What is the difference between a logo and a brand, and how does that translate into meaningful connections with your fans?

In the fast-paced world of motorsports, branding is everything. And branding is most often on display with merchandise, specifically apparel. You've taken the plunge into the world of merchandise, selecting garment colors, designing a logo, and stocking up on inventory. But before you start selling, there's one crucial question to answer: "Why would someone buy a T-shirt with my logo on it?" Let's explore the importance of branding, consistency, and building a strong connection with your audience, ensuring that your merchandise becomes a symbol of your identity and values.

Favorite Shirt

One of my favorite T-shirts is from Exedy Racing Clutch and has an exploded view of a clutch setup on it. Sure, the design looks cool, but more than that, I like the way I feel when I wear it. In my mind, Exedy stands for sporty, high-quality, technical components, and when I'm wearing it, I'm basically wearing a sign that says, "I know my stuff about motorsports." Without knowing me, it's immediately clear to others that I'm a gearhead, and someone walking up to me is more likely to ask me about racing than to ask me about the football game. So sure, it's a shirt with a clutch on it, but it's also a way for me to tell everyone around me that I'm into motorsports and high-quality, technical race components.

Why do you buy T-shirts with logos on them? Take a peek into your closet and think about why you bought each of your branded shirts. Which ones do you wear the most? Why? How do you feel when you're wearing them, and what do other people think of you or your company because of them? What do you want people to feel or think about your logo on a T-shirt?

Building A Brand

I feel great in my Exedy shirt because I relate to the brand and what it means. But what is a brand and what makes it different from a logo? A brand is much more than a logo. It's the overall impression that people have of you as a racer or your racing company. It's how they feel, how they think of, and what they expect from you or the business. And here's a tough pill to swallow: 

It's not enough to be really good at racing. That's not a brand.

Your brand is a culmination of how everything you do, say, and post is perceived by your audience. Your audience is going to feel, think, and expect different things about your brand based on every interaction they have with you or your team, either directly or indirectly. A post on Facebook, a speech, and a one-on-one chat at the track are all opportunities to show your fans, customers, and partners what you want them to think, feel, and expect from you or the business. What you say, how you act, and how that made them feel in these moments is what your fans or customers will think about when they see your logo on a shirt. Are they going to pick it up and put it on?

What doesn't create a strong brand is a lack of consistency. What does a customer or fan think when they meet you at the track and you're optimistic, excited, and full of hope for the race. They're probably feeling amped up and ready to root you on. What happens to that feeling when they log onto your social media accounts and see negative messages bashing a competitor, event organizer, or sanctioning organization? That's contrary to the positive brand experience you are trying to build. Your logo just lost meaning, and they're going to toss that T-shirt back into the laundry pile.

Intentional Branding

Your brand exists whether you're working on it intentionally or not. Your audience is observing, forming judgments, and predicting your next action based entirely from their perceptions of you or your company.

In the book, "This is Marketing," Seth Godin introduces the concept of creating a matrix to help define a brand and find the target audience. The concept is simple: Think about your audience and choose two aspects that could be important to them. This often translates into two important components to you.

For this example, let's say you run a business that sells a particular racing component. You want to position your product as a premium quality component, and you'd like to incorporate humor when sharing memes or videos on your social media channels and website. You'd draw a quadrant with two axes—one vertical and one horizontal—labeled with those two values. Picture something like this:

Now, put yourself in the top right corner. That's going to be your brand. You're making a promise to your audience to consistently provide a quality, albeit more expensive product, while making them laugh. Some consumers will like it, others won't, but the ones who do so are going to lean in and make real connections with you. There are going to be other racing businesses that sell premium race parts, and there will be other business representatives who are funny, but how many of them will intentionally and consistently connect with customers who care about both aspects? That's where you come in.

So, think about it: What are the labels on your axes? What are the values that you and your target audience both find important? Your brand is more than just a logo; it's a promise to your audience. By consistently delivering on the values that matter to you and your fans or customers, you create a lasting impression that goes beyond the race track. Every interaction, whether it's a social media post, a podium speech, or a one-on-one chat, should reflect the essence of your brand.

When your audience sees your logo on a T-shirt, they should feel a connection to the values you represent. So, take the time to define your brand, stay true to it, and watch as your fans buy a T-shirt with your logo on it, knowing exactly what it stands for.

Amanda Van Den Elzen is the founder of Racer on Demand, the one-stop online racer merch marketplace. Amanda races a Class 11 VW Beetle with VDE Racing, a professional short-course off-road race team based in Wisconsin, and works as a learning and development manager. Amanda brings her experience with off-road racing and her passion for empowering racers together to revolutionize the way racers and fans interact and modernize motorsports marketing through Racer on Demand. You can find blog posts, racer discounts and resources, and more information about selling on the Racer on Demand Merch Marketplace at racerondemand.us.

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