“MEXICAN NASCAR DRIVER”
It even sounds funny as I am writing it. Until this weekend, a Mexican driving in NASCAR is probably as rare as an African American singing Mexican corridos and almost as strange as Donald Trump being a presidential candidate. But the truth is, whether you like it or not, they all exist.
A lot has happened in the last two years – I married my gorgeous wife, I traveled across the world. I got to work with amazing people; one of them is three-time NASCAR Mexico Champion, German Quiroga.
I met German in Chicago two years ago. I was directing the Spanish doc series Futuros Y Leyendas for Fox Deportes. Two months later, when we were wrapping up German’s episode in Miami, the charismatic three-time champion from Mexico City mentioned that he didn’t have a sponsor lined up for the 2015 season. I mentioned to him that I just filmed a branded spot for a big shot in Santa Barbara – essentially, he hooks up people who have money with people who need money. I told German that I would gladly pass along the information to his agent. To my surprise though, he said he didn’t have an agent.
I was no expert, but, generally, in my professional sports television experience, 99.9 percent of the active professional athletes I encountered used the services of an agent. How did he get sponsorships? How did he set up interviews or doing anything with the public? German confidently and proudly said that he did a lot of the grunt work on the off season.
Two thoughts came through my head:
1. Why doesn’t this guy have an agent?
2. If NASCAR wants to diversify the sport, German has to race.
So the three-time champion of NASCAR Mexico (Yes. There is NASCAR in Mexico. Well, there was…more on that another day) cold called brand managers and ask them to be his sponsor?
I couldn’t really judge the guy-If it worked for him before, what did I know? German had two major sponsors when he racing in Mexico: Telcel and Federal Express. So I asked if I could help. Sounded simple enough.
So what did I do? I did what any inexperienced agent or sponsorship manager would do-I signed up for LinkedIn Sales Navigator. I didn’t mind paying a few bucks if I was going to reap the rewards of a NASCAR Sponsorship. SO MUCH MONEY!!!
German was the next big thing in NASCAR. At the time, German just came off the most successful season for a Hispanic driver in any of the top divisions of NASCAR. Honestly, I thought we were going to have to turn down sponsors.
Based on my eight years in sports television, in both marketing, promos and production, I believed I had a top free agent (I still have a top free agent). He is bilingual, charismatic, exciting to watch, ripped, my boy has everything. What brand wouldn’t want a multicultural ambassador like German Quiroga?
Unfortunately, asking a brand for a sponsorship is like telling a pitcher that he is pitching a no hitter in the middle of the 6th or 7th inning. The most difficult part of sponsorship acquisition is just getting in front of the right people (Not complaining. LinkedIn and cold calls can only take you so far.) When I am able to get in front of the right people, the slight whisper of the word NASCAR scares most brands, especially Hispanic brands.
If you ask my wife, she will tell you that I am sucker for sport analogies, for example
What’s the most important pitch in baseball?
Some of us would say a fastball. Others said that having an effective off-speed pitch like a curveball or changeup.
The most important pitch in baseball is:
Strike One.
If the the most important pitch is strike one, Friday night was a fastball on the outside corner. German earned the outside pole position and had a solid top ten performance finishing 8th. Not bad given the fact that German has not sat in the driver seat for a 19 months. German was also one of the fastest trucks on the track toward the end of the race. (Great job by Red Horse Racing Pit Crew and Engineering Team)
So what’s next? What’s our next pitch? You just have to come back and see for yourself.
Every Monday I am posting a pitch, a story dealing with my sponsorship experience with German Quiroga and our journey to becoming a Hispanic Champion in NASCAR. Athletes, brand managers and sponsorship directors are all invited to contribute.
This is Jose Guadalupe Jimenez bringing you-
-1 Pitch at a Time.
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