Whose responsibility is it to ensure your team or photo is in the media spotlight?
Yours.
Media coverage has changed. Most newspapers do not have a weekend desk producing stories, no TV station has a crew standing by ready to cover the rally you are in.
The value of media coverage should not be confused with market exposure. Media coverage does not generally provide you much value in real terms – a glimpse of your greatness on Channel 9 will not make the phone ring.
Market exposure, on the other hand, will add value for your sponsors.
Giving your rally team a strong media presence is essential for sponsor value. Photo: R6 Media
Here are my top tips for you and your team to increase your media exposure.
Your team should have a website. This is the place where you can offer exposure and backlinks to your supporters.
Your team should look professional. Car livery, team colours all should match and be consistent with your marketing
Your site should have a blog. Pre and post-event stories are great for your website and show your sponsors that you care about them and are promoting them
Have social media pages for your team. Don’t use your personal profile
Post links to your blog stories.
Consider a paid “likes” campaign. Building followers is hard work, but a following is valued
Post good quality pictures and videos of your teams on your socials
Tag your sponsors
Get a professionally made sponsorship proposal
Report to them monthly on your marketing efforts
Put your web address on your trailer, service truck and rally car
Anyone that sponsors your team is looking for a unique way to get their message across. Consider drive days and corporate days. There are people that can help here. Market their product on your website and socials. Ask them for a “supporters” discount.
Many years ago, I was working on the Esanda International Rally. I asked them to provide a “deal” for rally people. Plenty of drivers took up their equipment finance offer, with one financing an island off the coast of Queensland!
Do you think they got their monies worth from their rally sponsorship? Marketing is about opening new doors and introducing new markets. Sponsors look to activities like rallying to meet new potential customers.
A few years back, my company did some IT work for a Supercar team. The car had a small sticker on the lower side. I asked the team principal, “How much did they pay for that sticker?”
$100,000 was the answer…!
I was shocked, until he told me “These guys now get to meet and mix with other sponsors and dignitaries that they might never have met”.
Boldly, I asked the company owner of the sticker. “What value are you getting for your investment?” He said he had met and been introduced to plenty of new potential customers and that his investment had already paid off …
TV personality, Shane Jacobson, interviews Toyota rally star, Neal Bates, at Rally Australia. Photo: R6 Media
Sponsors need value from their investment in your team.
At the start of the event, make sure you have some autograph cards. Kids love them, and show your sponsors on them.
Make sure the event Media Manager knows about your team by providing a “press kit”. A simple folder with a few pics, a biography of your team and a USB stick with all your info, videos and pictures loaded.
Should you place in the rally then they have access to immediate information, pictures and video. That makes their job much easier.
If even 50% of competitors took charge of their media image, thousands more would know about rallying.
Offer yourself for interviews to the media centre. Marketing your brand is an important step in your rally career. Even those just having fun should invest in their media image.
Rallying can grow exponentially if each one of us make that effort. RallySport Magazine is a high impact motorsport website that can publish your story, aiding your team’s exposure.
When you enter a rally, fill in the media information form. Media staff and commentators rely on this information to promote you and your team!
If you need marketing assistance, R6 Marketing can help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWqYTTHEFuI
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