Proof of Purpose

One of the tipping points in my journey to opening the doors at Super-Sub was a comment made to me by one of my clients who said “I knew I wanted to work with you when you told me the story about Nongshim and the Supercars”. I knew what they were referring to, but was unsure about what part of that story could have been so pivotal. 

On reflection, what made it valuable was ‘proof of purpose’; how my actions at the time became the reassurance someone would later need that sponsorship can work. So what happened? We need to wind the clocks back to November of 2014. 

I’d just signed a one-race deal in Formula 3 to contest the season finale event at Homebush as part of the Supercars support bill. I’d been doing some business coaching with a guy who was responsible for the AU distribution of a Korean noodle company called Nongshim. When he learned of the opportunity I had to race, he was quick to ask whether I could help him drive some visibility for his brand in their heartland area of Western Sydney.

I’ll spare you the detail but we landed an idea called the Nongshim Hot Lap. Happy with the campaign, we looked forward to the race until we learned from Supercars that they were cancelling the F3 event due to low grid numbers. The whole campaign was up in the air and relied on having a car on the grid for the Hot Lap to land. 

I was deviated at losing my drive in F3, but quickly moved focus to how I could help Nongshim press ahead and have a positive impression of sponsorship in general. I set about negotiating with other teams to see what inventory was available at the eleventh hour. We had little budget left, but a very friendly man at Erebus helped us with a windshield banner on the #9 Erebus car of Will Davison. 

Davison had struggled in his E63 AMG that season, but managed to get things to come together to make the Top 10 Shoot-out in quali and then went on to take Pole Position for the race. You couldn’t make it up. A noodle brand called Nongshim who only days earlier thought they’d be sponsoring me in F3 found their brand broadcast to thousands of fans around the country. 

The race was the race, but the lesson was clear to me. While racing was a huge part of my life, my purpose was helping brands see potential in sponsorship and hence why I put their needs above my own when it came to losing my ride.

I think back to this experience frequently. As practitioners in sponsorship it is our duty and responsibility to ensure brands have a positive experience and don’t merely just rock up with a logo somewhere. There is ALWAYS something that can be done to drive a positive outcome - it just takes passion, perseverance and purpose.

Super-Sub was established on this purpose and will stop at nothing to ensure clients maximise their returns through smart, fast, passionate solutions.