Make this a New Year’s resolution:

Add the word “activation” to your drag racing vocabulary.  

It’s as important as “holeshot” and “horsepower” to understanding what makes drag racing work. In fact, it’s so important, I’ll focus two columns on activation: Some of the experts explain the basics and tell case studies this month; in February, I’ll  say why it’s something NHRA needs a lot more of – and I mean a LOT more.

Simply put, activation is what a sponsor does to capitalize on having its name on a car, race or series. A high-speed billboard is no longer enough to spread the news. The days of sports marketing being little more than slapping on a decal or sewing on a patch are as long-gone as the Cajun Nationals.

Make this a New Year’s resolution:

Add the word “activation” to your drag racing vocabulary.  

It’s as important as “holeshot” and “horsepower” to understanding what makes drag racing work. In fact, it’s so important, I’ll focus two columns on activation: Some of the experts explain the basics and tell case studies this month; in February, I’ll  say why it’s something NHRA needs a lot more of – and I mean a LOT more.

Simply put, activation is what a sponsor does to capitalize on having its name on a car, race or series. A high-speed billboard is no longer enough to spread the news. The days of sports marketing being little more than slapping on a decal or sewing on a patch are as long-gone as the Cajun Nationals.

To justify the initial sponsorship cost, a company has to spend more to activate – use – the program to drive sales and otherwise achieve its objectives. That can include advertising, hospitality, marketing and public relations. More specific examples are those fun hands-on experiences (like the U.S. Army’s) and interactive displays found in the manufacturer’s midway, plus product sampling, discount coupons, show cars and the ever-popular cardboard driver cutouts, known as point-of-purchase displays.

“Activation, we have two pieces to it,” explained Geoff Smith, marketing manager for Motorcraft, sponsor of Bob Tasca III’s Ford Mustang Funny Car. “The first is business-to-business, B2B, and the other is B2C, or business-to-consumer.

“On the B2B side of it, we have field offices all over the country. We conduct contest and incentive programs and the winners, typically dealership employees or Quick Lane employees or perhaps distributor employees, win these contests based on a number of different metrics. We have them out to the race in the hospitality area. We have Bob do a Q&A with them. We do food and prize giveaways. That’s been very successful for us and we measure the success of the program.”

Motorcraft entertained about 2,000 people this way during the 2010 Full Throttle season. Locations were selected, in part, on the potential marketing footprint of the race.

“The consumer piece is the display (at about 13 races),” Smith continued. “We do giveaways, driver Q&A, and Ford products are out there. There are interactive games in the Motorcraft trailer where you can do a holeshot challenge.

“We meet on an on-going basis, at least once a month, constantly looking for new ideas and benchmarking other people out here to see what they’re doing. We’re measuring return on investment.

“We thought NHRA was the venue that our customers come to and they’re very influential with other people. They come and ask for parts and sales recommendations; so that’s key for us. The key metric on the B2B side is parts sales: Do they come back and buy a Ford vehicle? Visit the dealership? Did the Motorcraft dealership sell more parts to their installers?

“B2C we look at how many new people we can sign up and market to. We don’t want to be intrusive, but would like to continue the relationship. If you give us your E-mail address you get a monthly newsletter and a sweepstakes program. We want to entice people with our brands and keep their loyalty.”

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When it entered the drag racing arena last year, Copart.com not only got instant credibility by teaming with NHRA legend Kenny Bernstein, it added muscle by signing on as NHRA’s “official online vehicle auction.” That extended its at-track presence with signage, including a strategically-positioned top end inflatable, plus PA announcements.

The centerpiece of its activation, though, is hospitality in the pit area and at a trackside tent. Copart used to stage such gatherings in hotel ballrooms. Bernstein explained accessibility is key – more than 4,000 people were hosted in 2010 – and Copart has renewed for three years while discontinuing its NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck series deals.

“They can entertain in the pits next to the race car and take their good customers up to the starting line,” said the six-time NHRA champion and owner of son Brandon’s Top Fueler. “You can’t do that in NASCAR or IndyCar, basketball, football, anywhere. The ability to entertain the right customer that can give them more cars to sell.

“We’ve been able to teach them the hospitality side, but they saw it right away. It was a situation where they said, ‘This is it. This is where we need to be.’”

Done right, these programs result in a human connection and emotional bonding, a huge advantage over other more impersonal forms of sports marketing. People like Bernstein, and his invaluable people-friendly and details-oriented wife, Sheryl, latched on to that true fact years ago and make sure to create that business-conducive, cheering-interest atmosphere for their guests.

“When I speak to the customers, to me, it’s emotional marketing,” said Tasca, whose late grandfather is credited with coining “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday,” the Business of Racing’s touchstone phrase.  “It’s relationship marketing. It’s thanking people for choosing Motorcraft, because there are a lot of choices out there.

“Just to look at faces – these days, with faxes and e-mails and voice mail, the human element is gone. At the end of the day, when you really want to build business, it comes down to relationships. Rarely does it just come down to price. Anyone can beat your price at any given time. But they’ll never forget how you make them feel. I know it’s gone a long way because I see the letters I get after races.

“The kids coming up ask me, ‘How do I become a race car driver?’ The first thing I tell them is go to school. You’ve got to understand business and marketing and why sponsors want to be here.

“These cars don’t run on love. They run on money – a lot of money. If you want to be out here to play, that’s OK. If you want to win, then you have to have a strong program behind you. Driving one of these things is way easier than building the programs that last.

“A lot of people race today and they don’t know why they’re racing. They chase the trophies but then they forget return on investment. The last couple of years, with the economy the way it’s been, ROI has become more important than ever.”

And so has effective activation. More on that next month, with Bernstein, Tasca, Don Schumacher and Gary Darcy.


 

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