SponsorPulse™’s Post

🚨 5 of the top 50 most marketable athletes in SportsPro are racing drivers! 🚨 It’s no secret that motorsports is one of the most dynamic and powerful platforms for brand exposure, but seeing this recognition from SportsPro highlights just how far we’ve come. 🏎️🔥 Racing is more than just speed; it’s about cutting-edge technology, innovation, and a global fan base that’s fiercely loyal and engaged. In fact, motorsports consistently punches above its weight compared to traditional sports when it comes to advertising opportunities. Brands are increasingly waking up to the fact that the high-octane, high-visibility nature of racing offers unique access to passionate fans and a chance to align with performance-driven culture. 🏁🚀 If you’re not yet seeing the massive potential of motorsports in your marketing strategy, now is the time to shift gears. With athletes like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen leading the way, it’s clear that racing isn’t just a sport — it’s a marketing powerhouse. Let’s keep pushing the boundaries. What’s your brand’s next move in motorsports? 👊 #Motorsports #Sponsorship #Marketing #SportsBiz #BrandActivation #SportsPro50MM

The big news in motorsport this week is the (unsurprising) announcement that Mastercard have returned to Formula 1, by partnering with McLaren Racing 🏎 💳 ✨ It has been reported that McLaren Racing were in a battle with Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team for Mastercard's sponsorship, with the Woking-based team just winning out. However, for those in the industry, Mastercard's decision comes as no surprise. McLaren Racing is renowned for its strong sponsorship acquisition, largely credited to the commercial approach of CEO Zak Brown. Prior to his role as CEO of McLaren Racing, Brown owned Just Marketing International, one of the most successful motorsport marketing and sponsorship agencies of all time. One of the reasons JMI, and now McLaren, were so successful is because they saw the benefit in offering unbundled sponsorship packages, meaning rights are broken down into much smaller units. On this basis, rightsholders can create tailored proposals that suit the sponsor's needs. It's therefore no surprise that Brown (and his brilliant commercial team at McLaren Racing) have been so successful in acquiring sponsors over the last few years. But did you know that Zak Brown and JMI have also orchestrated some of the most iconic deals in motorsport history, including: 👉 UPS and Ferrari 👉 Unilever and Lotus 👉 Crown Royal Canadian Whisky and NASCAR 👉 GSK and McLaren Racing 👉 UBS and Formula 1 With McLaren's return to winning form recently, it just goes to show how important it is for rightsholders to have experienced sponsorship professionals in senior roles... If you're a brand looking to get involved in motorsport sponsorship, feel free to reach out at charlotte.mcging@dune23.me 🚀 📩 📸 Mastercard and McLaren Racing #sportsponsorship #sportspartnerships #motorsport

🚨Red Bull Partners with Trackhouse Racing 🚨 Red Bull’s re-entry into NASCAR through Trackhouse Racing is a HUGE move for the sport. This marks Red Bull’s first return to NASCAR since leaving in 2013, and they’re coming back in style, supporting van Gisbergen for five races this season and the Daytona 500 for Zilisch. Let’s talk about it ⬇️ 1️⃣ Athlete Power: Red Bull-backed Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch bring star power and credibility to Trackhouse. SVG, a three-time Supercars champion, has made a name for himself in NASCAR with significant success on road courses, including a historic win at the first-ever Chicago Street Race. 2️⃣ Brand Synergy: Red Bull and Trackhouse Entertainment Group thrive on innovation and pushing boundaries. This partnership aligns perfectly with Trackhouse’s mission to grow the sport and attract new audiences. 3️⃣ Global Reach: Red Bull’s global influence, paired with SVG’s international appeal, positions NASCAR to expand its fanbase worldwide—something the sport has been striving for. In a field already dominated by energy drinks, Red Bull’s involvement isn’t just sponsorship; it’s a strategic move to shake things up. This collaboration can elevate NASCAR’s profile in ways we’ve never seen before. 🏁 What are your thoughts on this bold move?  

