Appearance can make
the
difference
By
Jeffrey Fazio
DriveTime Columnist
Is
it amusing or saddening that so much of human interaction is based on
appearances? I can't decide. At the same time, I also can't help but
notice how much of a difference presentation makes.
Last
May I entered two NHRA events in New Jersey, one at Englishtown and
the other at Atco. A few days after the events I was browsing through
the photos from the events on the major Web sites that cover these
competitions and I was struck by a realization. I noticed that the
cars that got the most photos were not necessarily the fastest cars,
they were the ones with the most stickers and/or vinyl decals.
At
the time, my car was relatively naked as I was only sporting a
15-year-old factory paint job and nothing resembling a sticker.
Regardless of that fact, I actually found two photos of my car on
these Web sites. Although that was exciting, it paled in comparison to
the numerous shots of some of my competitors.
So
I decided to try a little experiment. I stuck a bunch of vinyl on my
car for the next event to see what would happen. The result was an
overwhelming seven photographs of my car on those sites from that
single event. Lesson learned.
Needless
to say, the stickers and vinyl have remained, resulting in more and
more coverage for me and my sponsors. It's almost funny how easy that
was.
Last
year I just drove my car to the track, no fancy trailers or any of
that jazz. I simply drove up, entered the event and drove home. I
distinctly recall a rather unfriendly conversation with a track
official that was trying to get me to park a 1/4-mile away with the
bracket racers even though I was racing in the heads-up classes. It
was tiring trying to explain to this control freak that I was parked
in the correct place among my competitors.
It's
not that I have anything against the bracket racers, I just did not
want to be where they were. They are given the pit spaces in the
farthest corner of the track. You have to dial a "1" just to
get there.
There
are no concessions out there. You have to walk a 1/4-mile just to get
to food and water. After you return to your car and realize that you
now have to relieve some of the fluids you just took in, it is another
1/4-mile walk back to the main facilities to do your business. Who
would want to be parked that far away?
I
have been concerned that my old engine will eventually give up on me,
so I decided to buy a trailer to avoid getting stuck at a track with a
broken car. I was fortunate enough to locate an affordable, pre-owned
enclosed trailer.
It
was rather shocking how differently I was treated at the first event
this year when I showed up in a truck with an enclosed trailer in tow.
The entire entry experience to the facility was significantly less of
a hassle than in years past and I was even given preferential parking
next to the Pro racers. Last year I would have had to fight for a spot
that I could at least see a Pro car, much less be parked next to one.
As
a third bit of proof to my theorem that appearance matters, I offer a
another piece of evidence. Another "appearance" change I did
for this year were pit crew shirts for my friends. I thought it would
be cool to have shirts for my friends to wear at the track and figured
it would be a good way to advertise my car. Little did I know the
difference it would make.
Just
by wearing the shirts and looking like a race team, my friends were
getting all kinds of little perks and one really big one. The small
perks were basically getting easier access to different parts of the
facilities and a bit of attention for themselves. The really nice
bonus the shirts offered was it allowed them access to park their own
cars in the pits.
I
couldn't believe it. Last year I was incredibly frustrated at an event
because they would not let my girlfriend's car into the pits. She had
all of my tools and spare tires in her car. I ended up having to drive
my car outside the pits to her car in the spectator area to change my
tires.
Flash-forward
a year later to find myself at the same event at the same track and
two of my friends were able to drive right into the pits with their
crew shirts on. Remarkable.
All
of this has been rather educational and I am left wondering what I can
do next to pump up the appearance factor to get more of these fringe
benefits. Maybe a police escort into the track? How about a red carpet
for the car to sit on? I'm open to suggestions.
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