This weekend will see three major sporting events on three separate continents but all have one main thing in common. TIME! Formula 1 races through the middle east in Bahrain, IndyCar will heat it up in Phoenix and my all time favorite cycling race, Paris-Roubaix, rolls fast over the cobbles and through the forests of Europe. What excites me about these races is the time of brand exposure the sponsors receive. In F1 and IndyCar we have hours of worldwide TV and livestream coverage of qualifying and racing. Hundreds of thousands of fans will be glued to their devices taking in all the images, interviews and race coverage with each minute allowing brands to build affinity with the audience. Paris-Roubaix is the favorite of all the classics and this year is shaping up to be one of the hardest fights as the gap in performance of the riders narrows more each season. The best cycling races are followed online and on TV from Doha to Rio de Janiero to San Diego and everywhere in between. The race, also known as Hell of the North, covers over 160 miles of back breaking roads, strong winds, bitter cold and crash inducing cobblestones. Again, hours and hours of coverage allow brands to connect their logos with an audience who at least in the U.S. skew to the same demo as Mercedes Benz.
So how does my weekend look? It's a good thing I have two eyes and minor ADD to keep on top of all these races.