Author: Riccardo Tafà
Riccardo Tafà is the founder and Managing Director of RTR Sports Marketing, the independent motorsport sponsorship agency he established in 1995. A law graduate of the University of Bologna, he began his career in PR in London before moving into motorsport, and has spent more than 30 years structuring sponsorship partnerships in Formula 1 and MotoGP - closing over 100 deals across eight championships with properties including McLaren, Williams, Ducati, Honda HRC, Yamaha Factory Racing and Dorna Sports. He writes on sponsorship strategy, commercial rights, pricing, and ROI measurement for brands entering motorsport at every budget level.
January 28, 2019
Sports sponsorships: how much are they worth in football, F1, MotoGP and tennis?
How much do sports sponsorships in F1, MotoGP, football and tennis cost? A comparison of the minimum budget required to gain visibility. Sports sponsorships can be worth from a few thousand e[...]
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December 2, 2018
Injuries: how does risk play a factor when sponsoring sport?
It’s a risk that must be taken into account when sponsoring a sports star or an athlete: that they might, unfortunately, find themselves injured and out of the game—for a few weeks, an en[...]
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October 14, 2018
I want to sponsor MotoGP: how can I get involved?
Three hundred million euros. That is the estimated total annual revenue collected by MotoGP teams in sponsorship rights, according to industry analyses over recent years. And yet, the vast ma[...]
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September 7, 2018
Marketing of sports businesses: top 3 tips
Sports marketing and online communication A correct web marketing strategy combined with sports marketing consulting can contribute to improving brand development, brand awareness, and visibi[...]
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July 22, 2018
Sports licensing and co-branding: how they work and why brands invest
Six hundred and seventy million euros. That is what Ferrari earned in 2024 from its “sponsorships, commercial and brand” segment — an aggregate that includes sponsorship on Form[...]
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June 21, 2018
“We do not have a big budget, we cannot enter sport sponsorship”
Budget is one of the hottest topics when it comes to sports and companies often think they do not have the resources to get involved. “We have no budget” or “we do not have [...]
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June 20, 2018
How to choose a sport to sponsor: criteria and method
Instinct or numbers? That is the wrong question. The right question comes before any data analysis: does the sport you are considering manage to keep audiences engaged week after week? Sport [...]
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June 18, 2018
Will the Marquez-Lorenzo Dream Team kill MotoGP in 2019?
Is the “Dream Team” a good thing for MotoGP? The signing of Lorenzo for the working Honda HRC Team has struck the paddock like a lightning two weeks ago. I had the time to digest it and I[...]
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June 13, 2018
How to Choose a Sport to Sponsor? A Quick Guide
This is the big dilemma: should I follow my instinct or should I look at the numbers? Well, I’ll look at the numbers — they don’t lie. But before that, the main piece of advice [...]
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May 30, 2018
Women and Sports Sponsorship: What the Data Really Shows
41% of F1 fans are women and 3 in 4 new fans are women: Nielsen 2024 data and the 2025 F1 Global Fan Survey dismantle the misconception that women don’t follow sport. Here is what it me[...]
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May 28, 2018
Sponsorship and hooligans. How to deal with violent fans
Unfortunately, the one between sponsorship and hooligans can be a tough combo to deal with. Can a sponsoring brand have problems because of the team’s supporters? Fans, especially in some d[...]
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May 21, 2018
Sports sponsorship and bonus covered by insurance
Sometimes sports sponsorships grant a bonus to athletes or teams linked to their results. The team winning the Champions League, the driver who becomes world champion, the national team that [...]
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May 15, 2018
How does sponsorship work?
Why beg for attention if you can be worshipped by your customer? There is no point in interrupting and begging someone for their attention when your brand can be embedded in something that yo[...]
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May 11, 2018
What is a value in kind sponsorship or a barter sponsorship?
When discussing sports sponsorship, almost everyone imagines a straightforward transaction: the brand pays, the team displays the logo. Cash for visibility. End of story. The reality of the m[...]
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May 9, 2018
How much does sports sponsorship cost? Sometimes a lot, but it is worth even more
How much does sport sponsorship cost, and how much does it cost to sponsor a sports team? Sport sponsorship is one of the most efficient and used marketing strategies in the world of business[...]
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May 8, 2018
What sport should I sponsor? Football or tennis? If you are in Pakistan, maybe Cricket.
Is it better to sponsor football or tennis? God knows, there is not such a thing as a better sport. There are different clients, in different areas of the world, engaged in different activit[...]
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May 7, 2018
Motorsport Sponsorship and fan Engagement
Can I engage the fans at the track during the MotoGP race week end? Last year more than 2.660.000 people attended the 18 races of the MotoGP Championship. On average, there were more than 148[...]
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May 4, 2018
What lead us to work so often in Motorsport. Four selling points that had us sold
“Why do you have so many motorsports-related case histories?” That’s a frequent question among those who call us for the first time, and even when we meet someone, the question [...]
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May 3, 2018
Which sport should I sponsor?
Do you only deal with Motorsports? Obviously not, we can actually offer sponsorship in any sport. We are not the commercial arm of a League, a Team or an event, we do not represent an athlete[...]
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April 29, 2018
What’s a sponsorship plan and how to use it
Most companies entering sports sponsorship make a predictable mistake: they sign the contract, get their logo placed on the bike or car, and wait for the magic to happen on its own. It is not[...]
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