ReduX: The GEICO Connection
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 | 3:50 PM
Racer X Redux is brought to you by Yoshimura R&D of America, the leader in performance off-road and street exhaust systems, engine management systems, engine services and hard parts.
Tweet
Advertisement | Advertise with Us
Share
Comment
Email
PrintToday’s GEICO Honda Factory Connection team is the model of a professional, well-supported, well-funded effort. They have won the respect of the industry and their outside sponsor alike, and are on solid ground for the present and future.
But the principals behind the team know what it’s like to be on the other side—and luckily, the sport was big enough to save it.
Specifically, the team’s support from GEICO is not the result of a special hookup or inside deal. GEICO saw the motocross and supercross market as a place they needed to be, and the insurance giant has since done research—creating good, hard data—to prove they were right.
There was a time when team co-owner Jeff Majkrzak feared the results such research would bring. Now, he sees it as liberating. GEICO says the numbers add up, so the team can count on their sponsor staying for the long haul. Is this sport big enough to really draw the kinds of outside help it needs? GEICO has data to prove it.
GEICO Honda Factory Connection is a well-respected team in the pits.
Simon Cudby photo
“I’d be lying to you if I said we weren’t very nervous when this measuring process started,” says Majkrzak. “But the fact that they started measuring it, we got the reports, and we saw the missed opportunities, we modified our program. Now, we’re not worried.”
Measured within the right demographic, of course. GEICO was already well invested in motorsports, so supercross became a natural extension of that. Specifically, GEICO likes the young demographic of this sport, because research shows people rarely switch insurance companies. Once you’re in, you’re in, so GEICO knows tapping a customer about to purchase their first car, truck, bike, boat, ATV or RV is key to holding them for years, decades, or for life.
But they needed to know for sure. GEICO puts all of their programs through an audit process, including media research via Joyce Julius, a well-known Michigan based firm. With this audit, GEICO can literally measure the amount of exposure their brand gets via the sport—from TV ratings and press clippings to stuff posted right here on this site—and then compare it to the dollars that they’re spending.
“The Joyce Julius audit is important, but it’s just one of many pieces of our report card,” says Majkrzak. “There are many elements to measuring the value of a sponsorship, some subjective and some objective. The media value from the audit is certainly not a perfect science. However, it does use a standard protocol that is applied in the same way they measure NASCAR, NHRA, and their other motorsport sponsorships. So to that extent, we can at least compare how we perform. In our case, it’s very good.”
Last week, Coy Gibbs mentioned how simply getting companies to know the sport existed at all was the biggest obstacle to sponsorship. Due to this, an overwhelming number of deals in this sport start when an enthusiast within a company decides to provide some backing. That’s great at first, but it puts the entire program in jeopardy if that person leaves, or is promoted, demoted, fired, or reassigned. The Factory Connection team found this out the hard way via its old deal with Samsung. An exec was into the sport and came at the team full-bore. But when he was reassigned, the sponsorship vanished.
Eli Tomac and others have come through the GEICO Honda amateur program and have seen a lot of success in the pros.
Simon Cudby photo
“We’ve had three management changes at GEICO over the last five years, and each time it hasn’t been a problem,” says Majkrzak. “It’s not someone’s personal interest, it’s a sponsorship program that is financially justified. We had no idea where those numbers would be, but now that I’ve seen them, we know it works.”
They’ve seen the other side, making desperate year-to-year deals and hoping it works. They’ve gained and lost sponsors like Samsung and Sobe No Fear, and, one season, a deal with Torco Racing Fuels only made it halfway through the year. Majkrzak is quick to thank two pillars of support, Honda and Amsoil, for stepping up when times were tough. Now, they hope to never be in that spot again.
“Knowing the sponsor is there for the right reason, and not just because of an enthusiast in the company, it allows you to do longer term planning,” he says. “We can plan three to five years out. In our case it’s allowed us to build an amateur program.”
GEICO Honda’s amateur plan is now a gem, developing the likes of Trey Canard, Justin Barcia and Eli Tomac, which helped the team win races and titles, which of course creates more exposure, and better returns for their sponsor. The team has been on the other side of that, too, bidding for talent and hoping that it pans out—and then hoping the sponsorship money follows.
“It’s a vicious cycle, and it can suck you in and spit you out,” says Majkrzak. “I think the lesson we’ve learned is, if you swing for the fences, you can hit a home run, but you can also put your entire program at risk. We’ve had to learn to crawl before we could walk, and walk before we could run.”
