If you’re an automotive executive in charge of sales and marketing, how do you raise the company’s profile when you’re unable to advertise? That’s the situation faced by Bob Lutz in 1974, when he was attempting to replace Max Hoffman’s independent US distributorship with a wholly-owned sales subsidiary. Lawsuits were pending, but until the matter could be settled Hoffman had the exclusive rights to advertise and sell BMW cars in the US. Nothing in Hoffman’s contract would prevent BMW from racing in the US, however, or from advertising its success on the track.
Lutz firmly believed in racing’s value as a marketing tool, which Porsche had been exploiting for years. “Back in those days, Porsche had zero advertising budget, yet they had a premium image and rising sales both in the US and Europe,” Lutz said. “Porsche notoriety or brand awareness was entirely based on factory participation in motorsport.
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