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Dollars and Sense

Dollars And Sense: UNOH Commits To Increased Exposure In NASCAR

Just as many corporations large and small debate on whether they should continue their NASCAR sponsorship deals, a small non-profit University in Ohio with the nickname of “Racers” has announced they are increasing their marketing exposure in the sport. Last week, Bristol Motor Speedway announced that the University of Northwestern Ohio will be sponsoring both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and the NASCAR Whelen Modified event.

Dollars And Sense: NASCAR’s Marketing Switcheroo

The three other ad agency finalists had either worked with NASCAR or their corporate partners before, not making a strong case for themselves as one of the agencies to take NASCAR in the new direction they seek. After narrowing down to the final four agencies, from what started as 110 inquiries, Young & Rubicam removed themselves from consideration. This left Ogilvy & Mather to compete against just Leo Burnett and McCann Erickson before being chosen as the lead candidate.

“Significant changes in our ecosystem impacted how we deliver our message and position our brand to existing fans while increasing the appeal of NASCAR to new audiences,” explained Kim Brink, NASCAR managing director of brand, consumer and series marketing. “We were thoroughly impressed with the caliber of all three finalists; but Ogilvy’s consistency, creativity and dynamic leadership were the key differentiators. We’re delighted to join the agency’s roster of big consumer brands.”

Dollars And Sense: Fortune 500’s NASCAR Connection

NASCAR polled teams and tracks in a review to see what brands are sponsoring the sport. So far in 2012, 24 brands have committed to sponsorship somewhere within NASCAR. According to Jon Schwartz, NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications, these new participants include Fortune 500 Altria Group, Hewlett Packard, and MasterCard.

None of these new Fortune 500 company logos, however, are adorned on the hood of a race car. Of course, a Sprint Cup car’s paint scheme is a fan’s favorite place to see a sponsor’s logo, and also the best way to keep a race team full of crew members fully employed. But while the race teams themselves have signed many of their current backers to extensions this season, no major additions for 2013 have been announced as of yet.

Dollars And Sense: U.S. Army is Downsizing, Starting With NASCAR’s Ryan Newman

Tuesday the U.S. Army announced that it will not continue to pursue sponsorship opportunities within NASCAR. The much anticipated announcement is unfortunate to say the least for Stewart-Haas Racing and Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet.

Other drivers could be caught up in the resulting whirlwind, because someone is expected to be displaced in the forthcoming Silly Season ripple effect, should Ryan Newman test the free agency market due to losing the Army as a 12 race primary sponsor. Not having a full-docket of sponsorship for the 2013 season is likely to send Newman searching elsewhere, causing another driver to start searching for a new employment.