I have a passion for the sport, and yes, I have raced. But somebody who is active in the sport "shouldn't" automatically qualify as the best guy to make it happen, as a person with an understanding of how to market, promote and generate excitement is what is needed. (if thats where your Q came from)....and that is what I see as part of the issue. A great boat mechanic doesn't necessarily make the best boat dealer - two separate roles.

Okay, I'll bite.

How do YOU suppose you get sponsors into a sport with NO captive audience and a limited fan base(at best)? Please explain.

I know why GEICO and STIHL(personal corporate connections) were in the sport and GEICO seems to be the only one able to capitalize on the investment through boat shows and lead generation from those. But I seemed to miss any other major(or even mediocre) sponsors jumping at the opportunity.

I defer to you on how, exactly, you think it should happen.

You do realize the "Stihl" team was a local distributor that raced boats and got the parent company to throw a few bucks into sponsorship of his team. If he wasn't already in the chainsaw business then there wouldn't be a Stihl team. Also note after the guy died, Stihl pulled out of the sponsorship.

Geico has been the exception to the typical sponsorship role.

Fact is the "sport" is dying, the type of boating is dying so the bean counters simply look at it as bad investments for the ad/sponsorship dollars.


Here is an article regarding organizing a powerboat race from cash to marine life protection:
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/p...lpMi4yF9ChIBI/

They had a race, however it was a "one and done" event. I attended (spectator from the beach) but I wondered how many people would have been at the beach that day anyway (it was a nice day). They had a VIP area on a pier which charged admission but the rest of the beach was free (hard to provide anything for free and make money).

Don't tell Google that.

Nothing to bite on here, all I'm saying is it "can" be done, and I'll discuss it with interested parties privately, but not going to take a few hours to write it out. I will say, everybody is looking for the obvious, and its not there...never was. Sponsors come and go, and some day Geico is going to jump off too. Then what? And yes, the entire boat industry is shrinking and "aging" out, so it must be done to accommodate, not attract. I'm not pretending to be "the" rocket scientist here, I'm saying that I believe I have a better mouse trap. But this subject has been beaten to death over the years and everyone keeps trying to reinvent the wheel with this sport, completely missing the core point of what needs to be done. Bigger is not always better.

[QUOTE )


Fact is the "sport" is dying, the type of boating is dying so the bean counters simply look at it as bad investments for the ad/sponsorship dollars.

Unfortunatly it does appear that way BUMMER

Pretty sure their advertising is highly coveted and certainly not FREE

Powerboat racing had its heyday when the teams were self-supporting although a bit illegal. Who today can bring the money that those associated with drugs could ?

"At one time, two-thirds of the people involved in offshore powerboat racing were directly or indirectly involved in drugs. You had guys running around there racing boats without any source of income - or at least not any source that was reportable. " In the 1980s, more than a dozen leaders of powerboat racing were convicted of drug charges and related crimes
- John Crouse

IMSA, the car racing group had a similar scenario and also filtered into CART with the Whittington, Lanier and others.

So what you're saying is you have the solution that everyone—including Michael Allweiss who had 100-plus boats at his Key West events in the early 2000s—has missed. Private message me and I'll be delighted to put you in touch with potentially interested parties currently in the sport. I'm not being a smart-ass. I'm serious. Whether you're right or not, listening costs nothing.