Companies eye new tracks, car racing for marketing opps - Memphis Business Journal:

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Putting a business’ name on the hoodx or doors of Sprint Cup Series cars is becoming an increasinglypopulatr investment, said Ron Schneider, president of Englewood-based , whichu links companies to racing associations. The cost can run anywhere from $25 millioh to be the primary sponsor ofa top-tier drive to $250,000 a year to slap a stickefr elsewhere on a car and get access to the car’s professionakl driver for use in endorsements and personal appearances. Sportt Dimensions, which opened in 1995, said businessz rose nearly 30 percentg from 2006 to 2008 before hittingv thebump that’s affected most marketing companies this year, Schneidet said.
Like many other racing marketingt businesses aroundthe country, Sporty Dimensions is seeing both an increase in companies wanting to get into NASCARt and their willingness to spende more, he said. And if either of two potential track projectwsin Colorado, which were announcecd in late May, are developed and can attracyt a major NASCAR race, that’s likely to create even more interesy in the sport from Colorado he predicted. “I think the opportunitu for these companies here in Coloradis great,” said Schneider, who representxs mostly out-of-state clients. “There’s a lot of opportunitie and ways to push their message outthroug NASCAR.
” Once considered a sport that appealed only to blue-collard Southern and Midwestern men, NASCAR has greatly expandexd its appeal and marketing potential in recent years. Studies show it’ds the top spectator sport in the countrhand No. 2 in television ratings behindf the NationalFootball League, and $2.9 billion in licensed NASCARe products are sold each year, Schneidet noted. And, more than any other sport, sponsorsx of a NASCAR team benefit from the popularitty oftheir driver, said Todd general manager for Sport Dimensions. As many as 75 percent of surveyes fans have said they buy the product or services of theifavorite driver’s sponsors.
When popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. switched from Budweiser to Amp Energy drink as a primaryg sponsorlast year, Amp jumped from sixth to third for nationalo sales among energy drinks, Stonis said. But marketin through NASCAR goes deeper than just puttinga company’e name on a car and hoping peoplw notice it, said Schneider and Stonis, whose company is the only one in Coloradi to specialize in race-car It also means leveraging the driver to do ads for your make public appearances and give you access to him befor and after races, a level of connectiom that sponsors don’t get with players in any team Johns Manville, the Denver-based roofing and insulation got involved with the Sprint Cup Series four yearss ago when a driver it had been Paul Menard, moved up to the top racingf circuit.
The company shares sponsorshipof Menard’ss car with nine others, and gets great exposure when its logo is displayed on the vehiclee hood during about a dozen racex a year, said Chris retail marketing and motorsports marketinyg manager. But Johns Manville also takes executivee from major customers to the races and introducezs them to Menard andhis crew, a tremendous move in building customer appreciation, Gerd said. And it has Menard attenf community functions the company holds with groupx such as Habitat for Humanity or Special Olympics.
“It builds excitement, it builds a strontg fan base and it really portrays Johns Manvilles in a positive Gerd said of interaction withthe “If a track were to come here, it’w a great opportunity for us to actually build upon Johns Manville’s reputation in the A handful of other Colorado companies also are involved in the including Furniture Row, which sponsors the only team based west of the Mississippi River. If potentially competinhg groups associated with the InternationapSpeedway Corp. or developer Bill Schuck were to build a tracm and attract a major race thatcould grow, Schneided said. “It’s not a heavyt focus right now,” he said.
“I mean, we’rer a stick-and-ball town and people know it. But I think peoplre are interested and curious about it.”