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From Formula One to Nascar, racing series the world over are coming under pressure from automakers to make their action more relevant to the vehicles available on the market. Meanwhile, these same manufacturers are increasingly challenging each other to obvious marketing set-ups posing as races, the latest example of which is the laughable MINI vs Porsche challenge [above]. With cars becoming increasingly homogenized, racing and motorsport are some of the only ways for marketers to restore some of the automobile’s lost romance… but neither modern race series nor corporate challenges seem to resonate much with consumers. What (if anything) can make racing and performance prowess relevant in the post-Prius marketplace?
26 Comments on “Ask The Best And Brightest: How Do You Make Racing Work As Marketing?...”
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I don’t know, but I think effective advertising only goes so far. For example, I think the new Jeep Grand Cherokee ad is great. However, if the Jeep doesn’t live up to the ad or customers expectations, sales will drop. That being said, the Jeep and Challenger commercials sure make me want to go out and buy one.
Winning is a good start.
Exactly. Mini should have studied Caddy’s CTS-V challenge a bit more carefully to learn Lesson #1:
If you’re going to run a car challenge, at least make damn sure you’ve actually got the fastest car!
Maybe GM should use the Chrysler marketing team and put the CTS-V against other cars (that it can beat) and make the ad patriotic. With an angry Rambo driving the Caddy. That would be neat.
The first thing that comes to mind is to race stock cars. No, not stock-cars, STOCK CARS. As in, take it off the showroom floor and put it on the track with no mods to its powertrain, suspension, tires, brakes, etc. Maybe a roll-cage for safety. That will bring meaning back to the saying “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.”
Ignoring NASCAR for a moment, racing is supposed to be the proving ground for new automotive technology. I say race hybrids (F1 tried that) or clean diesels (VW/AUDI have that going already). Or for those technologies that are further off, how about racing HCCI engines, or Volt-like cars with motors powered by on-board generators, or hydrogen vehicles (hydro combustion v. fuel cell?).
Maybe extra points for the least fuel consumed in the race?
There are about a million good reasons truly stock cars are not and will not be raced in any professional sense, but primarily because few of them can handle the punishment — and they don’t really need to.
Just FYI, hybrids are being raced in American Le Mans now, too (Mazda, with more on the way). In fact, ALMS is doing more of the sort of things you’ve described than any other series. It takes awhile because the rules have to be tweaked, and they can’t just switch to a new format overnight as there are huge investments in the current equipment and teams and formats.
The greatest racing series in history, IMSA GTP, was based on fuel efficiency. You had a fixed amount of fuel, and to a fairly large degree you could do just about everything else. The series was ended officially because manufacturers had taken that to extremes and speeds were getting too high to be safe, and in reality (at least in part) because Nissan stepped in and spent a boatload of cash (a la GM with their GT Vette program).
But the biggest problem with trying to run a race with cars that are similar to stock, even allowing for relatively major racing-specific deviations, is that those cars aren’t very interesting compared to purpose-built race machines. In short, it isn’t what most people want to see. The Speed Touring Car Championship series is probably the closest major-coverage US approximation to that, and its popularity was mediocre at best, and probably would have been worse had it not been coupled to the GT car events in Speed World Challenge.
I was there, and I must say, it was a great event for Mini owners, and even some of us non Mini owners. For me, being able to do three laps around Road Atlanta (hitting triple digit speeds) was worth it. In the end, who cares who won the autocross. The folks, who wanted too, got some track time and dinner, courtesy of Mini. What has your car manufacturer done for you lately?
I like to watch one legged races with people in hand cuffs. Those are really exciting.
I like to pretend and aspire to be the kind of man who walks up the stairs to the top of the Empire State building.
Unless they are racing the cars people could actually buy, it is pointless. NASCAR and the rest have become a complete joke and are irrelevant to the business of selling cars.
