| In
addition to branding cities (NFL teams) and corporations
(NASCAR teams), naming rights have a rich history of fostering
innovations in technology.
In 1829,
the Liverpool and Manchester Railway funded a contest between
the steam engine and horse powered vehicles. This competition
launched the concept of mass transit and improved the identities
of Liverpool and Manchester.
In 1927,
Charles Lindbergh, with the support of St. Louis, entered
a competition to be the first to fly nonstop across the
Atlantic. His
accomplishment launched today's $250 billion aviation industry
and provided a branding opportunity for St. Louis that still
continues today.
More
recently, the Ansari family provided the title sponsorship
of the Ansari X-Prize, which produced the first manned space
flight by private
enterprise in 2004.
The
Bridenstine Rocket Racing Team is offering to rename the
team, thereby branding your organization with a globally
televised sporting event that will foster technological
aerospace breakthroughs.
Naming
rights incentives
The
Rocket Racing League fist announced its formation in 2005
and has received tremendous press attention, reaching over
40 million people in
thirty-three languages. Articles have appeared in periodicals
such as Forbes, ESPN Magazine, USA Today, Popular Science,
Flying, The Financial Times, Business 2.0, Outside Magazine,
Men's Journal, and the Robb Report. Internet articles consistently
post on CNN, ESPN, MSNBC, and BBC sites.
Television
exposure is on the horizon with an unscripted television
show featuring potential pilots competing to be rocket racers.
There will be
documentaries, globally televised races, a movie, and an
IMAX production.
Auto
racing circuits have done wonders for the identity of sponsors
through auto naming rights, but the next generation of racing,
the Rocket Racing League, will do even more. |
