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MMF Conference

Kick The Dust Up: Monster Energy's Sponsorship Roots Remain In Motocross

Monster Energy VP/Sports Marketing Mitch Covington prior to his company announcing its deal to title sponsor NASCAR's top level took the stage at Day 2 of the '16 Motorsports Marketing Forum to give a look into how he runs the brand’s sports investments, specifically Supercross. Covington appeared alongside Feld Entertainment Senior Dir of Global Partnerships Aaron Anderson, whose Supercross series is title sponsored by Monster. Covington noted that Monster may not be the most analytical when it comes to breaking down whether its sports sponsorships are showing ROI. Covington: “I go back to the old saying someone said of, ‘Half of your marketing works, you just don’t know which half.’ We don’t have a big ROI computer in the corner. A lot of things we do, we do because of who we are and feel it fits the brand. Nobody has ever calculated an ROI on Supercross. ... If they did, I probably wouldn’t believe them. We do it because we love it." Covington noted that in Monster’s new six-floor office building in California, the company installed concrete floors, then had racers come by and lay down rubber on it by spinning their tires. A clear coating was then put over the tire tracks. Covington noted Monster did that because it "reminds us when we look down where our roots are; it’s racing, and it reminds people who visit that we really love this stuff.” Anderson talked about how Supercross has grown over the years symbiotically with Monster. He said, "Our growth really started at the infancy of Monster Energy. We were doing business with competing energy drink companies, Monster came into the fold. It started with what Monster wanted to accomplish in the sport; Monster is heavily invested in all aspects of the sport, so we want to protect all elements of that portfolio. Collaboration is a really easy word to use, but putting it into practice involves molding our events into common goals.”

BRING IT ON: Covington talked about competing against Red Bull, Rockstar and other energy drink companies. He said, “Mostly we like racing against Red Bull and Rockstar and those other people -- we need somebody to beat. In motocross racing, the industry, they need the sponsors. Our competitors play a major role in making the sport what it is, and I can’t imagine having Supercross without trying to beat those other guys. So it’s been Monster’s philosophy all along: we want to compete with those guys. Is that the case in every sponsorship contract? Probably not. But we like competing. It’s what makes it fun for us at the end of the day. Monster’s about hard hitting racing, true competition. We’re looking for individuals that put it on the line every Saturday night. We don’t have any problem with them coming to Supercross.”

LIFESTYLE CHOICE: Covington said the fact Feld has "embraced our lifestyle" is one benefit from Monster's Motocross title deal. He said, "They actually embraced what we wanted to do in the sport, which is expose our culture and lifestyle to that audience.”

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