Interview: AMA Pro Racing VP of Commercial Development John Farris
By Davey Coombs
Photos by Andrew Northcott

DC recently did the interview below with AMA Pro Racing Vice President of Commercial Development John Farris, and it appeared in his “Racerhead” column last Friday on www.racerxill.com. Because much of it is relevant to AMA Pro Racing’s current lack of a title sponsor for the AMA Superbike Series, we decided to run it here as well.

RRX: Can we still expect a series title sponsorship for the 2005 AMA Motocross National Series?
John Farris: The sport of motorcycle racing enjoyed five great years with Chevrolet as our title sponsor for both AMA Motocross and AMA Superbike—which is a really strong run for a mass-market brand in what the mainstream still considers to be a niche sport. Chevrolet was a good sponsor—in addition to their involvement with us, they supported a top-level team [Kawasaki], they purchased a lot of motorcycle magazine ads and television commercials that drove revenue and benefits to the entire industry.

Working through the renewal process with Chevrolet, both parties felt quite confident that they would be back. Chevrolet staff and agency was very involved in defining what their priorities were for continued involvement in the sport and our proposal hit all of their defined goals—spot on.

That being said, during 2004, AMA Pro Racing had begun to expand our sales reach, initiating a dialogue about motorcycle racing sponsorship with a number of companies that would be a good fit as a sponsor—including all of the major automotive brands. Bringing in Ford as the title sponsor of the AMA Flat Track Championship was the first evidence of these efforts.

When Chevrolet notified us in October that they would not be returning, we had appointments literally within days, to make comprehensive presentations of motorcycle racing with a number of major companies.

In fact, as recently as this week, we continue to be deeply engaged with a potential client/sponsor who we have been meeting with for months and has had a proposal in-hand since early May.

While we are making good efforts and feel good about future sponsorship prospects, realistically, it is unlikely that a full-on series title sponsor will be in place for 2005. Mostly this is a timing issue relative to when Chevrolet informed us of their intentions and the decision making timelines for the companies we have been speaking with.

Why has it been such hard sell for both AMA Superbike and AMA Motocross in 2005?
Title sponsorship deals at this level generally have a longer development or gestation period. It can be an internally complicated process for a mass-market brand to enter a (relatively) niche sport like motorcycle racing. Companies that buy media in the motorcycle category, as most truck brands do, are not necessarily oriented to sponsor an entire series, a team, or even single events. Prior to joining AMA Pro Racing I was an executive at Chevrolet. My experience is that the decision process to invest in a sponsorship opportunity like this can take up to a year or more. During that time, decision makers have to be first made aware, then educated as to the sponsorship’s value then assisted in developing a rational, sellable business plan that will withstand tough scrutiny by senior management. All of this is compounded if there isn’t a great deal of familiarity of the sport to begin with. Plus, executives that are tasked with these types of decisions have to sift through many competing marketing options.

Even when we (AMA Pro Racing) are working with potential sponsors who are familiar with the sport, there still has to be a connection between the marketing objectives of a brand, what objectives the sponsorship can meet for the brand, and timing for both budget and marketing lifecycle of the brand.

As has been noted, the sport is really strong right now and is positioned for continued growth. The U.S. motorcycle industry is a $21.4 billion a year industry. New bike sales have been growing for more than a decade, hitting the 1 million unit mark in 2004 and growing by more than 337% since 1994. Attendance for AMA Supercross, AMA Superbike and AMA Motocross is booming as are TV ratings. In fact, an ESPN poll showed motorcycle racing is the third most popular motorsports activity behind only NASCAR and NHRA. With these metrics backing up our presentations, it is a great time to be pitching the sport to sponsors.

What can the industry or even interested race fans as a whole do to help find a series title sponsor?
As I mentioned, in 2004 we began expanding our sales reach and focus as AMA Pro Racing took on additional marketing rights and responsibilities for our properties. We are using external agency support for our sales and marketing, working with some of the top agents in the motorcycle industry and even some from NASCAR. We have working relationships for sponsor development with our media partners – both television and a couple of the top industry magazines. In Motocross, with the help of the NPG and Thor, we rolled out the VIP Media Hospitality Center as part of our race operations. We will be using this resource throughout the season to bring potential clients to the races and expose them to the sport.

There isn’t a week that goes by that we are not in contact with an agent representative discussing sponsorship opportunities and potential presentations and proposals. And, I encourage all of the industry to continue to work with us on building sponsor support for the entire sport. AMA Pro Racing just opened a new, expanded southern California office and will be announcing the addition of a new Sales Director in the next few days who will be working out of this office in the heart of the industry.

How does the current lack of series title sponsorship affect the riders' year-end points fund?
No effect at all. We are committed to paying Championship points funds in Superbike, Motocross, Flat Track and Supermoto. AMA Pro Racing is a business, and we are committed to the long-term health and prosperity of motorcycle racing for all of our stakeholders. For 2004 we developed a business plan and budget that had contingencies if Chevy left and a replacement wasn’t immediately secured.