Marketing, Social Media & Motorsports

Just say the word 'marketing' and most people will roll their eyes. Marketing brings up all kinds of thoughts and images from the public, some of which aren't printable here. To people outside of marketing, it looks like a bunch of dunks who can't do anything else but gather in marketing departments to shoot the breeze and have a good ol time; all while everyone else busts their butt (I would say that's true in most instances).

For people in the business, it can be exhilarating and exciting as they try to promote sales of their product or service with branding or any multitude of theories and practices. Some of the most open-minded, wide-thinking brains in business are marketers ... caveat being some.

Recently, with the advent of social media taking over almost all aspects of business, marketing has taken a turn too. Now, if you're a business with any forward-thinking sense, you are involved in trying to work in social media whether it's blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, et al. BTW, there's a funny joke that came out about marketing and social media - you can check it here: (joke).

Not seeing eye-to-eye

When it comes to motorsports marketing, the internet and the sport don't always see eye-to-eye. Many in business have a narrow perception of motorsports and particularly in drag racing. But then you combine this small-mindedness with racing folk who aren't exactly coming to grips with, well, just about anything not directly associated with their racecar and you have a chasm that's not been well breached.

So you can imagine how this tendency to move forward affects their move towards social media - Yeah, social what? By the way, I've talked about how people in racing tend to be slow adapters.

Now to blanket all in motorsports wouldn't be right as some are at the cutting edge and kudos to them. They will be far ahead of the others in their business endeavors, including marketing and sponsorship. Marketing and social media are more tools for race teams in getting in-touch with the ultra loyal fans in their sport. Ironically, the fans are more than ready for interacting, but ...

And here's another side to the equation; social media has a problem connecting with that personal face-to-face high brand loyalty equation that only motorsports offers.

Motorsports marketing is factually the #1 medium in all of advertising for attracting customers to their products. Social media is the fastest growing medium so if these two mediums would just come together ... the result? Can you imagine what would happen if marketers were able to tie the two together in a succinctly salient campaign? Now combine that with the fastest growing sport in all of racing and ... Wow!

Sources - Eagle II Motorsports Marketing, NHRA, AMA

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