The feedback was immense. The submissions continued to pour in. Thousands of Xfinity Rewards members wanted the chance to have their selfie ride on the hood of Bubba Wallace’s car for this weekend’s Xfinity 500 in the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway.
It took just three days after Xfinity opened the sweepstakes Sept. 11 to realize it had thousands of submissions.
“We didn’t have it open very long because it was a late idea that came through,” Matt Lederer, Comcast’s vp of brand partnerships and amplifications, said. “We got thousands of submissions in very short order.”
In its fourth year of sponsoring the penultimate race of the season, Xfinity wanted some fresh, innovative ideas. Prior to the season beginning, the company announced a partnership with 23XI Racing for the 2023 season through which Tyler Reddick ran the purple colors in races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and won the pole in July at Richmond Raceway. Wallace will carry the scheme — 65 Rewards members’ faces will be on the hood of the No. 23 car — at Martinsville.
“It was a matter of doing things that are bigger, better and different every year,” Lederer said. “We have an amazing willing partner in 23XI to think differently and push things forward and not continue to do the same things over again. They were more than willing to jump on board and be a part of this.”
There was a lot of conversation internally about how to make Wallace’s car pop. To make the selfies as clear as possible and not having to design them too miniscule, 65 was the right number. Each individual winner was emailed a dedicated video with the URL that is specific to them and shows where their face will be on the car. Then they could download it and share the video.
Like the past three years, Xfinity will have a major presence in the southern Virginia area leading into the Championship 4 elimination race. The weekend at Martinsville has become special to the brand, as it allows Xfinity to give back to its customers.
Leading into the race, there will be ticket giveaways at three locations in Virginia: Danville, Christiansburg and Lynchburg. Friday evening, 23XI will have a panel open to select Xfinity Rewards customers that includes Wallace, Reddick and team president Steve Lauletta. There will be a 60-person suite open to customers for both the Xfinity and Cup series races. Hundreds more will watch from the grandstands. John Hunter Nemechek will be involved in a VIP meet-and-greet prior to Saturday’s race, as will Wallace ahead of Sunday’s Xfinity 500. A customer will also give the command to start engines and another will wave the green flag for the Cup event.
Lederer estimates roughly 1,000 customers will have access to tickets over the course of the weekend.
“When we started the [Xfinity] 500, it was a major media-brand moment for us, and it still is,” Lederer added. “But now, it’s a fantastic customer appreciation moment for us as well.”
Giving back to its customers will always be important to Xfinity.
“When you have these types of sponsorships, they do a great job with creating awareness for your new customers,” Lederer said. “If it wasn’t for the loyalty and trust that our customers have given us, we can’t do these sponsorships. This is a great opportunity to thank the people who make this possible.
“The NASCAR team is always saying thanks to Xfinity for this great sponsorship, and we appreciate that. The only reason we can do it is because of our customer base. We owe it to them to give that appreciation back.”
Unlike some other loyalty programs, Xfinity customers are Rewards members from the first day they sign up for Xfinity services. The longer a customer is with Xfinity, the more opportunities they have for additional prizes.
Dustin joined the Frontstretch team at the beginning of the 2016 season. 2020 marks his sixth full-time season covering the sport that he grew up loving. His dream was to one day be a NASCAR journalist, thus why he attended Ithaca College (Class of 2018) to earn a journalism degree. Since the ripe age of four, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller.