The MotoGP World Championship represents the highest expression of two-wheel motorsport on a global level. The best teams and the best riders in the world compete in races full of emotions and uncertainty. Thanks to the international following that distinguishes it, MotoGP is followed by millions of fans every race weekend, whether it is to see it live on circuits around the world or on television: more and more TV channels, in fact, decide to invest on MotoGP and its popularity. Thanks to its notoriety, MotoGP represents an extraordinary opportunity for those companies that want to use motorsport as an efficient tool of marketing and communication.
MOTORSPORT SPONSORSHIP
Why should a company choose MotoGP as a communication channel? Because it is a global sport, characterized by the presence of an international audience from all corners of the globe and, above all, because it gives sponsors the opportunity to exploit their marketing potential. In fact, it is possible for a company to give visibility to their logo by placing it to the motorcycle fairings or inside the pits, or even by carrying out promotion and sales activities within the commercial area of the circuit. There are different ways, in short, through which it is possible to take advantage of the potential offered by the maximum competition on two wheels.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPONSORS
As mentioned, companies have different ways to market themselves and to communicate their brand. Embracing Motorsport Sponsorship does not only limit to featuring a logo on a racing motorcycle, but rather means enhancing and highlighting it within a dynamic and beloved context like that of the fastest motorcycles on the planet.
MOTO GP VIP VILLAGE
Another great tool that MotoGP makes available to companies is the MotoGP VIP Village. It consists of a reserved venue located in an exclusive area of the circuit, with limited access, where companies can enjoy the spectacle of MotoGP racing in a unique way. Bars and caterings with executive gourmet menus, large screens, personalized tours for guests, paddock passes, Pit Lane walk and much more. The MotoGP VIP Village is specifically designed for all companies wishing to capture the soul and exclusivity that distinguishes the world of motorsport.
MARKETING WITH ACTIVATIONS
Companies need to be very careful when it comes to budgeting for sports marketing activities and programs. Not only they have to pay for the marketing benefits that are included in the sponsorship contract, but they also must pay close attention to the money needed for activation. As a rule of thumb, you should consider 1 dollar in activation for each two dollars spent in actual sponsorship.
MOTORSPORT SPONSORSHIP NEEDS PLANNING
Marketing and all sponsorship activities in motorsport, as in other contexts, require study and long-term planning. We must not make the mistake of thinking that the results will arrive immediately nor of thinking that to do a good sponsorship activity you have to be on the bike that wins all the races. The factors that give the brand the most prominence are credibility, enhancement and activation of plans aimed at promoting the brand in the long term: without these elements, sponsorship will hardly produce good results.
HOW COMPANIES CAN STRUCTURE A MARKETING PLAN IN MOTO GP
As mentioned, you can think of doing motorsport sponsorship by giving visibility to your logo on the motorcycles or within the commercial areas set up on the circuit, but also by interacting with the various companies that benefit from a unique and exclusive service such as the MotoGP VIP Village. In short, there are different ways to do marketing in MotoGP, but the important thing is to create a plan with a precise identity and that is aimed at the long term. Motorsport sponsorship does not have immediate effects but, if well developed, it is incredibly powerful and, above all, has long-lasting effects.
INVESTING NOT ONLY MONEY, BUT TIME AND PASSION
When sponsoring activities are carried out, investing large sums for the promotion of the brand and its activations is helpful but it is not a unique factor: it is also necessary to spend a lot of time and energy to study and produce those long-term plans that will help to realize results and good numbers. We must not make the mistake of considering money alone as a magic wand to get good results. Time and energy are, and will always remain, the perfect driving force to accompany investments to concrete results.
Author Bio – Riccardo Tafà was born in Gulianova, graduated in Law at the University of Bologna and then decided to follow his deep passion for sport. After attending the ISFORP (public relations training institute) in Milan he moved to England, where he began his career in PR, first at MSP Communication and then at Counsel Limited in London. Soon after that, he moved to SDC, a Belgian outfit headed by Jean Paul Libert and started working with motorsport: the year is 1991. Following a brief transition to Monaco, where he flanked the owner of Pro COM, a sports marketing agency founded by Nelson Piquet, he returned to Italy and began working in first person as RTR, first consulting firm and then sports marketing company. In 2001 RTR wins the ESCA award for the implementation of the best MKTG sports project in Italy in the year 2000. RTR also obtains the highest score among all the categories and represents Italy in the European Esca Contest. Over the years he gets some satisfactions and swallows some bitter pills. But he is still here, he writes in a disillusioned and simple way, with the goal of providing practical advice and food for thought