"We have met in the middle with this deal; it is not just a one-way street. We were chosen to come on board for the skills that we could bring to the team rather than just cash. We have helped the team share information across both sides of the garage, and we are involved with trackside IT and telemetry," said Cook, "We used the bikes at our launch to make it interesting, bring along the bikes and the Rizla girls and suddenly it isn’t boring. We use them as much as possible."
From Cook’s comments it does go to show that companies that aren’t motorsport related can still benefit from sponsorship. A lot of people get involved with the sport due to their interest in it and Paul Stephen from Sagittarius Marketing is a prime example of that, as a former endurance racer. "I was introduced by another team sponsor to Jason McClean who looks after the team's press and pr. It was a good opportunity to network and as an ex racer I get to mix business with pleasure!" he said.
"We are really glad we did it and it has pushed us into different areas which has ultimately benefited our customers. The Brand association with the team raises our brand awareness and it does the same with the other partners. It puts you on their level," said Stephen.
He went on to say, "I’m a big fan of sponsorship in motorsport but this is more of a commercial partnership. Sponsorship can be seen as a bit one way, we give them money and they go racing and have a great time! But with this it is a two way thing."
This is where Rizla Suzuki differs on the sponsorship front, they look on their sponsors as partners and try to give as much back to them as they put into the team. It is an approach that is working as most of their sponsors have been on board for years and even the new ones are seeing it as a long-term investment that benefits their business.
