Tobacco companies spend over 90 percent of their sport sponsorship budgets on motorsports, with good reason. Auto racing fans, who are typically blue-collar workers with higher rates of smoking, tend to be the most loyal to the sport’s sponsors of all types of sports. Motorsports sponsorship is an ideal vehicle for public health programs to get their anti-tobacco messages accepted by auto racing fans, offering healthy role models and “product” endorsements. Tobacco*Free Challenge Racing (TFCR) was created in response to the rampant tobacco advertising and promotion in motorsports nationally and locally. By sponsoring race cars, establishing no-smoking sections in the grandstands, and educating about tobacco at racetracks, schools and events in Northern California, TFCR seeks to change social norms regarding tobacco among racetrack audiences. A recent survey found that youth exposed to TFCR sponsorship are 14 percent more likely to avoid tobacco use.
Sponsorship is not just for multi-million dollar corporations, and does not necessarily require a large budget. Its potential for creating a long-term positive effect meshes well with the needs of public health programs working on problems that require behaviors to be sustained over a long period of time. This session will discuss how public health organizations can use sponsorship in their anti-smoking interventions, using examples from the TFCR project. The topics include building sponsorship into an overall strategy, putting together a winning team using incentives, researching and reaching the target audience, extending the budget, and using sponsorships appropriately and effectively.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: 1. Describe what sponsorship is and how it can be used in public health programs. 2. List at least three issues that need to be considered when designing a sponsorship program. 3. Identify at least three activities that can be implemented as part of an anti-tobacco motorsports sponsorship program
Keywords: Social Marketing, Tobacco Control
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Public Health Institute (Tobacco*Free Challenge Racing Project)
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employer