Over the weekend we saw a world-first motorsport sponsorship initiative launched in MotoGP™. Gresini Racing, home of six-time champion Marc Márquez and younger brother Alex, have launched their fan powered sponsorship programme, which enables fans of the team to purchase their own "micro-sponsorship package", with an entry point of just $125. There are four tiers of sponsorship package available, each offering "exclusive, money-can't-buy experiences" ranging from VIP hospitality, paddock access, exclusive content, signed merchandise and even the chance to have your name on the bikes themselves during a MotoGP weekend. Usually reserved for multi-million dollar paying sponsors and VIPs, this is the first time a motorsport team has opened up a programme of this sort directly for individual fans to access. For me, this is a fascinating development in the world of motorsport sponsorship. With global audiences on the rise and a new generation of fans coming to the sport, it is crucial that series, teams and brands in particular look to innovate to directly connect with their fans in ways they haven't in the past. It will be intriguing to see the uptake of this programme, something I'm sure Gresini Racing's rivals and the wider industry will be keeping an eye on, as if successful, it is surely only a matter of time before other teams try to follow suit. #motogp #motorsport #racing #sponsorship #sportsbiz

In another innovative fan-focused activation from Williams Racing, we learnt last week that fans registered with the team's Grid Pass programme will get the chance to design the look of the rear wing at October's US Grand Prix in Austin. Launched alongside their partner Kraken Digital Asset Exchange, fans will get access to a new 100,000-strong profile picture collection of digital assets, featuring ten different character types in various forms of Williams branding. Fans will then be able to submit their own collectibles to be included in the rear wing design, with the final shortlist of 12 being voted on by fans later in September. I'm a big fan of these types of brand activations, and Williams are amongst the best on the Formula 1 grid at executing them. Last year's US Grand Prix saw the first iteration of Kraken's rear wing takeover, and the team also had their custom Gulf Oil livery run at three races after fans could vote for their favourite. Creating these opportunities for fans to directly influence something they will see at races is such a strong way of building positive feeling towards the team, and also grows fan loyalty - something that is arguably even more important and difficult to do for a team that isn't competing for race wins. Evidence that this is something that Williams are particularly good at was shown in The Race's recent F1 fan census, which saw Williams revealed as the third most popular team on the grid, behind only McLaren and Ferrari. #f1 #formula1 #motorsport #sponsorship #williams #sportsbiz

Canadian heavyweight Bell Media has renewed and expanded its long-running media rights deal with US stock car racing series NASCAR. #SportsBiz #Nascar #Canada https://lnkd.in/eyWSenfi

Williams Racing took home the prize for having the highest social growth over any other team in 2024. They enjoyed 34% growth between January and December last year, but the really interesting thing is that the first half of the season only saw their socials grow by 6%, compared to 25% for the second half. With Sainz being announced for 2025 onwards in July, followed by Colapinto replacing Sargeant a month later, it's easy to see why the second half of the season likely got more attention, especially when huge South American brands like Globant and Mercado Libre backed Colapointo in his debut stint in F1. It will be interesting to see how the Alpine Formula One Team's socials change now that they have secured his services as a reserve driver and whether or not they will attract sponsorship from similar brands following Colapinto's journey. 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟯 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 | Observed Social Account Growth across FB, IG, X, TT, YT 🥇 | Williams Racing: +34% 🥈 | Ferrari: +21.6% 🥉 | McLaren Racing: +19.9% 🏎️ | Average across all teams: +16.8% 🏁 Let's chat if you want to talk about anything F1, sport or sponsorship! 🏁

