The phenomenon that is the Cazoo and cinch sponsorship landgrab provides a major opportunity for rights holders to engage traditional car dealerships

Traditional car dealerships are under threat from the rise of the online retailers looking to disrupt the way people buy cars, particularly in making it easier and hassle-free. One of the disruptors goes so far as to suggest the offline car retail experience is ”no longer fit for purpose” and that car dealerships are not trusted by customers.

Timing is everything and the rise of the online challengers has coincided perfectly from their point of view with the coronavirus pandemic which has accelerated the consumer shift to ecommerce. From books to music, from consumer electronics to groceries, from banking to clothes, now bricks & mortar car dealerships face the existential challenge posed by the internet.

Cazoo and cinch sponsorship

Chief among the protagonists are Cazoo and cinch. The former is set to list on the New York stock exchange this year with a £5 billion valuation despite only trading for a year. The latter – only established in October – has already raised over £1 billion in funding. Crucially, these financials have enabled the two to aggressively invest in above the line marketing activity to generate brand awareness, consumer confidence and purchase consideration, particularly TV and sponsorship.

Indeed, sponsorship has been at the forefront of this fierce landgrab for consumer attention. Cazoo and cinch alone have gone to sign nearly 30 sport sponsorship deals across football, cricket, rugby, golf, tennis, horse racing, motorsport, snooker, basketball and fishing, while cinch has also undertaken five major UK music festival sponsorships through its deal with Live Nation.

The impact on traditional dealerships

This all means that all car dealerships are going to have to counter this threat through increased marketing. The top 100 car dealerships (in terms of profitability) alone have a combined revenue of over £55 billion. These range from well-known brands such as Arnold Clark with 200+ sites to those with just one (but still nearly £25 million in revenue).

So it’s the perfect time for rights holders to get into gear and approach these dealerships about how sponsorship can maintain invaluable brand awareness and market share in this fierce battle and potential fight for future survival.​