What does MXSX need to change to get big sponsorship $ and grow (DC/Matthes/JT/ML)?

Slater Skins.

1 Class

Halfway serious... you hire 3 guys to be in charge of marketing, sponsorship, and advertising.

Jeff Glass, Jason Lawrence, and Josh Hansen. Think about it... all 3 know moto and they've been able to sell themselves and their sport to some fairly decent names. With support and "direction", those 3 would get the job done.

^^^^^^this. Jan to August, a little supercross, a little moto, a race every 2 weeks, USA, Canada, Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe. 16 races. Who is the best racer on dirt tracks with turns and jumps.1 Premier class and support classes to fill out the day, like moto GP.

Johnny Depp wrote:

1 Class

Hate to admit that I agree with that.

You also have to examine what sponsorship is these days. Chat with the NASCAR boys behind sponsorship for a min and you’ll quickly grasp how it’s not about just having a logo placement anymore. For those teams, the days are gone of saying “hey, we win and NASCAR gets X amount of vieiwers and X at the races. It’s also about how the team can help those businesses with new contacts in other partnerships (business to business of B2, wht activation and marketing data the teams can gather for these brands, along with other proven ROI (return on investment). They also do a lot of corporate events for these sponsors, host them and their sponsor’s clients at their shops for seminars and Big races. Ultimately they really have to prove they help these brands gain new business or lower their costs somewhere with new business relationships.

Once you get see that’s what other motorsports are doing to get by, just what motocross offers for a demographic and viewership isn’t the easiest sell. Activation in the pits to gain personal information and marketing data for brands is a huge part of getting new companies. With FELD’s restrictions and requirements to have these setups at their events, it can make it hard to accomplish what’s needed to attract these new big sponsors. Just having Ken Roczen or Eli Tomac on your team and winning isn’t enough.

Johnny Depp wrote:

1 Class

DPR250R wrote:

Hate to admit that I agree with that.

Me three...the bro show needs to go

dirt bikes or simply motorcycles have always and will always be regarded with a stigma of the bad boy/ loner/ extreme persona. its a sport that per the average perspective, is generally unknown and not considered part of societal norms.

for the sport to become 'huge' it has to be able to relate to the average individual. most people have a connection to football, basketball, baseball, soccer because they played the sport themselves in some fashion and can relate to sport, thereby understanding the high level of athleticism and skill required to become a professional within the sport.

>not many people own a motorcycle. the most popular motorcycle is a cruiser harley types. the amount of people who own a dirt bike is even less.

> the sport has become less accessible to the average joe with more expensive and complex motorcycles. these people end up finding something else to to.

long story short, the sport needs to appeal to a wider audience and its only going to do that by increasing the amount of people who can relate, which means getting more people out on dirt bikes.

What would be the benefits to the typical motorcycle hobbyist/racer/consumer if big sponsorship dollars were in play?

Johnny Depp wrote:

1 Class

We've agreed on this many times before.

The big problem is that I don't think the manufacturers would ever go for it because it means only one of their models is getting press from the sport. How do you convince Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, KTM and Husky that a single class is good for their business?

You need the person in the marketing department, the person that has their hands on the budget at those companies to actually LOVE dirt bikes. Less concerned about ROI and more a benefactor.

Phillip_Lamb wrote:

dirt bikes or simply motorcycles have always and will always be regarded with a stigma of the bad boy/ loner/ extreme persona. its a sport that per the average perspective, is generally unknown and not considered part of societal norms.

for the sport to become 'huge' it has to be able to relate to the average individual. most people have a connection to football, basketball, baseball, soccer because they played the sport themselves in some fashion and can relate to sport, thereby understanding the high level of athleticism and skill required to become a professional within the sport.

>not many people own a motorcycle. the most popular motorcycle is a cruiser harley types. the amount of people who own a dirt bike is even less.

> the sport has become less accessible to the average joe with more expensive and complex motorcycles. these people end up finding something else to to.

long story short, the sport needs to appeal to a wider audience and its only going to do that by increasing the amount of people who can relate, which means getting more people out on dirt bikes.

Yup.

Weed sponsor

Monster buds

Bret wrote:

What would be the benefits to the typical motorcycle hobbyist/racer/consumer if big sponsorship dollars were in play?

