What does a perfect B2B sponsor look like in motorsports

Our third blog entry in our motorsports sponsorship series is designed to spark ideas in your own pursuit of motorsports sponsorship in regards to building B2B relationships. The B2B method is one of the more difficult types of sponsorship deals to pull off, but it also typically pays out the largest sums when done correctly. The following is a fictional example of a perfect B2B fit + the necessary marketing add-ons.

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Fictional Company:
Vertical Acoustics Inc.  

Their Product:
Manufacturer of acoustic wall paneling for industrial, studio, and office spaces.

Services:
Offers installation and repairs.

Company Size
200M in sales / Year (A medium sized company considering the industry)

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Why should this company care about racing?

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Your first question now might be, why should they care about racing at all? An even better question from Vertical Acoustics to you might be, what are we getting for this $100,000 sponsorship package you're offering? At first glance, this doesn’t sound like a business that has any relevance or interest in racing. But if we use a bit of marketing creativity, we can start to extract a lot of key points of value from their products and apply them to racing.

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Let's start with developing a clear connection with the creation of a simple phrase: “The loudest sport on the planet needs the best acoustics”...Well now, that’s a catchy phrase.

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But who could we market this to? Well, how about every racing facility on the calendar? How about to our competitors as a fixture in their  race shops, etc.  And imagine the message you’re creating for Vertical Acoustics. You’re showing that if their product is good enough to work in the loudest sport on the planet, it’s certainly capable of handling their client’s needs. Let’s take it step further though and lay out a plan of action.

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Product Integration

First, let’s integrate their product into our entire paddock so onlookers and fans can audibly hear the difference between your paddock and the neighboring paddock (A live and practical product demo). This is a high impact / low cost option.

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Offer Product Deals

Second, let’s collaborate with Vertical Acoustics to offer those in motorsports a special deal on their product.

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Content Marketing

Thirdly, and arguably most importantly, we'll need to do some content Marketing. This is where spending some money to contract a videographer (or do it yourself) and creating some amazing professional content of the product is more than worth it. The goal of this content is to cement the tie in between the product and racing.

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Vertical Acoustics can then use this content in their own marketing efforts, brag to their competitors on how effective their product is, and ultimately win over consumers who share a passion for racing. The value of content marketing in 2021 and beyond cannot be overstated!

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Leverage Your Own Expertise

Lastly, let’s say you’re now midway through the season, and Vertical Acoustics is now considering designing a product specifically for the racing community as a result of your efforts thus far. You can (and should) offer to act as a consultant in helping them develop their product for your industry. And yes, you can be paid to do so.

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Have we unlocked some new ideas for you? We certainly hope so. This example is actually quite a simple one, and deals like these can get far more in-depth/complex. The ability to craft these types of arrangements is not something that always comes easily, and certainly takes some creativity and planning (that’s why we’re paid to do this), but we hope this example can help spark new ideas in your own pursuit of a B2B relationship in racing.

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Key Take-away:  Think beyond the basics, and ask yourself how virtually any aspect of your racing career can act as a driver of sales, awareness, or content for your prospect's product or service.