Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 21, 1993 TAG: 9303210068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
VA. PUTS TOURISM ADS ON NASCAR FAST TRACK
Speeding around the Richmond International Raceway as tens of thousands of fans cheered in the stands, the stock cars flashed their gaudy hood advertisements for beer, chewing tobacco, soda pop and . . . Virginia?Yes, car No. 25 in the recent NASCAR Grand National race sported a bright red heart, the slogan "Virginia is for Lovers" and a number to call for tourist information, 1-800 . . . Vrrroooommm! Oh well, maybe we'll get that number on the next lap.
Virginia taxpayers are sponsoring the car this racing season to the tune of $200,000. That pays for Virginia tourism ads on the car, the driver and crew members' uniforms and the tractor-trailer that hauls the car to races around the country.
"This is a little unusual," said Bruce Twyman, director of advertising for the state Department of Economic Development. In fact, he said, Virginia apparently is the first state to sponsor a race car for an entire season.
Siddall, Matus & Coughter, the Richmond advertising agency that handles state tourism, came up with the idea when someone called to ask if any of the agency's clients would sponsor a race car.
The agency proposed giving the car 5 percent of the state's $4 million tourism ad budget and state officials went along.
"We thought it would be a good fit for us," Twyman said. The races attract fans from Northeastern and Southeastern states that send many tourists to Virginia, he said.
The advertising was seen not only by the 35,000 people who attended the Richmond race but fans who watched on cable television, said John Siddall, the ad agency's chairman. All 28 races this season are televised nationally.
"Our car shows up numerous times," Siddall said. " `Virginia Is For Lovers' covers the entire hood of the car. Even at 120 mph you can read that."
Twyman said some have questioned whether fans can read the phone number on the car's trunk, but he said it shows up well in shots from television cameras mounted in each race car.
Some people must have jotted down the number - 1-800-425-LOVE - because it rang more than 300 times on the Monday and Tuesday after the Richmond race, Twyman said. Nearly all of the calls were from people outside Virginia, he said.
The phone number, which only appears on the race car, received about the same number of calls in two days that the state's usual tourism line receives in a week, Siddall said.
He said NASCAR races draw more spectators than college basketball games and racing fans have an average income of $39,000.
"They are enormously loyal to the people who sponsor these cars," he said.
Still, some have doubts about the state sponsoring a race car.
"I just question whether the $200,000 they're talking about is money best spent on that type of advertising," said Donald A. Harris, a Virginia Taxpayers Association member in Henrico County. "I don't think you're going to get the return."
Don Beverley of Chester, the car's owner, said he might get more money from traditional sponsors but not more publicity.
"Everybody's got motor oil, they've got beer, they've got tobacco products. The exposure I can get from this deal is worth more to me than the money," he said.
His driver, Hermie Sadler of Emporia, is aiming for rookie of the year.
Sadler was the top-finishing rookie, but he didn't win his first race in the "Virginia Is For Lovers" car. He came in 11th in a field of 36.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING