YouTube as Sponsorship Broker?

There have been a lot of rumors floating around that YouTube will officially sponsor USGPE, the U.S.' new entry in Formula One. YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley is the lead investor in the team, which is set to race in 2010. YouTube's participation hasn't been officially confirmed, but the anticipation grows ahead of the car's debut this Fall.

Now it seems Best Buy may be interested in partnering as well. The retailer's CMO, Barry Judge, met with Chad Hurley yesterday to discuss a partnership that would help Best Buy in their global expansion efforts.

Given that a U.S. Formula One team could instantly open millions of international doors for a major domestic U.S. brand, there would seemingly be a lot of interest in the opportunity. Nevertheless, GooTube's activation capabilities could set the new standard for extending a sponsorship across international boundaries through the use of social media. Add some big box retail into the mix and you're talking BIG ideas (and big bucks presumably). Combine original streaming content, user-generated video and global retail the possibilities are virtually limitless.

One interesting idea espoused by Parc Ferméis that YouTube would act as more of a media partner and sponsorship broker, rather than the lead sponsor itself, which isn't that big of a stretch. Isn't YouTube more valuable as a media partner, than a sponsor? YouTube is already almost universally known so by selling or passing through the assets of its sponsorship to a host of other brands, it can promise an alluring combination of global exposure + built in viral media infrastructure. Then take it a step further, YouTube could package the opportunities in an infinite number of different ways (by race, media assets, etc.).

Could be a very interesting deal. Stay tuned.

photo credit: psfk.com