Although K-Dub is retired, he is still a big part of the GEICO Honda program.
Simon Cudby photo
But let’s be honest: what company wouldn’t want to be hooked up with someone like Kevin Windham? For sure, there’s more to the program than measurable hard data points, and Majkrzak says no deal will hold if the company gets embarrassed. But on the details, a series of key, but seemingly small decisions have helped the team keep its sponsor happy, and they’ve learned along the way.
“I think that the days of getting a sponsor and just slapping their logo on the truck and shroud are over. We’ve tailored the program around GEICO’s needs. It might not be obvious to the public what we’re doing, but we’re very attuned to what works for them. And everyone is different, what Monster needs is different from what GEICO wants. We have a great young demographic. And the one that always gets brought up to me are the services, the Army, the National Guard, the Air Force and the Marines. They spend a lot of money in other motorsports like NASCAR and NHRA. It seems obvious to me that this would be a sweet spot for them, but for some reason the industry hasn’t brought them in yet.”
GEICO provides the model for others to follow. Hopefully, someone does.
Did you like this article?
Check out LONE STAR RISING
in our Latest issue of Racer X available now.
The James Stewart Freestone AMA Spring Classic in Texas has quickly earned a place on the list of must-attend springtime amateur events. Page 182.
Look for the verified symbol 
Impulse Studios
I think it's great that no-good-corporate-bastord companies like an insurance conglomerate for example, would put in on the sport I love. My policies are elsewhere, but rest assured if the opportunity for consolodation were there, I would go with GEICO in a hot minute.
Underwriting a bike against theft is a slam-dunk for them, as most of us, not me of course (wink wink), would rather lose our women than our bikes and protect them with rabid, animal-like zealousness.
Dumb, dumb, dumb. Geico is a great company and you call them names? They sponsor a great team and you call them names? Your an idiot. Your comment about women proves it beyond a doubt.
I am glad geico is in it for the long haul and glad they have the facts to prove it is worth it to them to fund a race team. However with a company this large there funding of the team is still probably just a drop in the bucket of what there yearly advertising budget is.
I like that GEICO picks up American kids. MITCH...
kdub should do a transfer in that costume not only would it be bad ass it would make a sick camircial i can see it now 100ft transfer with the finish line piro going off
Great news to hear GEICO seems happy with their choice to be involved in SX/MX! Hopefully some other companies will follow suit.
Note to self: never joke with Stantdm, he just doesn't get it.
Hey Stantdm, I'm sorry my insurance policies don't give me the same warm & fuzzy feeling they do for you, really I am, but big insurance (which GEICO is) does more to make my life worse than better by lobbyists, rate-fixing, unfair pricing policies and a profit-over-service mentality. It's way past about time they put in on something I'm passionate about and if you think they're not getting their mileage out of it, you're dumber than you accuse me of being.
I've been with farmers for forever and they are on the chit-list as well, so don't think I approve of one over the other.
Don't let that get in the way of you finishing your hand-job of GEICO though.
I'd like to see Reed take the Geico lizard/gecko whatever and Flo from progressive OUT in the same corner HARD and then MA800 lay a hot header down on them.....
knowing alot of guys over at the FC connection shop, there success comes from the top down. Ziggy and Jeff truely love the sport. They both im sure have invested countless dollars when sponsorship wasnt at its peak. They hire people who are on top if their game and have deep roots in the am circuit. As far as riders, they create relationships with young riders and cultivate them into pro athletes...many are American but theyll respect all talent. Reardon and Metcalfe come to mind.This is the model for a grassroots team done good. Keep up the good work gentleman!
Anyone else notice that as soon as GEICO quit having Pro Circut do their engines, and they started doing them in house.. they started winning?? Maybe Mike Brown was on to something a few years back.. Anybody else remember that???
@Carlsbad--Yes, but they arent any different than the huge corporate greedy priks that is Toyota--look at the countless recalls from them cheaping out on the car parts, and the buying public is paying for it..Toyota is as bad or worse...
insurance is a scam and a racket and Geico is an overpriced bullshit example of that racket
i could care less if they own 5 mx teams. they can go the hell back over to nascar or wherever it is they feel they can find the most morons willing to buy their insurance policies based on their participation in a sport
Cool article. Would be great for a team to use to help get some sponsorship. Hats off to RacerX. Sure is a bummer some folks have talk smack on the sponsor that the article is so positive about.
