Ultimate Fighter Teams up with DealerSocket

[Jeff Kershner]

I'm a huge UFC follower, so when when I received this ad in my inbox today from DealerSocket, I thought it was worthy of a quick post.

Dealersocket is sponsoring Rameu Sokoudjou in his UFC fight again Luiz Cane this saturday night UFC89. How cool is that? Props to the DealerSocket crew for thinking outside of the box with some off the wall marketing. Of course if I were not a UFC fan, I'd be like WTF?

I'm really looking forward to Keith Jardine going up against Brandon Vera! I Actually thought about breaking into the MMA scene myself. HA!

I'll be sure to look out for the DealerSocket logo during Rameu's fight! Nice job DealerSocket!

 

[Gilbert Chavez]

Jeff,
That is really cool. As huge UFC fan I am glad to see DealerSocket think out of the norm for advertising. GO FAST, a Colorado sports drink was an early adopter to the UFC back in the day. MMA has really taken over. The Vera vs. Jardine fight is going to be a good one.

 

[David Metter (blog)]

Didn't you get into the Ultimate Fighting ring last Wednesday night at LAX in Vegas?????

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Yea, someone's lucky I didn't have my bow staff with me that night.

 

[Kevin Frye]

If the local Dealer Socket rep brings this UFC fighter with them on sales calls, I don't think there will be any other choice but to sign on...

 

[Jennifer Schrader (blog)]

That is insane but smart! I would agree with Kevin. I have very close connections with my dealers that are all about UFC!! Hold on Mr. Dealer I also have my close friends Bisping & Leben coming with me I hope you don't mind? Along with the CAGE!! Guaranteed sale! BANG!! UFC is huge and now that the ladies are into that now ( not to be bias ) maybe I should start doing that... Hmmmm? Now I am thinking. I would wear the TK shirts pounding out a deal or two! haha Again great way of marketing!

 

[Jake]

Good marketing medium? Yeah, I'll give them that, but it seems like a lot of "muda" if you ask me. Perhaps they got some great sponsorship rates but still...not very targeted advertising. What percentage of viewers are going to be decision makers at the dealerships? What percentage of those DM's are going to pay attention to the logos on his robe or trunks? What percentage of those are going to research what the product actually is? And lastly, what percentage of those are going to be in the market for the product? Will dealers be watching the fight? Without a doubt many will. In my opinion though, this sponsorship makes about as much sense as sending a direct mail piece to the entire state of Virginia with hopes of reaching a few dealers. I hope for their sake the ROI is there.

 

[Jake]

Agreed Joe, branding is a good thing. My only point is that branding to the entire UFC fan base (in my opinion) is the equivalent of using a sledge hammer to hang a picture. Would your dealership run a national superbowl ad with hopes of selling more local customers? A large portion of your reach would be to prospects that would never buy from your dealership. Seems like too much waste to me, and it just doesn't make sense. Sure, a lot of your local shoppers would see the ad, but would it be worth the price tag (even over the long term)? Would DS money be better spent in targeted media like an industry publication or conference sponsorship? I think so. Again, I'm not sure what sort of rates they've negotiated, but I'm assuming they're fairly high for something on the national stage. I would bet that for whatever they're paying they could instead pay for an entire campaign targeted to their actual market which would make a bigger impact. Again, I hope for their sake it pays off, but even over the long term I don't think they'll see a good ROI. I do have to give them credit for an unconventional campaign though, and I hope it works out for them.

 

[Joe Pistell]

Jake, This sponsorship is more about spirit than ROI. It's an exercise in branding and branding is all about connecting emotions to a product. A frustrated CEO's Example: If your sales have plateaued and your daily efforts are not changing the trend, then, it maybe time for a good hard look at your branding. Branding experiments are big and expensive and not easy to find ROI (quickly). Pulling the trigger on these kinds expenses often require leaders take a chance and go with their gut. UFC is new and fresh and has a killer under 50 male demo. Possibly DealerSocket has been to enough of our auto industry events to see that a lot of the decision makers are into UFC and the UFC demos are expanding (aka room for growth). just my $0.02 Joe

 

[Kevin Frye]

I'm with Joe on this, it's about the spirit. Sometimes I think we get too cynical within this industry, so something like this is refreshing. Now I have to get back to work, I have a 3rd party lead vendor coming in with their new Sales rep, his name is Kimbo Slice and I hear that he will offer me a deal I cannot refuse...