Race on Sunday sell on Sunday

[anthonyvop]

Does it still hold true?

According to this it still does.


"The roar from an automobile race continues well after the cars leave the speedway." That's the major finding of a detailed examination of the influence of Motorsports on automotive purchase decisions conducted by Foresight Research, a Rochester, Michigan-based market research firm specializing in the automotive industry. Race fans love the sport and truly care about the cars. They hot only want to own them, but recommend them to others as well.

Foresight spent more than five years compiling data for its proprietary "2010: Automotive Marketing Return On Investment" study.

In 2009, 10% of all new vehicle buyers surveyed attended one or more motorsports races in the 12 months prior to their purchase. Meanwhile, 25% of all new vehicle buyers surveyed watched at least one motorsports race on television in the same time period. Of those who watched motorsports on TV, the average number of races watched was a surprisingly high 11.

"New vehicle buyers who are influenced by motorsports typically love cars and trucks and they are opinion leaders for other car buyers - they give an average of 25 or more vehicle recommendations per year to others," said Steve Bruyn, President of Foresight Research. "More importantly people follow their advice - and we have measured it. So, there is a downstream impact from the races in the form of on-going word of mouth recommendations. That's why we say that the roar from a race car continues away from the track."

When it comes to the influence of various racing organizations, NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar are heavy favorites. Geography also played a key role in the study with markets like Charlotte, Orlando/Daytona, Dallas and Northern California all more likely to attend a race and/or watch on TV. The incidence of TV viewership by brand was led by Dodge (36%), GMC (35%), Chevrolet (32%) and Ford (31%) followed by upscale and performance oriented brands. Buyers of large cars, sporty cars and pickup trucks are more likely to be influenced by motor sports.

"Race day is a total automotive immersion experience," said Bruyn. "When marketers have a display at a race, 63% of those highly influential buyers actually pre-planned their visits to include vehicle brand displays at the motorsports venue. These folks are there for the race but when they're in the market for a new vehicle they take the opportunity to visit the display. There may not be a huge number of shoppers at any given race but there are definitely enough to make the race day pay off. Then after the race, they are far more inclined to spread vehicle recommendations versus the total market average (44% versus 18%, respectively)."

Foresight's complete research study brings it all down to return on investment: both the direct affect on the shoppers at the display and the word of mouth affect on the purchase decisions of others. Then, the study offers a deep dive into the data including by brand, by segment purchased and by major metro areas. All those interviewed were actual new car buyers who had made their purchase an average of six months prior to the interview.

[nigelred5]

wiht very rare exception, dealerships are closed on sunday around here, so I doubt it. ;)

[grungex]

Does it still hold true?

Since the expression is "Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday", the answer would have to be no.

[Mark in Oshawa]

Tony, with all due respect, I think it is bunk. Race fans buy what they buy maybe on something they may see on the track, but I don't really believe it matters. If it did, the Big 3 wouldn't be in the hole they are in. If you a race fan, maybe there is some influence, and yes, I think that justifies involvement in racing, but the fact that Chevy wins more often than not hasn't hurt the sales of Fords in the last year now has it?

[Steve-o]

After nearly 25 years in the auto bizz, I can count on maybe both hands the people who fit this demo of "win on sunday...". Of those who purchased a car based on on track success, theywere interested in a car/truck that offered a particular package. A Monte Carlo with a driver package, or an F150 with a special race themed package. I see very little conversion from a Ford to a Chevy or vice versa based on that brand's winning. It was drastically less in the import world. Honda buyers could have cared less, and many were unaware of the factory's affiliation with racing.

[Lousada]

Tony, with all due respect, I think it is bunk. Race fans buy what they buy maybe on something they may see on the track, but I don't really believe it matters. If it did, the Big 3 wouldn't be in the hole they are in. If you a race fan, maybe there is some influence, and yes, I think that justifies involvement in racing, but the fact that Chevy wins more often than not hasn't hurt the sales of Fords in the last year now has it?

It is not bunk. The effects of advertising are well documented and racing is just another form of advertising (if done correctly). The fact that Chevy is in Nascar and is also succesful makes a huge difference in the male 18-40 demographic that follows Nascar, and also creates very important brand loyalty. You know, the government would never allow GM to spent tens of millions for something trivial as racing unless it had a measured effect.
But even the biggest advertising budgets and the most racing titles can't make up for a poor product. That is what is killing the big 3.

