One of the worst kept secrets in the paddock over the off season has finally been announced this morning. The folks at Verizon have signed a multi-year deal to bring fans the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2014 and beyond.
This is a fantastic signing for the series and adds some off track good news that the series just has not had as of late. There is no doubt that IndyCar has presented some of the best North American racing over the last couple of seasons, but lacked a lot of off track news to match. The addition of a mega sponsor like Verizon is credibility and money.
The credibility is huge for a championship that has really lacked it in several areas. This shows that Verizon sees the potential that IndyCar has and is willing to take that step to invest and continue to grow the sport. This may sway the minds of other sponsors who have been on the edge as to whether IndyCar is a viable advertising platform.
“Verizon is delighted to become the title sponsor of the INDYCAR series and bring even more of our innovative technology to fans, to the teams and to the entire motorsport community. The intersection of racing and technology has never been more relevant, and our expanded partnership with INDYCAR provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate that synergy, integrate new services like LTE Multicast and help propel the sport forward.” –Dan Mead, President and CEO of Verizon Wireless
Verizon have also taken to sponsoring cars for Penske over the last few years as well. Will Power carries the #12 Verizon colors with the addition of Juan Pablo Montoya also carrying those colors for eight races.
In addition to being a fantastic and engaging sponsor, Verizon also has a host of technological innovations that will continue to change the way that we as fans watch our series. The LTE Multicast will flex Verizon’s technological muscle by streaming high quality content in conjunction with its existing platforms (INDYCAR Mobile App 14).
Yeah, but the IndyCar Mobile App is still exclusive to Verizon Customers, which sucks.
It certainly doesn’t help broaden the reach of IndyCar.
When I pointed this out on Twitter, Verizon Support were tweeting me back trying to sell me on their service.
Sad, really.
Well, sponsorship is designed to increase revenue, so, there’s that….
Sponsorship is designed to increase revenue, but let’s be honest here; Verizon heading IndyCar will hardly increase their revenue at all. There are simply not enough fans, I like to look at it as the early stages of generating revenue, but Verizon needs to activate the brand to bring more people to the sport, or their revenue increase will not even be noticeable.