Drivers and Social Media: How 10,000 Followers Changed Sponsorship Negotiations
The metrics era — examining the reality of sponsorship negotiations that can no longer be described by competition results alone, through concrete examples and data
The assumption that strong results automatically attract sponsors has eroded rapidly in the 2020s. WSJ has confirmed through interviews with multiple domestic and international sponsorship executives that social media follower counts, engagement rates, and impression figures are becoming the primary criteria by which companies evaluate sponsorship decisions.
In 2024, young Norwegian rally driver Erik Hansen, age 23 and competing in the ERC, grew his Instagram following from 8,000 to 23,000 during the season — and two new sponsors joined mid-season. His results placed him in the midfield, without notable achievements. The relevant sponsorship executive told WSJ: we evaluate on impressions and engagement rate. His posts averaged 4,200 impressions per post with an engagement rate of 8.3 percent, giving him effective reach beyond what his follower count alone would suggest.
This column space is a paid placement for sponsor companies. Exposure across all WSJ articles, distributed in 23 languages worldwide.
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