[Otto-Matic]

It is not bunk. The effects of advertising are well documented and racing is just another form of advertising (if done correctly). The fact that Chevy is in Nascar and is also succesful makes a huge difference in the male 18-40 demographic that follows Nascar, and also creates very important brand loyalty. You know, the government would never allow GM to spent tens of millions for something trivial as racing unless it had a measured effect.
But even the biggest advertising budgets and the most racing titles can't make up for a poor product. That is what is killing the big 3.

I was wondering about the amount of $$$ Chevy (GM) spends on Nascar, since they took Gov't Bailout money. Taking the taxpayers $$$ to keep the ship afloat is one thing but to take it AND keep sinking millions upon millions into a sport that runs practically oblivious technology (i.e carborators, no fuel injection) is puzzeling to me

[nigelred5]

A successful business needs to spend money on marketing and advertising. If the stats say NASCAR is a proven successful means, and participation creates and sustains jobs affiliated with that participation, so be it. how many French tax euros has Renault dumped into racing worldwide? Surely if one commie government believes it justifies investment in a purely capitalist endeavor, well how would we expect the Messiah to have believed otherwise. Especially with the epitome of an American automobile company with a French name. If it helps them to continue to improve the product and get my tax dollars out of the company faster all thebetter. :wacko:

[Jag_Warrior]

I don't think it applies to all manufacturers in the same way, and not to all of the models within a manufacturer's portfolio. But both BMW and Audi publicly pointed to their participation in ALMS as a major contributor to increased sales several years ago. And without WRC participation, the Subaru WRX and STI wouldn't exist. Those cars, along with the Mitsubishi Evo, are cult classics among younger people now (and those who are still young at heart ;) ). And both have helped to change the general perception about the overall companies in a positive way. Most car companies make the bulk of their sales by churning out people movers and grocery getters. Very few people actually buy high performance cars - they're a small segment of the overall market. But the flagship cars, as well as racing activities, do improve the image... when it's a successful endeavor.

As the article above states, the majority of people don't watch or attend racing events. But most every OEM has a high performance model to improve or build the image of the company. And racing is one way to feature those cars and further build (or maintain) a certain image. That's why it was so important to GM to get Corvette to Le Mans, as well as getting Cadillac into ALMS (for a short time). Although Corvette had been GM's flagship performance car for decades, by the '70's it had developed a rather poor reputation as a poseur bought by middle aged guys wearing thick gold chains, who spent too much time chasing girls half their age. Now it's a legit sports car with a solid racing heritage... and GM can point to that. Same with Cadillac. NASCAR brings eyeballs (very loyal ones) to the TV screen. And despite what people might think, GM is and has been selling a boatload of Malibus and Impalas. I don't know how much one can link that to NASCAR, but that is the case. Maybe being in NASCAR has made the "grocery getter" (somewhat) cool? I dunno... :confused:

But the article also states that it's not just the purchase of actual cars by those who watch or follow racing, but also the influence those people have on the buying decisions of others. If a friend of mine is going to buy a computer, he/she probably wouldn't ask my advice. But if he/she was going to buy a gun, a piece of real estate or a car, I would likely be one of the first people they'd seek advice from. They know that I wouldn't just guide them to my favorite racing marque, but I could tell them which cars tend to have the highest reliability and quality rankings. Some years ago a doctor bought his wife an XJ8 instead of a Mercedes based on my advice. At that time, Mercedes quality had fallen off quite badly and Jaguar's had risen to the top. And there are at least three Subarus in my immediate area which were bought because I recommended that brand. Not just because of them being in WRC at the time, but based on my own experience, as well as quality rankings. But with that said, I only became aware of Subaru because of their participation in WRC with the WRX/STI model. I believe that's part of what the article is trying to get across too.

[e2mtt]

I'm sure the the majority of pickup truck owning Nascar fans do buy the same brand of truck as the make of the car they cheer for.

[Jag_Warrior]

I'm sure the the majority of pickup truck owning Nascar fans do buy the same brand of truck as the make of the car they cheer for.

You're probably correct. Early on, Toyota actually described their strategy for entering NASCAR (and not just the truck series) as one which would support the Tundra. The profit margin on Tundras (actually all pickups) is a hell of a lot better than it is on basic passenger cars like the Camry.