Which is one (I think a major) reason why fewer people come to the tracks and TV ratings are down. This goes far beyond the recession…the Car Of Tomorrow ended all illusion that the Cup cars had any connection to the cars out in the parking lot. I think NASCAR’s in for a rude awakening when it comes time to renew its TV contracts. Like many entities, when they’re hit in the pocketbook, maybe they’ll be moved to action.
The sanctioning body can allow the development of COTs whose bodies are actually based on production models. Maybe drop the engine size to 3.5 or 4.0 liters. Mandate fuel injection, alternative fuels, and/or allot a set amount of fuel to each team. When you run out, sorry. You wanna see green technology hit the street pronto? Let Hendrick/Roush/Penske etc. have to design powertrains that can win races while squeezing as much oomph as possible out of each drop of fuel.
Not that fans consciously think about this stuff…most don’t…they just recognize some nebulous disconnect between what’s on the track and reality, and they stay home and tune out.
It’s been estimated that had 1970 NASCAR technology (430 inch V-8s, winged cars) been allowed to progress to the present day, such cars would run 300 MPH. From the moment Bobby Isaac broke 200 in his winged Dodge Daytona…and chunks of rubber – from tires not built to take 200 MPH – were flying off…NASCAR knew things had to change before they killed all their name drivers, and change they did, kicking off “the modern era” in 1972.
IOW, they’ve been here before. Question is, are they listening now?
The American Lemans Series in the US, and the Lemans Series in Europe, already have diesels, biobutanol cars, and are pushing to add racing hybrids. There is a prize for winning the index of efficiency (called the “Michelin Green X Challenge” in the US). I do not think this helps the series grow because alt-fuel people are not race people and vice versa.
You use motion simulators to get the general public excited about performance and showcase the tech in your road cars, of course!
…Ahem.
Porsche makes it right. Race the cars you sell, sell the cars you race.
Riiiight…isn’t their best seller the Cayenne?
Well, for what it’s worth, they do race the Cayenne in rallies such as the Transsyberia.
A recent article right here at TTAC indicated the god-awful four-door Panamera is now their best seller. So much for that.
Porsche races Targa-topped Carerra 4s and V6 Cayennes?
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Developing a “Spec” series is a great way to get people in your cars on track… but it’s kind of hard to apply in general… when most manufacturers will void your warranty at the merest hint of “burnt rubber”.
I don’t think racing helps much at all for the large car manufacturers. For a car purchase, affordability, practicality, comfort, and style all rank higher than race track performance. It might make a difference for younger individuals who do not have a family but have some money to spend on a personal car, or for those who are wealthy enough to have a third car as a grown-up toy. Auto racing is better for the sponsors who are using the general venue to promote a certain lifestyle and for the teams who are trying to sell branded merchandise.
Its not “win on Sunday, sell on Monday” but “win 20 years ago and reap the benefits today”.
Porsche, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Corvette, all have long racing histories that give them invaluable standing in today’s market for all vehicles not just performance vehicles (e.g. Cayenne). Mazda is building this reputation today with the spec Miata and Star Mazda racing series. It will serve them well in due time to sell all types of Mazdas. Also, start with the grass roots, don’t jump into Formula 1 and hope it will help sell cars (looking at you Toyota).
Racing reputations are hard won but pay dividents over the long term. The problem is there are no long term thinkers or strategies in car manufacturing today (or in most parts of modern life for that matter).
Racing is purely a brand halo enhancement technique – a marketing vehicle to underscore the brands heritage, values and aspirations. But that is about it as the requirements for a road car and a racing car are so different that no race car will ever make a good commuter and no car good for daily driving will ever be competitive on the track. While some specialist manufacturers, like Porsche, will sell you a track car, they represent a tiny portion of their overall sales and are more for the purposes of marketing and media exposure than profit. The average Joe would not enjoy a road trip in a GT3 RS.
