Pedrosa has highest market value, followed by Rossi and Lorenzo
Dani Pedrosa might not have won last year’s MotoGP title, but nontheless he’s still the highest ranked MotoGP rider in the eyes of the Spanish consumers.
This is the result of a recent study conducted by Personality Media, a Spanish company which advises advertisers and advertising agencies on which celebrity to chose for their advertising and commercial activities. According to that study the Repsol Honda rider from Castellar del Vallés is the highest valued rider of the Spaniards with a scoring of 7.1, followed by Italian Valentino Rossi with 6.9 and the reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo with 6.1.
All three riders have high rates of recognition which increased substantially compared to last year. Valentino Rossi took over top spot from Pedrosa with 90% of the Spaniards knowing him while Dani Pedrosa is recognised by 88%. Jorge Lorenzo’s degree of recognition jumped up to 84% from 73% in 2010. However, knowing doesn’t mean liking. “The rise in recognition of Lorenzo is due to his world championship win, but it didn’t change the perception the consumer has of him”, said Santiago de Mollinedo, General Director of Personality Media.
This was also shown in further detail categories of character evaluation which are relevant for the advertising industry. Rossi leads in the category “modern” with 7.0 points while Pedrosa is highest ranked in “reliable” with 6.7 points as well as in “role model” with 6.9 points. Pedrosa has also been the only rider to increase his ratings even further compared to last year. Lorenzo scored in these and other categories well below Rossi.
Among the still popular but lesser known riders than those three are Toni Elías (59% of recognition), Casey Stoner (46%), Héctor Barberá (44%), Álvaro Bautista (42%), Marc Márquez (42%) and Andrea Dovizioso (41%). But also here it’s interesting to note that current 125cc world champion Marquez, despite less than half of the Spaniards knowing who he is, has been valued with 7.13, as high as Pedrosa, and is seen as reliable and a role model.
Looking at the sponsors, Repsol is perceived by consumers as the brand for excellence in the motorsport world. “Consumers link Repsol with everything associated with the world of motorcycles and its protagonists, regardless of whether or not it’s even their team. Pedrosa is the highest ranked link for Repsol with 50% percent association with the brand, distantly followed by Honda with 24%”, adds De Mollinedo.
With new Ducati rider Valentino Rossi things look a bit different. “Rossi has small associations with brands such as Fiat with 12 percent, the same he has with Repsol (which has nothing to do with the image of the rider). What’s clear is his strong link with Nutella (63%)”, concluded the director of Personality Media.
The strongest link next on the list is of Álvaro Bautista with Mapfre, at 28 percent. Although in this case there’s a strong correlation with Repsol as well, at 26%, even though there’s no actual connection with the rider.
Source: Personality Media via EFE
