Bringing sponsors interested
in reaching consumers instead of only building
business-to-business relationships is the fastest way to
expand Champ Car’s marketability
Check out
Kevin Kalkhoven’s tan – he’s no snow driver
A basic part of the journalistic trade
consists of approaching publicity events with a calculated
attitude of blasé cynicism. You see the press release in
your e-mail box, and although it may say “Come and see the
Beer A launch party with wet T-shirt contest featuring
Pamela Anderson!”, your professional duties oblige you to
react with a staged yawn. “Oh, yeah. Whatever.”
“I’ll be there.”
Bridgestone’s PR event at Denver’s Pepsi Center (intended to
display the prowess of its Blizzak winter tires by having
the likes of Paul Tracy and other big names from the Champ
Car community flogging Ford Escapes inside an ice rink)
couldn’t quite match the appeal of Beer A’s party. But it
came close.
Thus, Friday at 4:30 pm, after Champ Car and Trans-Am
qualifying ended, I stood beside the Pepsi Center’s ice rink
(most notably used by the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche) with my
studied expression of indifference.
Three minutes later, I was grinning already.
All-season and Blizzak go head-to-head
Here’s how it worked: two Ford Escapes, one
equipped with all-season tires, the other shod with Blizzak
winter rubber, were handed to two different drivers. They
took five laps around the rink, then switched rides, both
getting to experience the car’s behavior on the distinctive
conditions.
The first round matched PKV and Champ Car co-owner Kevin
Kalkhoven against the lovely Bronte Tagliani, Alex’s wife. One quick glance at the Achillean tan on
Kevin's and Bronte’s forehead revealed their unfamiliarity with the slippery stuff
right away.
Hailing from the tropical lands of Brazil, my knowledge of
winter tires so far consisted of a few diagrams teaching how
to install tire chains printed on the owner’s manual of my
uncle’s ‘73 BMW 2002. So I wasn’t quite sure of what to
expect once Bronte and Kevin turned the keys of their
Escapes.
Turns out, it’s hellishly hard to drive any four-wheeled
thing on ice. I was thinking the conditions would be similar
to the ones we experience in the tropics, when powersliding
over desert beach sands at night before the cops show up.
Wrong: that’s like driving on hot tar in comparison.
Kalkhoven skidded all over the place, even hitting the
hockey rink’s barrier when steering the all-season tires
car, then proceeded to honk his horn incessantly behind
Bronte’s car when her turn without the snow tires came up.
After climbing out the second time, Kalkhoven said he “could not
believe the difference. It was like night and day.”
Sliding cars on ice is the sort of silly activity real car
guys cannot stay indifferent to. When those cars are being
steered by great personalities like Paul Tracy, Paul
Gentilozzi and Tommy Kendall, and their reactions are being
blasted by a PA announcer as soon as they hop out of the cars,
fans can instantly relate to both the sport’s biggest asset
– the drivers – and the product being showcased, be it snow
tires or any other thing they might consume.
When your sponsors only have business-to-business interests, however,
opportunities like this are lost. Without promoting the
drivers and making them interact with the public, expanding
your fan base becomes much more difficult, for such
promotions cost money – money that business-to-business companies likely
won’t be interested in spending, since they have no need to
reach the consumers directly.
Partnerships with business-to-consumer corporations bring
promotions that not only add to an event’s overall number of
entertainment options, but also help publicize the sport and its
drivers/stars (even outside a racing weekend environment –
can you say free Sebastien Bourdais miniature cars with the
purchase of every Happy Meal?)
Plus, you get to see Tommy Kendall bumping Tracy’s behind to
send him skidding into a hockey rink wall. It’s a win-win
situation.
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