Advertisement spending has changed quite a bit since the start of the recent recession. As a result, General Motors has slashed its sports sponsorship budget by some 60 percent of its pre-bankruptcy days.
According to sponsorship research firm Navigate, GM was spending roughly $500 million annually on sponsorships. Nearly half that figure was spent on motorsports deals, with a good chunk allocated on NASCAR alone.
"I don't think you'll see us doing eight or nine mega-rights deals any longer," Steve Tihanyi, GM's general director of marketing services, told Automotive News. "We think we can spend the money a little more effectively and ultimately get more bang for our buck."
Part of that strategy involves streamlining which brands are tied to which sports. At one point, GM had no less than three brands tied to the NFL. Hummer sponsored draft day, Cadillac was tied to the Super Bowl, and GMC advertised throughout the regular season. Now, only GMC is tied to the football league and the automaker abstained from running spots during the 2010 Super Bowl altogether.
In lieu of pursuing high-cost deals or niche markets (Buick's perpetual sponsorship of the PGA, along with golfer Tiger Woods, come to mind), GM may instead seek to sponsor grassroots sports teams or public athletic events.