Australasian Dirt Bike — January 2018

them.Solongastheyareprofessional
andrepresentourcompanywellthen
we can’t ask much more than that. If
ridersgooutdrinkingorpartyingetc
thenthatcanreflectbadlyonboththem
asariderandusasacompanyandif
somethinglikethatgoesuponsocial
mediathenitisrightthereforthewhole
worldtosee.Theycan’tbedoing
burnoutsetcandpostingthattypeof
stuffwithouttherebeingsomekindof
repercussions.
Mr Japan could be watching on
Facebook at any time!
IMAGE/REPUTATION:The image of a
riderisveryimportanttous.We
alwaysbringthisintoconsideration
when negotiating. You’re not going to
sponsorsomeonewhosegotabad
reputation.Youmaynotalwaysbeable

to win every race you enter, but you

can certainly always conduct yourself

in a professional manner. For us as a

company, we want our product to look

better, not worse. So, in this case, it

isn’t a case of the more exposure the

better. Because as we all know, there is

certain exposure that is very bad for a

company. Either way, whether the rider

is going through great times on the

track or having a rough trot they need

to always consider their image/

reputation and how they are portraying

themselves to the public.

RESULTS: Depending on who it is and

what level of product we’re giving, I’m

more interested in promoting our

brand than winning a race. There is so

much more to it than results. Of

course, we all love to win as well but

it seems to me, nowadays, that quite

often it is easier to get the riders to

win races than keep everything else

in check.

LOYALTY: Loyalty is very important for

me, but young people don’t seem to

have it. They’re not thinking about the

future, they’re thinking short-term

only and that can really bite them on

the bum. If someone is going to jump

ship, then that’s not good unless there

is a legitimate reason. Look at Stephen

Gall, he’s been so loyal to Yamaha. He’s

an asset to the brand and has been at

the forefront for so many years and

that’s a great example.

Got something to say about this yarn?

[email protected]

More images and info at adbmag.com.au

FEATURE I SPONSORSHIP

178 | JANUARY 2018 http://www.adbmag.com.au

Jeffrey Herlings has been

known to have a bit of an

edgy, conf ident attitude

You get some cool kit out of sponsorships too KTM loved Grabbo for his orange hair Every rider brings something different

MAIN. T he way you carry

yourself plays a big part in

sponsorship deals