Well just split balling...more options for tracks and riding areas for the average guy when more people are exposed and take up riding. How many times have you heard "I have to drive X hours to get to the closest track."

hillbilly wrote:

Weed sponsor

Monster buds

WEEDHOUSE

RED BUDZ

BAKED GOODZ

the list could be huge

They just need to prove what the return is!

I think one thing that would help would be 1 championship per class. 250/450 grand national style championship. Is there any other sport that has multiple champions per year? 1 champion, 1 series with combined indoor and out (per class). My example is you don't see short track, road course and super speedway champions in Nascar. This is an extreme pipe dream as there are far too many hands in the pot, but I think it would be sweet.

You would think that motocross/supercross fans would be a dream demographic- relatively affluent, a wide range of ages including a lot of young people, brand loyal, and in a product-heavy sport.

Someone to start a series that pays better through the field and with a primary series sponsor-promoter that isn't afraid of competing sponsors.

No offense to the suggestions above but the only way to truly grow the sport is for more people to buy dirtbikes. Advertisers want to spend their money in an area that will get as much exposure as possible. Short term rule and class changes aren't enough to change those numbers.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, I believe electric gives us the best opportunity for long term growth. When customers can buy a bike that they can race on Sunday, then swap out wheels and plug a modular light kit back into so they can ride it to work the rest of the week, that broadens the market and decreases R & D cost. It helps justify the expense of the purchase to people who are on the fence, because a current bike is a single purpose $8-10K toy.
And once we go quiet, that should up more potential to ride in and near civilization, which means more exposure, which means more sales, and on and on. I'm thinking growth over a 20 year period here, not 2020 BTW. Grow the bottom line and everything else grows accordingly.
It wouldn't surprise me to see Supermoto come back as we become more urban oriented.
But I feel like the danger will always limit us to an extent.

Less regulation...Feld needs to let the teams do work for their sponsors in the pits...sell merchandise, collect customer info (names, emails, address's), etc. etc.

And the sport needs to increase its level of professionalism...the athletes need to invest in themselves and get some PR skills, the media needs to act like media rather than the Public Relations outlets for the teams and riders, and honestly, if the teams/riders were far more open about the amount of the money top riders are making, it would certainly peak the interest of the casual fan (we don't have to tell them how little the privateers are making though, lol. ).

But for the record...I couldn't care less if the sport grows or gets big sponsor dollars...it won't benefit me in the least...and to be honest, I like it better when Fox clothing wasn't sold in shopping malls...I liked the sport smaller.

1. Lazers

2. Big ass titties

3. Electrolytes

More Crashes (where rider's don't get hurt) That is TV gold.

Endurocross style. SX used to be considered an obstacle course. Go Back to the Future. It's the Lion's vs. the Roman's mentality where our sport's appeal is to the masses. They don't care about the beauty of the sport at all. Carnage is what they desire, and the 1st turn appeals to those senses. Evel Knievel stuff.

TV viewers will flip channels in a second when it get's boring. The Show needs more Drama, it needs to build to a big Climax. More like the Final 4, elimination format, more, shorter meaningful races.

There needs to be rider's interviewed before the start on TV without Helmets. Pit Stops because we are bored and need to mix up track positions. Several alternate line choice Joker Lanes Shortcuts as an option every lap, that Cody could make work, but most flounder in.

It will take this:

Motocross will have to become more attractive as a sporting event than at least one other sport that enjoys "big money" sponsorships. In other words, you will have to appeal to more people than those other sports. Want big marketing dollars? Prove, somehow, that by sponsoring MX I will get more eyeballs on my product than I do via advertising/promo with football, golf, NASCAR, or the NBA.

I think the TV ratings are proving that we as a sport do not.

Phillip_Lamb wrote:

dirt bikes or simply motorcycles have always and will always be regarded with a stigma of the bad boy/ loner/ extreme persona. its a sport that per the average perspective, is generally unknown and not considered part of societal norms.

for the sport to become 'huge' it has to be able to relate to the average individual. most people have a connection to football, basketball, baseball, soccer because they played the sport themselves in some fashion and can relate to sport, thereby understanding the high level of athleticism and skill required to become a professional within the sport.

