Be the Complete Racer: Build Your Brand

Number 5 in a countdown of the things that racers must do to achieve greatness is to be known for what you are off the track as well as your prowess behind the wheel.

The drivers with a huge fan base are the ones that have stood out from the crowd not just on the track, but off as well. Sometimes that comes through negative actions – some people just love a villain – but more often that comes through positive actions and a feel-good attitude. But either way, trying to be something you're not is not going to help you in the long run, the marketing experts say.

"True branding, whether it is a racecar driver or a Fortune 500 company, is about authenticity," says Jim Bowie of Brandrenaline, Inc. which works with Mazda Motorsports as its Agency of Record in Partnership Programs. "Branding is not a logo, slogan or trademark. True branding is the authentic interaction between the brand (driver) and the audience (media, fans, sponsor, etc). Just as a global big-box discount retailer can't brand itself as 'high quality,' a driver cannot brand themselves as something that they are not..."