That said, racing is an effective marketing tool for both established and emerging brands – which is why they do it. The association with a dangerous glamor sport and resulting media exposure furthers any brands “street cred” and helps to detract from the banal reality of their retail product line. It’s the (often false) promise of capability: that some if the untamed racing prowess has filtered down to the street car. A perfect image if you want to sell convertible bloat mobiles to a mid life crisis clientele or make dad feel better about buying a Cayenne, R Class or X5.
The funny part is that the article states manufacturers are demanding that the series become more relevant, but few manufacturers are making cars worth racing.
And if F1 and NASCAR are your points of comparison — yikes. Talk about barking up the wrong trees for relevance factor. F1 was never about relevance — it supposed to be over-the-top no-holds-barred insaneo maximum technology. (And with any luck, Bernie will figure this out before he ruins the whole thing.) NASCAR isn’t racing at all, it’s strictly a racing-themed traveling roadshow. Both are so far removed from actual cars that any attempt to make them relevant would simply create something completely new.
ALMS is the sole hope state-side. Rallying could catch on here, too, I think. WRC is well-received in the US on TV and it’s usually comprised of vehicles our parental units at NHTSA would never allow us any alone-time with.
I like the idea of racing cars that are as close as possible to the ones sold on lots. -And selling quasi-race-like upgraded cars; maybe even driver’s editions with your favorite racer’s color-scheme & numbers on. Mach5 anyone?
More publicity/channels would help.
Honestly, except for the auto-blogs I read, I see No schedules or announcements on races the way I hear about baseball or basketball games. -Honestly could not tell you if Lewis Hamilton was going to race a donut down the hill right in front of my house, the publicity’s so bad.
If it doesn’t already happen, Foreign-Exchange races might be a good idea. Ex: put 5 races out of the F1 season in the US, or if we have any races, put a few on tracks in other countries. +Regale me with the stories of ignorance & buffoonery afterwards; like rednecks in Parisian restaurants and their culinary evaluations, etc.
A standardized multi-purpose track in all 50 states could help. Have the organizing body pay/subsidize them. Put them all within ~1-1.5 hours of major cities.
Racers should all be made into celebrities more than they are now. Put ’em on TV + in movies.
-Hell, they’re probably more interesting than most actors if they could be taught to articulate themselves properly.
+Learn how to tell a good story instead of just grunting when you’re on The Today Show.
Put them in the gossip rags, too.
Invite+pay movie stars & other celebrities to show up at the races.
Sponsor meetups in major metro areas on closed courses. Ie: Ride-Along Lambo Madness at Union Square Park with Valentino Balboni, Jenson Button, Dale Jr. and Mika Hakkinen.
Drunk olympics on the green + Luna Park afterwards.
.
+++Also, the female staff of every Latin American, Spanish & Italian TV game show should be employed by the various racing series.
At the end of every race, the winner would get his car washed by the girls, and the loser would get the half-full washbuckets dumped over his head by them.
Mustang vs Camaro vs Challenger
Autocross? Weren’t they surrounded by a real track? What a waste of time.
I like the Continental Tire Challenge because the cars are reasonably similar to stock. I don’t know if the racing helps to market anything to me, but it shows that the cars involved can be decent race cars with the right modifications. In the GS class, Mustangs and Camaros are competitive, but I haven’t seen a Challenger. I suppose that does reinforce the idea in my mind that Challengers aren’t nearly as track-capable as the others. Likewise, I don’t remember seeing a Corolla in the ST class. Toyota and race track are mutually exclusive terms to me.
I like the idea of racing cars that meet all emissions/safety/fuel economy standards, but will it increase sales? Maybe for Porsches and the like, but does the average buyer care that their car can go very fast around slight curves in ideal conditions? If cars were raced on roads that we drive on at speeds we can achieve, then it might work.
Autocross isn’t such a bad thing.
In fact, one way to make WRC, and racing, in general, more visible to the public is to bring it closer to the public. Stadium races. X-Games and WRC already use stadium tracks with side-by-side racing. The Race of Champions is held entirely inside a Stadium.
Side-by-side stadium shootouts involving nearly stock cars would probably be of interest to many gearheads.