Why Panther’s $17m proposal to National Guard failed
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| Hildebrand and his National Guard livery last year |
In the official, five-page bid protest results posted by the National Guard and acquired on-line by RACER.com, it is revealed that team owner John Barnes and Panther Brands LLC asked for a staggering sum of $17,219,658.47 for its one-car effort and subsequent off-track programs, activations and promotions.
Bobby Rahal’s group, which was verbally awarded the contract on Sept. 27, 2013, and officially confirmed on Jan. 17, 2014, after Barnes’ protest was denied, requested a budget of $12,693,967.47 to run Graham Rahal in 2014 and provide the aforementioned off-track support.
Both are huge numbers in this day and age of dwindling sponsorships for IndyCar and six teams were solicited by Docupak (Document and Packaging Brokers, which administers the various forms of Army National Guard sponsorships on behalf of LM & O Advertising).
“The contract award would be made on a best value basis, considering pricing, added value marketing programs and anticipated return on investment," read the background of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) protest.
Teams were also asked to: “Provide a variety of services and activities, including driver appearances, special paint schemes and an activation footprint within the IndyCar “Fan Zone" exclusive to the Army National Guard."
David Letterman’s presence and national clout undoubtedly helped make the case for RLLR, along with the team’s history, a personable, second generation, American driver and a considerably lower budget.
In the protest, The Guard asked Docupak to evaluate five categories between the two teams and RLL was judged better in three of them. Understanding the requirements: Panther was acceptable and RLL was outstanding. Soundness of Approach: Panther was good and RLL was outstanding. Overall technical (risk): Panther was good (and a low risk) and RLL outstanding (and a low risk). They were both rated good in qualifications of personnel.
And the final category was price.
The evaluators determined that “Panther Brands had three weaknesses and concluded that Panther Brands had a weakness for failing to propose any branding or media opportunities outside IndyCar or existing military programs to expand the Army National Guard reach or cultivate a more diverse target." More from Robin Miller/Racer.com