TERTIARY
PARTNERSHIPS

How can our brand gain maximum ROI from multiple cost effective motorsport marketing partnerships?

Motorsports partnerships represent an exchange of value between brands and motorsports entities including drivers, teams, series, or events.
Contrary to common misconception, these partnerships are not just a form of advertising, as they don’t directly aim to sell products or services. Rather, they allow brands to build a positive brand image by associating themselves with motorsports.
In essence, motorsports partnerships are a strategic marketing tool that goes beyond traditional advertising, becoming deeply ingrained in the minds of motorsports fans over time.

When brands provide funding and financial support to motorsports teams, these teams can invest in the resources needed to enhance the technical capabilities of their cars, making them more likely to win races. For instance, the revenue generated by a motorsports partnership could be sufficient to significantly improve a car’s aerodynamics, invest in driver training, and otherwise develop the team and driver in ways that might not have been possible otherwise.

For brands that are unable to justify becoming Title Partner of a team, a Tertiary Partnership is often a cost effective strategy worth exploring.
When a brand is more interested in business networking or corporate hospitality benefits than boosting brand awareness, becoming a tertiary partner can often provide similar advantages at a significantly lower investment.

Tertiary Partnerships offer a cost-effective mix of visibility, co-marketing opportunities, and hospitality benefits, making it a great option for brand engagement without the demands of top-tier partnerships.

Tertiary Motorsports Partnerships can be especially beneficial for smaller teams and organisations that may not have abundant funding, particularly at the grassroots level.
With the right financial backing and revenue generation, drivers can focus more on honing their skills and devote less attention to securing the necessary funds to secure their place on the grid.

Certain brands have the financial resources to become Title Partner, but their branding may not suit dominating a vehicle’s livery. Instead, they opt for a more subtle presence that better aligns with their core mission.

In Formula 1, the current 2025 McLaren livery exemplifies how major brands strategically position themselves as Tertiary Partners to appear as key supporters of the team, rather than attempt to lay claim to be the sole reason for the team’s success.
Brands like Chrome, Richard Mille, Monster Energy, Mastercard, and Hilton Hotels could arguably command more prominent branding on the car. However, these brands see value in aligning with one another and occupying their own smaller spaces, allowing relatively unknown brands like OKX and Vuse/Velo (British American Tobacco) to feature more prominently on the car.

Even the largest brands, such as Google ($2+ trillion), Mastercard ($500 billion), and Monster Energy ($55 billion), are leveraging Tertiary Partnerships. Therefore, no brand, regardless of size, should overlook the value of owning a smaller space on a racing car.

Less is more, as they say.