Sim Racing: The Next Frontier for Brands One of the exciting shifts in motorsports is how sim racing is evolving from a video game perception to a legitimate path for real-world seat time—something we at V2Rtv have been doing for years. Recently, after countless conversations with a friend who creates media packs for real-world drivers, we finally got him to look into sim racing as a platform for discovering talent. As a result, Sponsor Paddock has officially launched a sim racing category, introducing the brands they work with to this growing field. While the talent level in sim racing is incredibly high, the challenge has been connecting brands to drivers racing from home. It’s a tough sell when many are competing from their bedrooms. That’s where sim centers come in. With drivers competing in professional environments, Sponsor Paddock and Virtual2Reality.tv believe this is the key to unlocking true sim racing sponsorships. In events where drivers are showcased on professional stages, sponsorship makes sense—and has historically been limited to these high-profile races. But that leaves thousands of skilled drivers in the virtual shadows. By continuously adding arrive-and-drive sim racing facilities, we open up new pathways for cash, prizes, and brand recognition, giving sponsors a professional setting to align with up-and-coming talent. Sponsor Paddock understands that the next wave of racing talent could very well come from these sim centers. As V2Rtv’s events grow, we’ll see more sim centers springing up, and Sponsor Paddock is positioning itself as the link between sim racers and the brands that are starting to wake up to the passion and dedication of the sim racing community. Follow Sponsor Paddock here on LinkedIn and across socials to witness the evolution of sponsorship integration between sim racing and brand partnerships. The future of motorsports is here—don’t miss it. #sponsorship #branding #simracing #iracing #levelup #marketing #getinthegame

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 (𝐋𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧)   The Motorsports Market size is set to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period 2024-2030 to reach $24.14 Billion by 2030.   𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 @ https://lnkd.in/gxQnx7XQ   Growth in the formula racing format for #electric_vehicles, rising revenues in the Formula One racing championship, and growing popularity of motorsports among millennials through #broadcasting and social networking platforms have boosted the #motorsports market. Factors such as an increase in the number of races, advertisements, and sponsorships are driving the motorsports market forward. The #sponsors make huge investments as these #sports events are an ideal platform for the companies to promote their products. This racing entertainment attracts #spectators and generates revenue for its products.   Motorsports encompass a wide range of disciplines, including but not limited to car racing, #motorcycle racing, karting, drag racing, and off-road racing. These events can take place on closed circuits, off-road tracks, or public roads, and they attract a global audience of enthusiasts and spectators.   𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 @ https://lnkd.in/g9KQ484N

**Redemption on the Horizon: FC Motorsports Kicks Off 2024 Season at Oakland Valley Race Park (OVRP)** Oakland Valley, USA – May 9, 2024 – The anticipation is palpable as FC Motorsports revs up for the inaugural race of the season at Oakland Valley Race Park (OVRP) this weekend. After an intensive off-season overhaul, FC Motorsports unveils its arsenal of cutting-edge equipment, setting the stage for an electrifying showdown on the track. Last year's OVRP race was a dance with the rain, testing the mettle of the teams. Despite their prowess in wet conditions, FC Motorsports narrowly missed the podium, fueling a burning desire for redemption. Reflecting on the heartbreak of the 2023 season, where victory slipped through their grasp by a mere handful of points, Gennady Spirin, a seasoned driver in the main team, vows a strategic reimagining. "We're entering this race with a diverse playbook of strategies," Spirin declares, hinting at a tactical shift poised to shake up the competition. With their sights firmly set on championship glory, FC Motorsports leaves no stone unturned in their quest for success. The 2024 season marks a pivotal moment for the dynamic young team, fortified by a roster of new sponsors and partners eager to share in the triumphs to come. As engines roar and anticipation mounts, FC Motorsports ignites the track with a promise: 2024 is destined to be a season of triumph, adrenaline, and unwavering determination. Buckle up for the ride of a lifetime as FC Motorsports unleashes the full force of their passion and prowess on the road to victory. For media inquiries and further information, please contact: Info@fcmotorsport.net ### About FC Motorsports FC Motorsports is a leading contender in the world of motorsports, driven by a relentless pursuit of excellence and a commitment to pushing the boundaries of innovation. With a storied history and a roster of elite drivers, FC Motorsports continues to captivate audiences worldwide with their thrilling performances on the track. #racing #karting #motorsport #motorsports