Let's discuss professional racing: does it sell cars?
08-02-12, 09:33 PM
#1
Let's discuss professional racing: does it sell cars?
The classic mantra tells us that winning on Sunday sells on Monday, but is this really true, or indeed relevant?
F1 racing? NASCAR? Le Mans? IndyCar? Etc, etc, etc...
I mean, we're taking about hundreds of millions of dollars to produce, R&D, and race one-off machines; to help sell fleets of Porsche Cayenne, Ford Mustangs, and Mazda6.
Toyota entered NASCAR. Does it sell more Camry? I dunno.
Does spending and making a racecar help with selling a 4-banger sedan by the masses? Is there a direct correlation?
Is it purely marketing genius? Or idiocy?
Is it a waste of money and resource?
I just came back from MotoGP in Laguna Seca this past weekend. Ducati spends $20 million to pay for Valentino Rossi per year, not to mention Nicky Hayden's salary, and the rest of the MotoGP staff. Then add to it the cost of building race motorcycles, travel + transport, marketing, and general R&D. I would estimate an easy $200 million for MotoGP racing alone. And for what? Ducati sells only 40k motorcycles a year worldwide. That divides into an extra $5000 cost per motorcycle!!!
And if motorcycle racing is this expensive, I can only imagine the cost of automotive racing!!! Sure, it's paid my sponsors, but is it really worth it all?
DISCUSS.
F1 racing? NASCAR? Le Mans? IndyCar? Etc, etc, etc...
I mean, we're taking about hundreds of millions of dollars to produce, R&D, and race one-off machines; to help sell fleets of Porsche Cayenne, Ford Mustangs, and Mazda6.
Toyota entered NASCAR. Does it sell more Camry? I dunno.
Does spending and making a racecar help with selling a 4-banger sedan by the masses? Is there a direct correlation?Is it purely marketing genius? Or idiocy?
Is it a waste of money and resource?
I just came back from MotoGP in Laguna Seca this past weekend. Ducati spends $20 million to pay for Valentino Rossi per year, not to mention Nicky Hayden's salary, and the rest of the MotoGP staff. Then add to it the cost of building race motorcycles, travel + transport, marketing, and general R&D. I would estimate an easy $200 million for MotoGP racing alone. And for what? Ducati sells only 40k motorcycles a year worldwide. That divides into an extra $5000 cost per motorcycle!!!
And if motorcycle racing is this expensive, I can only imagine the cost of automotive racing!!! Sure, it's paid my sponsors, but is it really worth it all?
DISCUSS.
Last edited by PhilipMSPT; 08-03-12 at 07:53 AM.
08-02-12, 11:53 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Great thread, I don't think it sells "cars" in that it sells the "brand" which is more important. What I mean is, for Toyota it is the Toyota brand which they are selling and they connecting the brand to the people who watch or attend by using an "everyday" vehicle such as a Camry.
At the end of the day, it sure sells a hell of a lot of cars of each brand.
At the end of the day, it sure sells a hell of a lot of cars of each brand.
08-03-12, 06:50 AM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
i think racing is good for a manufacturer to learn about extreme high performance and making parts survive under extreme abuse/stress. as far as the marketing benefits, i think there's very little unless a brand is all about performance like porsche or ferrari.
nascar's a bit unique in promoting mainstream brands although the 'stock cars' bear no relation to that camry or malibu you buy on a dealer's lot.
nascar's a bit unique in promoting mainstream brands although the 'stock cars' bear no relation to that camry or malibu you buy on a dealer's lot.
08-03-12, 08:15 AM
#6
It only enhances sales depending on marketing strategy and even then only certain models.
Before the last earthquake in Japan, Lexus was the luxury sales leader in the US but lost that lead due to lack of supply. Same for Toyota. Clearly, Toyota/Lexus did not become so successful because of any ties to racing.
On the other hand, BMW has always marketed themselves as the best drivers car. They tie themselves to their racing proclivities and the formula has been successful.
