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Publicity is Power
Remember the good ol’ days when family businesses supported up-and-coming
racers? All the teams had to be concerned about was getting to the next
race. Well, the good ol’ days are long gone.
With NASCAR growing
into an international, multi-billion-dollar entity, its teams have
evolved into corporations that employ seemingly as many staff members as
parts they put in their high-powered engines. That corporate trend has
trickled into every form of racing in recent years as costs have skyrocketed.
Racing teams can no
longer depend on a mom-and-pop business for sponsorship, so they hire
marketing experts or, in some cases, marketing firms. A similar situation
exists with teams’ public relations. Despite the efforts of the racing
organizations to provide as much coverage as possible, teams can no
longer depend on them or newspapers or television or even the internet
for publicity.
Every racing team
needs a public relations professional. No matter how meticulously a
marketing specialist works to secure corporate backing, if the
prospective sponsor hasn’t seen the driver’s name in the media, his
efforts fall on deaf ears. It’s not a chicken-or-the-egg proposition,
either. Teams must have publicists to spread the word about their drivers
to have any hope of gaining the necessary sponsorship to fund their
operations. Publicity is power.
As the Director of
Public Relations of World of Outlaws Racing from 1987 to 2004, I
witnessed racing’s publicity/marketing metamorphosis. While managing the
series’ publicity, I worked closely with its marketing director. Drivers
and car owners continually begged us to secure sponsorship for them, but
they did very little to publicize themselves. Our efforts to educate them
about the basics of a successful sponsorship campaign gradually resulted
in the hiring of publicity personnel. In fact, the young ladies who served
as interns for me when Ted Johnson introduced the World of Outlaws Gumout Series in the early 2000s now work with NASCAR
teams and one even founded her own public relations firm.
Earlier this year,
when I decided to return to auto racing as a publicist, I decided to use
the screen name “sprintcarpr” on the
RacingOne.com message board. I used the handle “Outlaws PR Director” when
I introduced the World of Outlaws to Racing One and acted as the forum’s
moderator in the early 2000s, but figured it was time for a change.
Soon after posting my
name-altering note, I received an e-mail from Mike Minter, owner of Kathryne Minter Racing, who asked me “what does a
sprint car pr guy do?” I explained to him – in great detail – that I
believe a team’s public relations specialist’s responsibility is to
utilize every aspect of the media to publicize its driver.
Although Kathryne Minter Racing already had a nice website – www.mint13.com – designed by html guru
Darin Short, the good word about Kathryne wasn’t
being broadcast directly to the masses. During my years with the World of
Outlaws, I compiled an international e-mail list that includes more than
200 major daily and racing newspapers, magazines, websites, sponsors, radio
and television personalities, marketing specialists, and photographers.
Yes, photographers. Whoever coined the phrase “a picture is worth 1,000
words” fell light years short of the value of a photograph. A press
release or sponsorship proposal without art work is practically useless.
I learned the value of photography very early in my public relations
career and befriended as many “shooters” as I could. I scratched their
backs and they scratched mine … as often as possible.
Kathryne,
who has only been racing for three years, was known around American
Sprint Car Series ovals, but few people outside her family knew she is an
attractive, personable, smart, talented, up-and-coming 16-year-old girl who
will do whatever it takes to achieve her sky-high aspirations.
So, the first thing I
did was put together a bio outlining her racing – and personal –
highlights, complete with photographs. In addition to writing press
releases before and after her every visit to the racetrack, I utilized
her charming personality by arranging interviews with writers and radio
show hosts. Kathryne was an instant hit! I’m
also in the midst of ongoing discussions with a major network television
affiliate in Dallas
about one of its reporters filming a feature story about her.
Even though Kathryne isn’t a dominant racer yet, she has quickly
put her signature on the sport with her personality. Young girls who are
starting their racing careers see her as an inspiring role model. I read a
newspaper story recently about a girl who races mini-stocks in Texarkana, TX,
and she mentioned Kathryne as one of her
heroes. With all Kathryne does in addition to
racing, why wouldn’t she be? She attends Fellowship
Church and Temple Christian
School, volunteers
for the Hurst-Euless-Bedford
Teen Court and has a part-time job. She’s
awesome when it comes to mentioning her sponsors in interviews, too.
Kathryne
is also a major attraction at the racetrack. At a recent Winged Outlaw
Warriors race at Springfield Raceway, she signed autographs for more than
200 adoring fans and sold more T-shirts than any other driver at the
event. It was her first appearance at Springfield Raceway and in a WOW
race, so I can only imagine what a hit she would have been if she was a
regular.
Kathryne’s
personality and racing skill – she’s leading the ASCS Gulf South Rookie
of the Year point standings – were the driving forces behind her
invitation to the Brodix Tournament of Champions
at Knoxville Raceway earlier this month. A World of Outlaws car owner was
so impressed with her performance in that (360) race that he offered her
a 410 engine to run at an Outlaws event. Another team owner offered her a
ride in the prestigious Chili Bowl.
So, a driver doesn’t
have to win every race to be popular; he or she just needs to be
personable and hire a devoted publicist to get the word to the people who
can make things happen. If you print it, the sponsors will come.
Contact Richard Day at richardd2@earthlink.net
or 214-793-8801 for your publicity needs.
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