Sparkplug #13

Ah, the ol’ lucky thirteen. I considered skipping this number for about 45 seconds… but it’s only a weblog, what’s the worst that could happen?

Last week I touched on the lack of television coverage for motocross. This week, I want to get into a closely-related matter, sponsorship, and that sad fact that our beloved National Motocross championship does not have a title sponsor this year.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. The magnificent and beneficent Donny Emler of the Flying Machine Factory stepped up to the plate for the “presented by” sponsorship, and that’s a great thing. But a Chevy Trucks they are not. I suspect that FMF is only paying a small fraction of what Chevy used to pony up for the title sponsorship. And I also suspect that without that money, the AMA and AMA Pro Racing budget books aren’t looking too good. But that’s all speculation on my part.

However, you don’t have to be an AMA insider to know that the series is in dire need of a big money sponsor, if not to pay the bills than to lend much needed prestige and visibility to a sport that has lost both… in a big way.

So, how does one sell motocross anyway? I’m no sports marketing specialist, but I have a few ideas:

1) Stop comparing the sport to NASCAR. The stock car series has got a huge audience that it has successfully converted into cubic dollars via literally hundreds of major sponsorships. Motocross may have similar elements, but it will NEVER deliver that magnitude of viewership and attendance. Sell our sport on quality of the market, not quantity.

2) Stop acting like the ugly girl waiting for a date to the prom. We have a great sport with dynamic personalities, and our audience is made up of affluent family-oriented people. We are a great catch for the right company; we don’t need to sell out to the sponsors that have image problems (beer, alcohol, tobacco, military).

3) Foster competition. Makita is looking pretty smart right now, so why wouldn’t other hand tool companies (Milwaukee, Black & Decker, Craftsman) want to get a piece of the action as well? I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I have heard that the AMA favors exclusive sponsorships. If it is true, it should stop. There’s no way that we should limit paying sponsors (unless they have image problems; see above).

4) Play to our strengths. Motocross is cool; there aren’t too many sports that are cooler. Our audience has money and they like to spend it on cool stuff. People into cool tend to be trend setters and market influencers.

5) Think outside the box. Go after big sponsors that don’t traditionally sponsor motorsports… or at least don’t sponsor NASCAR already. Computer companies, consulting companies, electronics manufacturers, pharmaceuticals.

6) Finally, don’t expect them to go for the same old, same old. Develop unique, multi-faceted, multimedia sponsorship programs. Signage is not enough. Repeating the sponsor’s name over and over at events is not enough. Be aggressive and be creative, but get their name out there in new ways. Streaming video, celebrity testimonials, stunts, concerts, whatever. Make it big and make it FUN for the sponsor to be involved.

That’s all I’ve got for now. What do you think?