LEBANON, Tennessee – Zak Brown laughs when the McLaren Racing CEO is asked about the IndyCar marketing task force that he was named to head at the start of the 2024 season.
“I've not received a single marketing committee phone call since I read about it,” Brown said. “Nor do I know who's on the marketing committee other than myself.
“I have talked to (Penske Entertainment CEO) Mark (Miles). But this marketing committee that was formed is nonexistent at the moment. I'm rarely asked for my opinion even though I offer it .”
Advice for IndyCar leadership has been steady lately from Brown, who created a powerful sports marketing agency before heading up the racing organization that is a championship contender in Formula One and IndyCar.
He posted an open letter about the state of IndyCar on social media this past week, calling on the series to expand into new markets and enhance its competitive appeal for entertainment.
In a small group interview Sunday morning before the season finale at Nashville Superspeedway, Brown expanded on his strategic vision with more concrete details – notably echoing fellow team owner Michael Andretti that IndyCar should increase its annual marketing spend to at least $100 million annually (and possibly as high as $200 million).
“I would need to do a study to know (a precise budget), but I would invest that money in digital, a larger marketing department, new events and then dialing up the events that you currently have,” Brown said.
Citing two global racing series in which McLaren races, Brown said Formula One and Formula E have signposts for IndyCar’s growth.
F1 spent more than $500 million on its inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix last year. While the event almost certainly was in the red, it spurred tremendous revenue growth among F1 teams.
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“I have a lot more sponsorship coming out of North America today because of the excitement Las Vegas brought to Formula One,” Brown said. “I can tell you our media rights are up tenfold because of the excitement Formula One has in North America.
“So I think (IndyCar) should invest in some strategic locations that even if that event in itself loses money, it’s good if it's the right event in the right market. Whether you get your pay back in the event is one thing, but if that event helps raise the profile, you then get better TV contract money. You get better sponsorship. So that's where the payback comes.”
Brown said Formula E is losing money but still is valued at $750 billion, which he estimated as roughly three times the price that Roger Penske paid to acquire IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway nearly five years ago.
“IndyCar has a very famous brand, one of the most iconic races in the world, so one has to ask themselves why Formula E is worth $750 million, and IndyCar is worth $250 or $300 million, whatever the number is,” Brown said. “If you put $100 million into (IndyCar), the goal would be to make it worth $2 billion because your instinct would say if Formula E's worth $750 million, shouldn't IndyCar be worth a billion and a half, $2 billion? It’s a huge brand. When you kind of walk around the world and you say IndyCar to people, they know what it is.”
While he endorsed the potential of IndyCar, Brown’s comments might not go over well with series management, which was rankled by Andretti’s demand for Penske to spend $100 million or sell the series.
Through Brown previously has been outspoken about IndyCar needing to add East Coast markets, Sunday marked the first time he put a nine-figure estimate on its marketing spend.
“I'm very bullish on what the series can and should be,” Brown said. “I don't think we're moving fast enough. I'm typically impatient in everything, and I think it's a great sport. It's a great brand, and I think we could be doing a lot more, hence why I continue to push and put some ideas out there and why I put out my letter.”
Brown said the letter generated “a lot of notes from people in the sport giving a thumbs up and a lot of great fan reaction.”
Did Roger Penske read it?
“Yes, and he said, ‘Nice letter,’” Brown said with a laugh. “I don't know how to read that, but that's what he said.”
Perhaps Penske would be pleased to know that Brown also said the Arrow McLaren team will sign IndyCar’s proposed charter agreement – though with less vigor than team owner Chip Ganassi (who praised the new deal as a financial game-changer in a separate interview Saturday).
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“I have found that there's nothing material in there that drives any substantial incremental value for us,” Brown said. “So if the hype was this is going to be a big thing and be great for the foundation of an IndyCar team, I haven't seen those benefits. There’s no revenue-sharing model. It's not bad. It's a good first step.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Arrow McLaren's Zak Brown calls for IndyCar to up marketing spending to $100 million
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