Members in Motorsport: Burson Auto Parts: From the grassroots up

FROM THE GRASSROOTS UP

Burson Auto Parts is passionate about supporting all levels of Australian motorsport and is reaping the rewards

As a proud Australian company, Burson Auto Parts says it has always been its primary goal to support the development levels of the sport alongside the more high-profile categories. “Our involvements range from the grass roots levels of competition all the way through to TCR Australia,” Burson Auto Parts General Manager, Marketing, Anthony Hughes, said. “This sees us involved in everything from karting and open wheelers to the Excel series, where we support two teams. “We are also proud to be a part of the Motorsport Australia Junior Development Program, and Motorsport Australia has certainly put a great effort into ensuring we are recognised as a proactive supporter in finding our country’s future motor racing champions. “Our highest profile involvement would be that of our TCR Australia sponsorship of father and son pairing, Jason and Ben Bargwanna. “We certainly feel privileged to be partnered with a driver the calibre of Bathurst champion Jason. Jason and the Garry Rogers Motorsport team (which runs the Bargwannas’ TCR entry) are constantly coming up with great ideas for our involvement and they really understand what the sport needs to deliver from the sponsor’s perspective. “This has certainly made this involvement in particular very rewarding because it is not only us pushing to make things happen, but the team is also always bringing great ideas forward to keep us moving in the right direction. “That isn’t all either – we are also very proud to support the FIA Girls on Track program to assist young women to pursue careers in motorsport, whether that be through driving, engineering or becoming a mechanic; and are pleased to be involved in historic racing, motoring museums, jet boats and a vast number of smaller local racing teams and enthusiasts.” While the breadth and depth of Burson Auto Parts’ support of Australia’s motorsport scene is undeniable, so too are the rewards this comprehensive program delivers to the leading trade specialist supplier of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories and workshop equipment. “It all contributes to keeping Burson Auto Parts at the front of mind of our valued trade customers,” Anthony explained. “We find that motorsport, at all of its levels, appeals strongly to automotive technicians. We also know that many of our customers are involved in the sport themselves at some level. “While we gain broader profile coverage through our major TCR Australia team sponsorship, it is the combination of everything we do in the sport at all levels that helps to keep Burson Auto Parts front of mind for our trade customers. “There is also no doubt that enquiries from new suppliers both locally and abroad seeking to be a part of our extensive automotive aftermarket product portfolio has been encouraged by our motorsport involvement of recent years. “We do as much as we can to leverage our involvement through trade media coverage, internal communications, direct customer communications, advertising and promotions as of course, there is no point investing in motorsport as a branding and promotional platform if you are not also investing in leveraging it strongly. “All of the promotional and marketing activity that we have done around our motor racing involvement has been extremely successful for us and we look forward to continuing this work well into the future.” The benefits are clear for Burson Auto Parts’ customers also. “We are always working hard to ensure our program delivers benefits to our customers, and we find that many of our customers attend racing events and enjoy the fact that we are involved in the sport,” Anthony said. “We also involve our suppliers in our program, which results in special trade customer promotions where we give away rides and tickets to events. “At the same time, our regional managers are able to offer our customers opportunities and experiences that would not have been possible if we were not involved.” In 2020, the investment strategy for Burson Auto Parts underwent a slight shift as it sought to best deliver on the interests of its trade customer base, with the benefits already flowing in. “Prior to 2020, Burson Auto Parts was involved in Supercars with Paul Dumbrell in the Super2 Series, which worked extremely well for us,” Anthony said. “At that time, we also supported the Touring Car Masters category and gained strong coverage from that as well. “However, from 2020 we re-evaluated our motorsport marketing and decided on keeping all of our grass roots level involvements while changing our higher-level involvements strategy to include a TCR Australia team. “We did this as we like the idea of being a part of a new and exciting motor racing series which we feel better reflects the cars being driven and maintained by our customers. “This change has also enabled us to be a major player in the sport and be separated from our major trade business competitors.” For more from Burson Auto Parts, visit www.burson.com.au