From the Sponsor's Perspective
By Brian Mackey
All rights reserved
(This article originally appeared in the IMSA "Arrow" publication in 1989. It has generated much response over the years.)

The excitement level continued to grow. It was race time.

As the cars lined up on the grid, everyone at the party strained to find my car as it passed in front of the cameras. No such luck. We all saw the car moving on the grid, noticed there was writing on the rear wing, but to my horror, it did not seem to form the letters of my name. There was something different on the rear wing. Oh, no. No "Mackey." Perhaps they moved my name. Maybe Shelton did not have sufficient time to make a sticker with my name on it...maybe the one they did make spelled my name wrong. To say I was disappointed would not suffice. I was on the verge of anger.

But I knew, perhaps better than anyone else there, that the exposure generated for associate sponsors from TV is limited. These cars are intended to go extremely fast. It results in a difficult read for the TV viewer. A small sticker stands little chance of being read, there is simply not enough time. I tried to remind myself that TV exposure was not part of my objectives. It served only to confirm my participation. But the obvious ego gratification of seeing my company's name blazoned across a TV screen in a broadcast that was reaching millions of people around the country got in the way of marketing objectives.

We continued to watch the race with only passing interest. The comradeship that had been established from my company's involvement greatly evaporated when there was no apparent sign of my sponsorship. Then it happened. Confirmation of my participation, coupled with the jarring visual overdose of seeing "my" car crunched against the wall three quarters of the way through the race.

The "Mackey" Porsche had crashed. The driver was slightly injured. The cameras zoomed in to witness him extricate himself out of the battered race car. And there, slightly crumpled, was the my company's name. But not on the rear splitter, it was on the FRONT of the car, bold and very visible. The thought that I had been given such prominent positioning on the entry was a source of great pride and excitement, but was now integrated with my disappointment that we were out of the race.

It is a whole different ball game...

The deal was done...

Reminder: Racing relies on the commercial involvement for its very existence...