Everyone has their opinion on which companies they like or good for them, personally I've tried about all ins companies and found Geico a good fit for me. Their support of my sport played a hand in that, as has other products I've purchased from companies outside our market such as Discount Tire. To each his own, however, what we do not need is people slamming these companies for whatever reason. Def not going to help our sport out either way, if you don't like their product fine, don't use them. But harshly criticizing them in a mx forum is a good way to shed a bad light for future sponsors of our sport.
First of all any body that has any behind the scenes knowledge about racing knows that pro circuit isn't going to give a customer the good stuff they aren't gonna let all the info out there so it can be copied I have a friend that put a bike together for a pro that showed up in Toronto with a jug and head and suspension from Mitch himself he said it was nothing special the work wasn't even very good . And with outside sponsorship corporate companies would be smart to sponser moto x and super x us fans and riders alike are very loyal and I always support companies that support us in our Canadian nationals we have macs and convenience chain that sponsers series we all give them our bussiness when possible hope more outside companies follow suit ! I hope our sport keeps growing because it is the purest firm of Motorsports in the planet no other Motorsport has the level that the rider can make as much if a difference !
@motomandan i'm not one of these 'grow the sport' cheerleaders. i say shrink the sport. why do i need motocross to be huge? why is that exactly? seems to me the more popular motocross has become, the more expensive everything related to the sport has become, both now at an exponential rate. Bike? thats and easy example.. but everything from entry fees and ticket prices for a national, parts and accessories, riding gear.. everything continues to become more and more expensive and less and less accessible to regular people and it is right in step with "how big we grow" the sport. the only people who give a shit about growing the sport are the people who stand to make more money by doing so. Not you. Not me. F-cking Geico
Wow! Spottedmarley dropping the high intellect on everyone.
Yes, GEICO is to blame for everything that is wrong with the economy. Oh you thought the issues you were talking about only relate to motocross?
You should recognize that it is a sick cycle and we're all to blame. Prices wouldn't get so out of hand if there wasn't enough people willing to pay. Just the increase in fuel prices in the past 10 years is enough to send prcies for everything skyrocketing. You think Feld teleports that whole SX circus from venue to venue? There would be no sport if there was no money to be made, because everyone that holds races from the smallest local venue to the Nationals are doing it to realize a profit. We could easily be in some 3rd world country where kids kick around a coconut as a soccer ball, and the really rich race 1979 PE's and IT's around a field. If no one buys new bikes, the manufacturers will stop making them....period.
Oh, and I know everyone hates hearing about NASCAR but the fans of that sport are brand-loyal and take their money and put it down on the companies that sponsor the sport they love. The companies realize this and that is one of the huge draws of NASCAR as a marketing tool for them. You wouldn't find a NASCAR forum anywhere where a fan is bad-mouthing sponsors for no reason. This is only one simple reason why I don't see ALL MXers as a brother-in-arms. Some of them actually are the sport's own worst enemies as they provide the true enemies with ammo to use against us. Here we have 17 posts under a GEICO focused article and we've got a guy saying F' GEICO. Unreal.
@B-KR--brand loyalty and loyal to sponsers does happen in our sport to a point.. I dont remember anyone specifically buying Chevy Trucks when they sponsered the outdoors... but I did find myself buying Lucas Oil products just recently..
I wouldnt bad-mouth a sponser though, but I am not a big fan of Toyota though.. And I have ordered tires from Discount tire for my wifes Jeep..
I do believe spotted Marley has a point, people seem to be willing to pay high prices for things sometimes.. I have said before that motocross is slowly turning into a yuppie sport.. With new bikes creeping upwards to 8 grand and higher.. Parts are very high, and engines getting to the point the rider/mechanic cant rebuild them.. So they have to pay more.. Now we are needing to carry around extra O2 sensors,(almost 100bucks each) and crap like that.. Its sad..
@ bd200
Sloppy point...You dont remember Miller High-Life or Wrangler you douche bag Chilli Corn HolE E OH ! Never seen bull riding you need to wake the F UP and get a new truck. I guess you never got that MEMO Nemo !! LOL !!!
Your a douch'e if you even have a home and would put up for sale if your property taxes went up $ 5.00 dollars a year,but would spend an xtra $30.00 a month on booze or stop at a convience story for 5 hour enery and buy a little bottle that cost half as much as a small chase.............BUMM ! TO each his own..........
