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| 2010 INDIANAPOLIS 500 LIVE UPDATES Monday, May 17, 2010 |
12:00 PM
Just got into Indianapolis late Sunday and am getting settled into the IMS Media
Center after working out and running some errands in the AM.
Looks like a rain-out today. Sometimes having a "day off" here at IMS is good in
order to get caught up on work, run errands, do laundry, etc. But since this is my
first full day here at the track, it's a real bummer.
Some media here already, but not much to report.
Took a trip through the garage area for the first time this year, and -
unfortunately - there was not much going on. Most garage doors were closed,
and didn't see one driver. I suspect they are all sleeping in their motorcoaches,
working out, or getting caught up with life stuff on a "day off." There were some
good PR people, though, that took the down time to schedule media interviews
with their drivers, which the media always appreciates on slow news days.
Ron Green, former PR Director for IMS (until all of the big cuts last year), is now
the PR person for Townsend Bell for this race - a strange twist for a guy who's
only worked for tracks or sanctions. Ron said that he was actually nervous
coming into the track for the first time, as this is such a new role for him.
Ron brought Bell into the Media Center on Monday to do a round of interviews
with the few media who were braving the pouring rain to continue to work. I got
to chat with Townsend for a bit.
After finishing 4th in last year's Indy 500, Townsend has a one-off deal here at
IMS, competing for an effort between Sam Schmidt Motorsports and Chip
Ganassi Racing - a pretty stout effort for the journeyman driver.
I heard Townsend speak to a Young Driver's Symposium crowd during the PRI
Trade Show in Orlando, Fla., last year, and was extremely impressed with his
knowledge of the business side of racing, specifically marketing and attracting
sponsors. He's - quite frankly - an expert at it, and you don't find too many
drivers at this level who know much, if anything, about the art of finding
sponsors.
I asked Townsend what one piece of advice he'd give young drivers in coaching
them about how to find sponsorship opportunities. His answer was right on the
mark, according to all of my experiences working with young drivers: Teach the
PARENTS how to teach their young DRIVER to find sponsors, and make these
young kids responsible at an early age for funding part or all of their racing
endeavors. Young drivers are mostly woefully unprepared for the big, bad world
of motorsports marketing, as - in many cases - it's too easy for the parents to
simply write a check to keep and operation going. The drivers have no idea how
or why parts are bought, travel is paid for, and arrangements to race are made.
Of course, no one is a born salesperson, but they can LEARN that end of the
business of racing while they are just starting out. Yes, it takes time, patience,
perseverance, skill, communication and - oh, did I mention perseverance? But
the drivers who learn those things end up getting the bucks to race. Add in
pursuing networking opportunities and a little bit of luck, and a driver will have
rides for the rest of his or her career.
Townsend also said that a young driver has to sell who they are, and to have a
strong sense of where they want to go in their career - to believe in their future
with all of their heart. This will come out when speaking to other people about
sponsorship. Wins matter. But convincing someone to believe in you matters
more. He said the key to getting a sponsor's attention is not the "soft marketing"
approaches most people take (i.e. signage, tickets, showcar appearances, etc.).
It's creating hard, cold, factual ways to help a potential sponsor PAY for the
sponsorship - in other words, creating guaranteed sales.
He also related that his sponsorship deal with Herbalife (title sponsor on his Indy
500 machine this year) started out with a simple helmet sponsorship - nothing
big. But through that connection, he became really good friends with the CEO
(um, remember "networking"?), who eventually developed a real passion for the
sport. Not just for IndyCar racing, but WINNING, which trickled down to all of
Herbalife's distributors, creating a massive amount of support for Townsend and
his Indy program.
Very interesting guy, and a great racer whom I'm going to root for - if for no other
reason that he has been smart enough to understand the core business of
racing, something I've preached to every driver I've ever worked for during the
past two decades.
Just got into Indianapolis late Sunday and am getting settled into the IMS Media
Center after working out and running some errands in the AM.
Looks like a rain-out today. Sometimes having a "day off" here at IMS is good in
order to get caught up on work, run errands, do laundry, etc. But since this is my
first full day here at the track, it's a real bummer.
Some media here already, but not much to report.
Took a trip through the garage area for the first time this year, and -
unfortunately - there was not much going on. Most garage doors were closed,
and didn't see one driver. I suspect they are all sleeping in their motorcoaches,
working out, or getting caught up with life stuff on a "day off." There were some
good PR people, though, that took the down time to schedule media interviews
with their drivers, which the media always appreciates on slow news days.
Ron Green, former PR Director for IMS (until all of the big cuts last year), is now
the PR person for Townsend Bell for this race - a strange twist for a guy who's
only worked for tracks or sanctions. Ron said that he was actually nervous
coming into the track for the first time, as this is such a new role for him.
Ron brought Bell into the Media Center on Monday to do a round of interviews
with the few media who were braving the pouring rain to continue to work. I got
to chat with Townsend for a bit.
After finishing 4th in last year's Indy 500, Townsend has a one-off deal here at
IMS, competing for an effort between Sam Schmidt Motorsports and Chip
Ganassi Racing - a pretty stout effort for the journeyman driver.
I heard Townsend speak to a Young Driver's Symposium crowd during the PRI
Trade Show in Orlando, Fla., last year, and was extremely impressed with his
knowledge of the business side of racing, specifically marketing and attracting
sponsors. He's - quite frankly - an expert at it, and you don't find too many
drivers at this level who know much, if anything, about the art of finding
sponsors.
I asked Townsend what one piece of advice he'd give young drivers in coaching
them about how to find sponsorship opportunities. His answer was right on the
mark, according to all of my experiences working with young drivers: Teach the
PARENTS how to teach their young DRIVER to find sponsors, and make these
young kids responsible at an early age for funding part or all of their racing
endeavors. Young drivers are mostly woefully unprepared for the big, bad world
of motorsports marketing, as - in many cases - it's too easy for the parents to
simply write a check to keep and operation going. The drivers have no idea how
or why parts are bought, travel is paid for, and arrangements to race are made.
Of course, no one is a born salesperson, but they can LEARN that end of the
business of racing while they are just starting out. Yes, it takes time, patience,
perseverance, skill, communication and - oh, did I mention perseverance? But
the drivers who learn those things end up getting the bucks to race. Add in
pursuing networking opportunities and a little bit of luck, and a driver will have
rides for the rest of his or her career.
Townsend also said that a young driver has to sell who they are, and to have a
strong sense of where they want to go in their career - to believe in their future
with all of their heart. This will come out when speaking to other people about
sponsorship. Wins matter. But convincing someone to believe in you matters
more. He said the key to getting a sponsor's attention is not the "soft marketing"
approaches most people take (i.e. signage, tickets, showcar appearances, etc.).
It's creating hard, cold, factual ways to help a potential sponsor PAY for the
sponsorship - in other words, creating guaranteed sales.
He also related that his sponsorship deal with Herbalife (title sponsor on his Indy
500 machine this year) started out with a simple helmet sponsorship - nothing
big. But through that connection, he became really good friends with the CEO
(um, remember "networking"?), who eventually developed a real passion for the
sport. Not just for IndyCar racing, but WINNING, which trickled down to all of
Herbalife's distributors, creating a massive amount of support for Townsend and
his Indy program.
Very interesting guy, and a great racer whom I'm going to root for - if for no other
reason that he has been smart enough to understand the core business of
racing, something I've preached to every driver I've ever worked for during the
past two decades.