like a laser beam on the fundamentals that will keep their sport rolling along at least at the current fan + television viewing level.
It was shocking to see that in the 2018 Daytona 500 that was just run in February for the first time in years had no beer-sponsored cars in the race which speaks to what is becoming a basic disconnect between the drivers, the people that run NASCAR, and the fans of the sport. NASCAR itself, including the race tracks where its races are run, and its drivers should be able to generate a lot more in sponsorship dollars than they have in recent years which has seen NASCAR take its eye off its core fans and their fans main passions + interests.
NASCAR and its drivers should narrow their focus for potential corporate sponsors that fit well within the demographic that is attending races and watching NASCAR on television, because there are plenty of companies out there that have a lot of interest in reaching the NASCAR demo, but they are not now being reached out to by people that work on NASCAR-related sponsorship issues. A laser beam focused is what is needed, such as the one that advertising agency consultant Michael Gass recommends to ad agencies when they put together a new business development plan by focusing on just a few core competencies and becoming very good at those core skills. Michael Gass writes about his approach to helping ad agencies finding new business at his blog website, Fuel Lines: Fueling Ad Agency New Business, and NASCAR itself and its teams + drivers could learn a lot and raise a lot more sponsorship dollars by really focusing on just who is attending and watching NASCAR races and then going after companies that really want to reach that audience.
The Roaring Fork Agency stands ready to help NASCAR and any of its teams + drivers find new corporate sponsorship dollars by bringing a laser beam focus to our work to identify the companies that are very interested, some companies who are desperate, to reach the NASCAR audience to sell their products and services to and with that in mind we can be reached at:
If you have any questions about event sponsorship or venue naming rights contact the Roaring Fork Agency at:
info@roaringforkagency.com
San Francisco, California - 415 730 - 4854
Lake Tahoe, Nevada – 775 374 - 6400
Bend, Oregon – 541 237 – 8080
Honolulu, Hawaii - 808 638 - 2600
Twitter - @RoaringForkAgcy