Since K-Dub has retierd is his national # up for grabs next year?
dschadel
YES FART KNOCKER
http://www.thesoundarchive.com/play-wav-files.asp?sound=beavisandbutthead/wussy.wav
SpottedMarley, don't forget one major upside when the sport gets bigger and sponsorship money comes in: more riders get more rides and make a better living. Right now there wouldn't even be a Rockstar Energy Racing team without Rockstar's money, so Blake Wharton, Jason Anderson, Nico Izzi, Ryan Sipes etc would be standing in the unemployment line. And if a sponsor could have been found, Andrew Short wouldn't be stressing, the JDR guys would have rides and paychecks for the future...etc. The best way to help the privateer is to grow the pie so more riders can find more rides so they don't have to be privateers. Think of it that way.
weege
Just when I was gettin ready to give "Spotted Marley" a "Hell Yeah", B-KR comes up with a rational post that causes me to put my pen down. Yes I am mad about corporate greed and the little man gettin the "poopy" end of the stick. I am not so sure that I want Supercross and Motocross to become nascar status because it seems that we get too far away from our "grass roots". I have always been and will continue to be "brand loyal"(Scott,Bel-Ray, Fmf ,Wrangler,Chevy trucks....) since the late 70`s. So Kudo`s to Geico for helping or sport, but basically, I can`t afford to do anything anymore. Don`t want to be a "finger pointer" but the older I get, the less I know.
What take our sport main stream like stick and ball sports, ain't happening! This is and has always been a tight niche sport. So when it comes to sponsors, I will buy what is needed and related to go riding. I will continue to be "brand loyal".
@SpottedMarley You can blame the lobbyists and the government holes that think they know what is best for everyone. For the few pittly cycles that get run on a weekly basis here in the states compared to one factory in China spewing toxins into the atmosphere, explain to me WHY CALIFORNIA gets to dictate to the country why I need a "CLEAN" motorcycle or weed whacker. All the lobbyists complaining about the ozone and such forced the factories to produce a cleaner option, to stay in business. Hence, the 4 stroke. By eliminating the 2-cycle oil in the premix they immediately became 40 % cleaner ( maybe not actual. But the green weenies don't see the smoke and agree that it is better )
Then let's factor in the economy with all bozos at wall street speculating about what prices are going to be. Fuel, oils, wheat ( bread ), Milk. It's flipping stupid.
Then we get a jack rabbit in office ( osama ) that wants to double your electric rates and provide 9$/gal gasoline!!
In a nut shell the cost of competing? It's got nothing to do with HOW BIG THE SPORT GROWS!
Personally I like the fact that the G ( government ) E ( employees ) I ( insurance ) CO ( company ) sponsors a sport that I love. Their rates, for me, don't compare to State Farm. But , Watch out, someday the government employees insurance company may dictate how the sport is run.
Wow, where'd all the line spacing come from?
And what's wrong with typing the word itchcin with the letter B in front?
@Phil--HUH????????? Does anyone know what this idiot is even running his suckhole about???
He must have taken offense and owns a Toyota I guess...LOL!!!!! what a tool..
spottedmarley....I did not state anything about 'growing the sport'. I don't know about where you live but the turnouts for moto x races around me has dwindled drastically in the last 5-10 years. So much so that our District is not even involved in promoting any events for 2013. So even to 'grow the sport' I think would be just to get it back to where it used to be. Cost? Have you looked around? Everything cost more these days, can't hardly afford to do anything anymore. I don't believe it has anything to do with the size of our sport. Are you going to boycott any and all big corporate products? Make your own? Each has their own opinion, but like B-KR said we don't need people just slamming them because of their own personal bitterness towards corporate greed or whatever. Yes, there is free speech, yada yada yada, but not everything needs to be said in a public forum.
I am for anything that brings us the kind of racing we are seeing right now. More money, less money, easier tracks, harder tracks. I am no rocket scientist, but I say a hearty "Keep it up, dudes" with the whole industry. Let me count my blessings, shall I?
- Short is killing it on his showroom stallion
- Millsaps has truely earned his middle name "Duke" and has lost the "Daisy" from the prefix.
- Stewart has become durable
- RV has become vulnerable
- RD has become flammable
- CR has become volitile
- Barcia has stopped cleaning out the competition
- Canard is healthy and on the pipe
- Mitch's program has a real rival
- I just saved 15% or more on car insurance!
Whatever lead us to this juncture, bring on more of it!
After reading these comments I feel much smarter.
mee to
Thank You Geico for sponsoring a Team. I love the sport and your help makes it more better. Tell Larocco Hi.
Nor'Easter
What the hell does your link have to do with anything?