Traditional Marketing for Race Teams

Below I talk about different ways to market your race team. Some of these are well-known, and some may be new to you or provide a twist on what you already know and do.

Think about ways you could add one or two of these ideas to your existing team marketing, and if you would like help with your marketing, reach out to us TLC@TLCMotorsportMarketing.com!

Google My Business

When you search for a business on Google and the information shows up on teh side of your screen with hours, website, and other business information – that is the result of a business adding their information to Google My Business.

This is a free service and is a good way to be found in Google Search, Maps, and Shopping and is available to businesses that have contact with customers.  As a race team, your customers will be the other businesses you work with to provide marketing services for.

If you have a Google account (Gmail) you can use this information to set up a business account.  

Follow the instructions and add as much information as possible including your business name and location.  Be sure to use a physical location and not a PO Box.  You may use your home address as this will not be displayed unless you choose to.  

You will need to verify your account.  For me, this was done with a postcard being sent to my home address and then entering a code from the postcard into Google My Business.

You can and should regularly add photos and videos to update information frequently to keep your information up to date.

T-shirts & swag

Businesses use swag as a tool in their marketing as an inexpensive way to promote their brand, increase visibility,  create goodwill or change perceptions among their customers or potential customers, and reward customers or vendors. 

As a driver, these can also be another source of revenue and an additional spot to highlight your sponsors.

Sponsor Updates 

Communication is key.  Consistent updates will remind them of why they sponsor you.  Include what you have done for them, not just your results. 

Press Releases 

The function of a press release is to provide information or make an announcement to the press.  The purpose of distributing a release can be to shape your brand image, increase recognition, reliability, prestige, revenue, and reputation, build trust or increase traffic either in person or to a website.

While the purpose of a press release is to appear in a publication, it is different from advertising, with the biggest difference being cost. Another difference is that releases are not crafted to provide sales.  Even though the release is not designed to create sales, that doesn’t mean it holds no value.  As long as the information is interesting for the public, they have value.

Photos & Video

Photos and video play an increasingly important part in your marketing.  Social media platforms are increasingly showing these types of posts to more people than posts with just words.  Short-form video – a minute or less – is the best content to create right now.

Additional photos or videos of you showcasing or using a sponsor’s product with permissions granted to the sponsor to use them in their marketing are additional pieces you can to your marketing proposal to enhance the value of your offer.

If you purchase photos from a photographer, ensure they are granting you permission to use the photos or to give them to another entity to use commercially.

Hero Cards

By far my favorite marketing opportunity for drivers is autograph sessions or meet and greets.  Personally, I feel this is the best way for fans to get to know the driver and for the driver to promote their sponsor. The team and driver should have something that directs your fan’s attention to the sponsor whether that is a menu from a restaurant, a discount, opportunities to sign up for a mailing list, etc.

Here cards should be used to provide additional information regarding the sponsors, and many of these become collectibles, leaving long-lasting impressions of your sponsors.

One pager

Think of this as a condensed version of your marketing deck providing statistics and contact information.

Additional Information on Postcards 

During an autograph session I attended, one driver included in a bag, branded with his sponsor’s information, a hero card, information about purchasing items from him, and a postcard with different sponsorship opportunities including fuel and tires.  This offered a low-cost opportunity to be involved with him and the team which many is unobtainable for individuals or small businesses.

You are a (Driving) billboard

Race cars are not called 100 MPH Billboards, or moving billboards for no reason.

This is the most visible part of marketing.  It can be an effective and important piece of your marketing, but it should not be the only part.  Billboards are a great advertising tool for getting a company name in front of as many people as possible.

I found a lot of surprising statistics in this article about billboard advertising, especially that $5.97 of product sales was generated by Out of Home Advertising (Billboards) for every dollar spent.

Content Marketing

This type of marketing may not explicitly tell the consumer about a specific product, but may instead pique your interest or educate you about a subject relating to the product. This type of marketing involves creating blogs, videos, articles, podcasts, etc. to attract, engage and retain customers.  This type of marketing is great for brand awareness and keeping a company top of mind.  A great way to use this would be to create awareness of how and why adding motorsports marketing into a marketing plan is beneficial to companies, or you could provide a short case study of the results you have had with sponsorship.

Website

Websites provide many benefits including being an introduction to you and your team, a place to sell merchandise, providing credibility, showing the ways you can market a business, and displaying the businesses that support you. 

Newsletters & Email

Emails are the oldest form of digital marketing. Emails help build relationships and keep you top of mind with your fans, sponsors, and other contacts. 

Emailing is easy to set up and use and is a low-cost form of marketing.  You may email for a multitude of reasons including, keeping your fans up to date on where you will be, selling merchandise, or spotlighting your sponsors.

In terms of a return on investment, businesses often see an ROI of $36 for every $1 spent.  

The biggest benefit of email is that you own the list.  While different social media platforms go through changes and can limit how many people see your posts, or shut down altogether, you will always have access to the emails of the people who have signed up for your email list.