Let’s be clear about this: The jury is still out.
We’re about to offer opinions on sponsors who were “winners” and “losers” from a very busy offseason 2007-2008. Realistically, nobody can really call a winner or a loser until we start running races and watching sponsorship programs unfold.
It’s easy to identify some high profile sponsors who generated tons of visibility this offseason. We’ll take that low-hanging fruit, thank you very much. But even they don’t really know the value of their considerable investment(s) until the cash register starts ringing.
With that in mind, here are some impressions of offseason winners and losers in the sponsor game:
Pepsico (AMP Energy Drink); National Guard - The obvious big sponsor play of late 2007, offseason and –given young Earnhardt’s performance during Speed Weeks– early 2008. So far, you’ve got to say that both companies have won. They’ve generated huge visibility and buzz (pun intended, AMP fans), and the early returns indicate they’ve backed a winner.
But we won’t actually know until we start seeing those AMP sales figures in the very crowded energy drink market and the National Guard’s recruiting and retention numbers. The first may be hard to come by; the second will be very public. In that sense, the pressure’s on.
Dale Jr. is generally considred a “sponsor’s dream.” But the real test of 2008 is to see whether his loyal nation of fans will follow him beyond the rough ‘n tumble, party boy image he crafted for Bud, Wrangler and Drakkar Noir.
Does all that loyalty translate to big sales for distinctly more refined brands like Adidas? Stay tuned.
By the way, anybody notice that in his NASCAR.com driver photo he looks more like John Force than Dale, Sr.? Might as well. Force won more championships.
Sprint - This might be better put in the category “NASCAR,” since the real issue with the NEXTEL to SPRINT title switch is going to be the dilution of the NASCAR “Cup” Series branding.
A few years back, when NASCAR rented its soul to NEXTEL for outrageous money, certain wags wondered whether the sanctioning body was making a good choice: Signing a long term agreement with a partner that plays in a distinctly short term game. Telcos have been notorious for merging and acquiring one another over the past decade or so.
Was it that hard to imagine that NEXTEL might get swallowed up by a bigger fish?
Now, NASCAR is staring at the prospect of its third major, premiere title sponsor in, what 5 years? Even worse, the chieftains are faced with the prospect of looking happy about saying “SPRINT Cup” for the next…well, for at least this season, anyway.
The Winston Cup brand had immense value; the NEXTEL Cup was in place long enough to just start building good equity; and now SPRINT gets its swing. How long before nobody takes the whole “Cup” title thing seriously any more?
Better yet, how long before we hear ourselves saying, along with the incomparable Mater: “He done what in his cup?” (Backstory: If you’re not a fan of the “Cars” movie, it might help to know that its mythical “cup” was called the “Piston Cup,” and Larry the Cable Guy, while stealing the show as Mater, knocked that little line out of the ball park.)
Budweiser - Has there ever been a better match for sponsor and driver than Dale, Jr. and Budweiser? Talk about the perfect storm of driver, fans and product. Right in the company of Petty and STP, Waltrip and Tide, and Dale, Sr. and Mr. Goodwrench, Dale Jr. rode an incredible updraft of support to amazing sponsor value for Bud.
Now, after the surprisingly amiable parting with Junior, Budweiser begins a new journey with Kasey Kahne. We don’t envy them. Kasey is a terrific driver and a soccer mom’s dream (apparently), but will he appeal to Bud drinkers, or bring new customers into the Bud fold?
That jury is definitely still out.
Anheuser-Busch, Busch brand - In a “normal” year, NASCAR’s separation from A-B and the Busch brand would have been huge news. As it happened, it was a pretty big story, not because Busch left, but because NASCAR had such a hard time replacing them (see below).
There are several ways to take this from a sponsor viewpoint: It might be that A-B is simply putting its Busch ad and sponsor budget elsewhere. In this day of “country” sports like bull riding as well as emerging extreme sports, there’s hardly a lack of opportunity.
But it’s hard to imagine a better audience for Busch than the NASCAR fan base. Busch inspires almost cult-like loyalty (much like NASCAR) and nearly oozes the salt-of-the-earthiness appeal that nails the traditional NASCAR fan head-on.
It seems likely that NASCAR simply wanted too much to continue the alliance. But it’s not only about money: It’s about value, which is payback for the money involved.
That might suggest that A-B, unparalleled in its marketing savvy, simply decided that the Busch series has drifted too far off the “front burner” for NASCAR. In a sense, the Busch series has become generic, nearly an after thought over the past decade or so. It’s certainly been off the radar screen for big deals, big names, and the sort of big hype the “Cup” series has seen.
Might be that A-B decided to quit subsidizing a second-rate product with its first-rate dollars. Which means that…
Nationwide - …has this year’s biggest challenge: Replacing an admired stalwart and establishing any kind of brand loyalty among the NASCAR fan base. The sponsor pitch for these properties seems to be: “Hey, NASCAR fans are notoriously brand loyal. Just put your logo on something –anything– NASCAR, and these rubes will snap it right up.”
That seems like a pretty big bet for a company like Nationwide in a semi-generic business space. Whether it pays off for them will probably depend on two things: How well they articulate and activate the sponsorship; and how long they’re willing to stay in the game.
There’s a vaguely surprising linguistic component to all this: “Nationwide Series” just doesn’t sound as distinctive as “Busch Series” and isn’t nearly as targeted. “Nationwide” what? Does that mean the series goes all over the nation?
This looks like an uphill battle for the venerable Nationwide.
Robert Yates - While not a specific brand or particular sponsor-related item, Yates was one of the offseason’s big sponsor cycle winners.
Let’s see if we’ve got this straight: Yates wouldn’t release car number 88 so Dale Jarrett could take it with him to Michael Waltrip’s stable. OK, that’s understandable, as DJ was leaving Yates to join a competitor, and taking a major big-bucks sponsor at that.
But the way Toyota was allegedly throwing money around in 2006, it’s hard to figure that somebody didn’t offer Robert a ton of money to let the number go.
Then, in 2007, a certain other Dale leaves his home base to seek greener pastures and, like Yates, his car owner chooses to keep the equity in his car number. And, yet again, apparently somebody makes a pass at Robert Yates. Only this time, the number floats out into the Hendrick-sphere.
And this year Robert gets to retire!?
Can we connect the dots on this deal?
No offense to Robert. In fact, we congratulate him and wish him a great retirement. It’s just business. But it’s pretty darned funny that he managed to hold on to the 88 when he maybe could have gotten some capital he obviously needed for the race team (see: 2007 performance), then released it and rode off into the sunset.
But, hey, that’s racin’.
Thanks for joining us. We’re looking forward to a season filled with comments, articles, interviews and conversation about sponsor-related topics.
Feel free to use the comments section to chime in. (And, no, this isn’t a comprehensive list, by far. We’ll be on top of lots of other sponsor stories — M&M’s and Kyle Busch, the whole Toyota pandemic, and the brand equity of the 8 car, to name just a few).
Have a GREAT Daytona Sunday!