When something happens three times, a trend may be forming. Over the past few months, three stand-out successes in auto racing have raised the eyebrows of many in the sports business: the 2021 Formula 1 Pirelli British Grand Prix, NASCAR's Cup Series event at Road America, and the debut of...

Ken Ungar is the president and founder of sports marketing agency CHARGE, which has served clients including Honda, Acura, NASCAR, the Los Angeles Dodgers, NBA Players Association, the SCCA and over 50 professional athletes in the NFL, NASCAR and IndyCar. Find out more here.In my recent RACER opinion piece, readers...

Every industry inevitably hits a fork in the road.Fifteen years ago, the mobile phone market hit that fork. Nokia, the global leader at the time, chose a traditional direction for its flagship product. By introducing his market-disruptive iPhone, Steve Jobs chose another. By 2013, Nokia had left the mobile phone...

A famous strategist, Sun Tzu, once said, “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” In the COVID-19 era, live motorsports events find themselves in a state of daily chaos. If a promoter or sanctioning body rushes to fill the stands with fans, they run the risk of a...

Like bears ending their winter hibernation, many of us are emerging from months of isolation. During that time, we watched NASCAR and IndyCar continue racing via simulation, a virtual NFL Draft, every second of a Michael Jordan documentary and anything else that could be televised or streamed. But now, we’re...

No-one has a crystal ball forecasting the sponsorship’s industry fate. However, we don’t need psychic ability to predict the consequences of the unfolding economic debacle. That doesn’t necessarily spell doom for sports, non-profits, the arts and any other organization reliant on the $67 billion (pre-COVID-19) sponsorship industry. It simply puts...

When the world appears completely out of control, who better to quote than Star Trek's Captain Kirk?Kirk knew how to win when the odds were against him. When in Starfleet Academy, young Kirk faced the Kobayashi Maru no-win computer training simulation that defeated every cadet before him. Should he also...

We face a health crisis. It will significantly disrupt the way we live. With its close natural tie to sports, the sponsorship industry felt the early sting of event postponement and cancellations. As millions hunker down in their homes facing self-isolation, self-quarantine or lockdown, everyone ponders “what’s next?”In our first...

Far from being experts on the coronavirus, we would urge all to listen to community health officials, take proper precautions and act in the public interest. However, as sponsorship community members, we want to share insights on our industry in this time of crisis.The sponsorship industry will be seriously affected...