Mtn Dew "will sponsor a new drone racing series as it puts the high-flying remote controlled devices at the center of a global ad campaign," according to E.J Schultz of AD AGE. The sponsorship deal is with DR1 Racing, which "plans to host events featuring some of the best drone pilots in the world." The first race "will occur this summer at the Sepulveda Dam" in L.A. and "feature 12 drone-racing pilots." The race "will air in August on Discovery Channel and Science Channel." DR1 will also "live stream races on Twitch." A statement from the brand "referred to the pact as the first branded partnership and national broadcast of drone racing." Mtn Dew also will "sponsor drone-racing pilot Tommy 'Ummagawd' Tibajia." Mtn Dew said that that represents the "first time a drone racer has signed a sponsorship deal with a brand" (
ADAGE.com, 5/10). Mtn Dew Senior Dir of Global Brand Marketing Manos Spanos said, "We wanted to get in early and make sure we put our stamp on it." Spanos said that Mtn Dew execs "see an opportunity to communicate with young consumers between the ages of 16 and 25, as well as older millennials, and, perhaps, even a broader crowd." He added that the fan base "coalescing around drone racing consists of 'people who want to do things differently, people who want to instigate things and have a good time'" (
VARIETY.com, 5/10).
A LEAGUE OF THEIR DRONE: In Boston, Kevin Paul Dupont notes drone racing "is gaining traction, and some are betting that it will be the next big thing in the sports entertainment business." For instance, ESPN "recently agreed to live stream both the U.S. National Drone Racing Championships from Governors Island in New York (Aug. 5-7) and later the World Drone Racing Championships from Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii, (Oct. 17-22) on its ESPN3 platform." Over the last two years, the sport "has gone from being merely a plaything of backyard hobbyists to a nascent entertainment industry that recently had" Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross join a group of investors that pooled $8M to "help finance the professional Drone Racing League." Int'l Drone Racing Association Founder & Chair Scot Refsland feels drone racing is the "'most hyper-accelerated market' of the era, one that he believes by 2020 'could be a multibillion-dollar industry with as many viewers as the NFL.’" However, it "remains to be seen if the event truly can be packaged as a spectator sport." With the size of the drones, paying customers "could find it a challenge to follow the action." U.S. Drone Racing Association Founder Dave Shevett said that a fan's excitement "could be more in watching the video or digital streams of the races, something that would give the viewer a sense of piloting the drone, like being immersed in a chase scene in a 'Star Wars' movie." He said, “The big organizations are still trying to figure out how to monetize attendance and tickets and whatnot. I don’t know if they are going to make it." Refsland: “There’s a lot of territorial land-grabbing going on right now" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/7).