>not many people own a motorcycle. the most popular motorcycle is a cruiser harley types. the amount of people who own a dirt bike is even less.

> the sport has become less accessible to the average joe with more expensive and complex motorcycles. these people end up finding something else to to.

long story short, the sport needs to appeal to a wider audience and its only going to do that by increasing the amount of people who can relate, which means getting more people out on dirt bikes.

Nope.

Hillbilly and DemonDave get it.

For awhile there, back in the 70s, I'd get 20, 30 people to make the trek to Unadilla from the Baltimore area.
And maybe 3 of us were riders.
We had a rented caravan of 6 RVs one year.

Why?

Because it was an event, a happening, a big kinda party.
Burning Man in miniature.

I still have people ask me now and then, everyday people that never threw a leg over a bike, "Do they still have those races up there in New York?".

I tell them no.
No camping.
No wet shirts,
No party.
Races on, ah, Saturday?

No, it's not there anymore.
Like that song American Pie.

mark_swart wrote:

No offense to the suggestions above but the only way to truly grow the sport is for more people to buy dirtbikes. Advertisers want to spend their money in an area that will get as much exposure as possible. Short term rule and class changes aren't enough to change those numbers.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, I believe electric gives us the best opportunity for long term growth. When customers can buy a bike that they can race on Sunday, then swap out wheels and plug a modular light kit back into so they can ride it to work the rest of the week, that broadens the market and decreases R & D cost. It helps justify the expense of the purchase to people who are on the fence, because a current bike is a single purpose $8-10K toy.
And once we go quiet, that should up more potential to ride in and near civilization, which means more exposure, which means more sales, and on and on. I'm thinking growth over a 20 year period here, not 2020 BTW. Grow the bottom line and everything else grows accordingly.
It wouldn't surprise me to see Supermoto come back as we become more urban oriented.
But I feel like the danger will always limit us to an extent.

IMO you have it exactly backwards. Look at Soccer, they have had now in the US generations of kids grow up with the new "safer" alternative sport. That has gotten them nowhere serious in 20-30 years.

In today's entertainment 1st world, you create something on TV/Social Media that everyone aspires to be, and they will follow. Like X-Games and Kim Kardashian.

Here is what you do:

#First- get rid of the fim and wada.....

#seconed- get rid of most of the upper management and find people that love our sport and actually want to see it grow and become a family atmosphere... Most of us have kids and wives so if its all good there then us men are good

#third- make the tickets where a family of 4 dosent have to spend 300+ dollars to go to super cross. Make tickets little cheaper and they will sell out at every stadium.

#forth-The only way we can get these big time sponsors is to let them set up booth inside the pit area and other spots around the stadium. Someone is not going to spend a ton of money to sponsor a team if they can't advertise and get there product to the customers. This will open up such a huge opportunity for sponsors and teams.

#slow the bikes down, its not fun with both classes run the same times and run the same rhythm lanes. They seriously need to choke these bikes down or make them a lower cc. Love watching the 125's back in the day..they mess up a section they go from 1st to 8th in one section, now they mess up they just blurp the throttle and they can tripple out. Dosent take skill just tons of balls. you know what bring back the 2 strokes, screw the 4 strokes. jk but thats when racing was racing where it took skill to get around the track, you actually had to know how to ride it to keep you momentum up.

# making contracts based on there finishes, the better you finish the more money you get, maybe it would make racing little better because they want that spot for more money on the night?

#something has to happen or its going to take a dive bomb. I don't care for fim or wada and they are hurting our sport.

Make the cost of participating as low as a $25 basketball.

Johnny Depp wrote:

IMO you have it exactly backwards. Look at Soccer, they have had now in the US generations of kids grow up with the new "safer" alternative sport. That has gotten them nowhere serious in 20-30 years.

In today's entertainment 1st world, you create something on TV/Social Media that everyone aspires to be, and they will follow. Like X-Games and Kim Kardashian.

I'm just saying that danger is probably a barrier to growth for moto in terms of how many bikes are sold. Along with cost and accessibility.
The funny part is, I can't even wrap my head around "normal" sports and why people who don't participate in them still follow them so closely. I don't want to watch people do something unless something I do also. But that's just me, and probably a bit off topic.