For this week, we wanted to dive into a unique motorsports partnership that caught our eye. This story has great lessons baked into it that can be helpful for any racer or team seeking their first sponsor.
Sargento’s recent sponsorship of NASCAR driver Josh Bilicki illustrates just how important it is as a racer to be social media savvy.
(In particular, as a racer seeking sponsorship.)
This story began on lap 25 during the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ July visit to Road America. Attempting to evade an on-track incident ahead of him, Bliciki inexplicably found himself off the track, collecting a Sargento’s trackside sign across the front end of his Camaro. Without missing a beat, the TV broadcast captured the visually intriguing moment:
Naturally, social media buzz around the video snippet and photos of the occurrence started to generate. Pretty soon, it was the topic of discussion among not just Bilicki's fanbase, but NASCAR fans.
So, how exactly did Bilicki transform this run-in with the cheese brand’s trackside signage into a one-race primary sponsorship deal? And, what likely helped in convincing Sargento to sign on as a sponsor of Bilicki in Watkins Glen that next month? Let’s take a closer look at what happened...
After seeing that NBC Sports had clipped his run-in with the brand’s signage, Bilicki didn’t miss a beat in getting Sargento’s attention and sharing the post across social media (while still playing it extremely cool, might I add):
Resulting from that re-share, Bilicki’s fans took to his post's comment section across his Twitter and Facebook, pulling for Sargento to jump on board and support their favorite driver. Organically, the fans began to drive the conversation around the clipped moment (a very small sampling of the dialog below):
Bilicki, quick to highlight synergies between him and Sargento, placed emphasis on the fact he’s also from Wisconsin (where Sargento is based; hence their longtime sponsorship of the Road America venue).
The resulting partnership: a one-race deal between Sargento and Alpha Prime Racing, which included a press announcement, numerous pieces of behind-the-scenes social media content, a large amount of race weekend social content, and even coverage in USA TODAY:
Now, we’re obviously not privy to *everything* behind Sargento’s decision to sign on for Watkins Glen – but, one thing is for certain: there was a great story behind the partnership; one that fans across social media were actually quite instrumental in even making happen.
What did Bilicki have going for him?
Notice that we used the word “loyal,” and not “huge,” to describe social media following in the last bullet point. While both are true of Bilicki’s social media following, I would underline “loyal” 100 times if I could.
A golden rule of thumb for aspiring professional racers: in the eyes of your sponsors, engagement is weighted more heavily than follower count.
If Bilicki’s thousands of Twitter followers or Facebook fans hadn’t spoken up for their guy, do you think Sargento would have even entertained this sponsorship? Because Bilicki already had a loyal and engaged fanbase, he was able to effectively capitalize on the moment.
Why is this? Well, your sponsors are buying “sales” just as much as they are trying to capture “eyeballs:” if your followers regularly comment and engage with your posts, your race team is that much more attractive to potential sponsors.
Even for those who are just starting out in amateur or professional racing, and don’t have a large audience, can start building an engaged social media follower base. The key: give your fans reasons to follow you! To start talking to sponsors, you don't necessarily need a huge amount of followers – you need an engaged followers, which takes time and consistency. But it is possible, with the right dedication.
Like any driver on race weekend, there are likely 100 pressing things on your mind, racing-related: how do I make my car faster, how can I cut a few tenths off my lap time, et cetera … for reasons quite understandable, social media might a heavy addition to all of that.
Well, if possible, you can always ask someone to help you out with managing your socials on race weekend! If not possible, take a short amount of time *before* arriving at the track to jot down a short script of your posts (this can simply be done in the Notes app). Believe us, it comes in handy when you need to be focusing on your race car.
While the circumstances that led to Bilicki’s Sargento sponsorship don't represent your typical “how-to” guide, this story does show the importance of being consistent and vigilant when it comes to your social media presence as a racer.
As a racer, you have the unique ability to bridge a sizable audience with a brand or business; to do this just requires a focused effort, over time. Who knows; you may find yourself "capturing lightning in a bottle" on the social media front one day!