Before the last earthquake in Japan, Lexus was the luxury sales leader in the US but lost that lead due to lack of supply. Same for Toyota. Clearly, Toyota/Lexus did not become so successful because of any ties to racing.
On the other hand, BMW has always marketed themselves as the best drivers car. They tie themselves to their racing proclivities and the formula has been successful.
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08-03-12, 08:55 AM
#9
How about the effects of Sponsorship?
Does money from all these sponsors to each racing team matter?
If sponsors pay for most of the racing costs, what correlation do sponsors have to help sell cars?
Do you really want Wonder Bread to sponsor General Motors?
Does money from all these sponsors to each racing team matter?
If sponsors pay for most of the racing costs, what correlation do sponsors have to help sell cars?
Do you really want Wonder Bread to sponsor General Motors?
08-03-12, 09:05 AM
#10
on a more serious note. It may not directly correlate to because the sponsor and sponsoree may be from different industries, but ones things for sure. Slap a wonder bread sticker on a car and say don't think of wonder bread. Hard not to think about it. The old saying out of sight out of mind stands true. sponsors know this and will throw money on something like a racing series just for views
08-03-12, 10:16 AM
#11
It definitely helps build better cars because of the extreme close monitoring of all the parameters involved in the vehicles performance. These values can never be obtained by the cars that are sold in the market as nobody is going to be reporting them.
08-03-12, 11:53 AM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
I think it enhances brand image but I dont think it sells cars like it used to in the 50s and 60s. people now are way into fuel economy, price, safety, and comfort rather than all out performance
08-03-12, 11:59 AM
#13
Guest
Posts: n/a
Who here has recently been to a race? There is a tremendous difference and to me it does "sell" cars/bikes/etc. It is impressive to see these brands compete and even more impressive to see them win when you see how much effort and passion they give the day of where you can witness it yourself.
I think maybe you might not fully get that feeling on t.v b/c I was rather ignorant to it until I started attending in person even drift events. To me it made me gain a new level of respect for the brands in attendance participating.
In regards to sponsors I have to say I do like supporting brands that support racing. Without their support this VERY VERY expensive sport would be much tougher to bring to the masses. So yes it does make a difference especially if I was thinking about the brand or I might already purchase it, it gives me a reason to support them.
Good thread Phil!
I think maybe you might not fully get that feeling on t.v b/c I was rather ignorant to it until I started attending in person even drift events. To me it made me gain a new level of respect for the brands in attendance participating.
In regards to sponsors I have to say I do like supporting brands that support racing. Without their support this VERY VERY expensive sport would be much tougher to bring to the masses. So yes it does make a difference especially if I was thinking about the brand or I might already purchase it, it gives me a reason to support them.
Good thread Phil!
08-03-12, 07:18 PM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
Decades ago, when I was in high school, I think racing, especially the NASCAR and Trans-Am series, was a lot more effective in getting cars sold than today. The old saying was "Win on Sunday, sell on Monday". And there was a reason for that. The cars you saw on the track, back then, were far closer to what was actually in showrooms and sold at dealerships than what you see on the tracks today. What's more, cars back then usually had just the numbers painted on them and maybe a couple of small sponsor-logos, and that's it. Today, cars are so insanely-covered with ads, sponsor-logos, and aerodynamic farings that, more often than not, you can't even tell what brand of car it is. And cars that sell out of showrooms as front-drivers with fuel-injection are so heavily converted that they actually run on NASCAR trscks as rear-drivers with carburators (and sometimes carburator-restrictor-plates). Say what you will about NASCAR fans.....they aren't dumb. They know that, unlike 40 years ago with the Plymouth Superbird and Dodge Charger Daytona (and, to a lesser extent, the Ford Torino Cobra/ Mercury Cyclone CJ), you can't just walk into a showroom today and buy what is essentially a Winston-Cup machine.
