The world of motorsports is going through an interesting time.
Formula 1 is struggling with growing its audience figures and finding sponsors as the teams need ever larger amounts of money to stay in the game. The new owners, Liberty, are still getting to grips with the nuances of the legacy from Mr E.
Formula-E is gaining a foothold, reaching a different audience in innovative, relevant and disruptive ways. Time will tell if the charge will last the distance.
Other motorsport series such as the MotoGP have enjoyed periods of sustained growth, increasing their fan base. Arguably, motorcycling is easier to get into from the point of view that it’s easier for young people to buy a scooter so interest in two wheeled racing is a relatively straightforward step. This crucially allows brands a platform to engage in more ways with a key target audience.
We are currently working with an Italian MotoGP team on sponsorship opportunities and the possibilities for brands to access engaged fans is exciting. A key factor is that motorcycle riders can own bikes that aren’t a million miles away from the machines on the track which gives brands a more authentic voice when engaging with their audience. Also, importantly in my view, as a live experience MotoGP race weekends are in a class of their own.
Recently, we have worked with Lamborghini on a sponsorship and activation role for their Squadra Corse global series, the Super Trofeo. Exotic high performance road cars tuned for track use, piloted by privateers and pro-drivers alike, the series has successfully offered other luxury and aspirational brands a much closer level of engagement and relevance with race fans and consumers.
So it seems that perhaps these series have a better value entry and potentially a more effective and demonstrable ROI. A winning combination indeed.