Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 25, 1993 TAG: 9312270292
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-8 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Long
That was Feb. 14, 1983, when Cale Yarborough busted Daytona's 200 mph barrier, qualifying his orange-and-white Hardee's Chevrolet, and went over the ragged edge the next time around. The car was spinning and flipping. A CBS television camera caught everything, right down to the squeal of the tires as the car bounced back onto all fours.
The videotape aired on every sports highlight show that night. And Hardee's, Yarborough's new sponsor, was instantly lifted into the realm of big-time television exposure. Six days later, Yarborough added the gravy by winning the Daytona 500.
By 1989, however, Hardee's was gone as a team sponsor. It is primarily a Southeastern chain, and its relatively small advertising and marketing budget was being overwhelmed by the rising costs of race sponsorships.
But look who's coming back to the Winston Cup series in 1994.
Hardee's, re-entering Winston Cup as the sponsor for Charlottesville car owner A.G. Dillard and South Boston driver Ward Burton, is one of a number of new and varied companies on the NASCAR sponsorship roll for 1994.
Also, the Fingerhut retail company has signed up with Derrike Cope and car owner Yarborough. The Family Channel will sponsor Ted Musgrave's Roush Racing Fords. R.J. Reynolds brings its Camel brand into the sport as a team sponsor with Hut Stricklin. Chesrown, an oil additive, and Diamond Ridge, a contractor, come aboard with drivers Rick Carelli and Grand National champ Steve Grissom.
Other companies have been negotiating. Geoff Bodine has been talking with Montgomery Ward. The Pedigree dog food logo may end up on Bobby Allison's car, to be driven by Chuck Bown.
More than 120 companies already are major NASCAR sponsors. And that doesn't include dozens more associate sponsors.
"It's getting more attractive, and yet for all the positive things going on, Bobby Allison doesn't have a sponsor yet, and Geoff Bodine doesn't have one," Ford motorsports publicist Wayne Estes said.
Grandstands are fuller, television ratings are stronger than ever, and women now account for almost four of every 10 fans.
NASCAR stock car racing seems to be finally reaping a bountiful harvest from its growing reputation as a top sports marketing venue.
"It's a snowball effect that built and built and built, and all of a sudden, a light flashed on in the head of corporate America," said driver Rick Mast.
These days, it seems, anybody can sell just about anything in NASCAR stock car racing.
But a television network?
"That's what we're going to find out," said Tim Robertson, president of The Family Channel in Virginia Beach. "You never know some things until you try.
"But what we've discovered is you've got a lot of families that go to races and a tremendous number of women. It's really not the male-dominated thing that many people once thought it was. And the NASCAR fan is very family-oriented, very patriotic. So I think what we see is a tremendous opportunity to build relations with some of our core viewers," he said.
The Family Channel primarily wants to increase its name recognition.
"We really want people to know that we're there," Robertson said, "and with cable television moving into an environment where you've got 100-plus channels, you've got to have unique ways to let people know you're on that dial. And NASCAR right now is one of the top three rated events on cable television."
Most companies want more than name recognition. They want to sell products and are finding they can sell to race fans, even under less than ideal circumstances.
"Back when Darrell Waltrip was sponsored by Mountain Dew, the fans used to boo Waltrip like crazy, throw chicken bones at him," NASCAR spokesman Chip Williams said. "But sales of Mountain Dew skyrocketed in racing areas."
Because of such experiences, a NASCAR sponsorship has become one of the best values in sports marketing.
"After closely analyzing various forms of sports, the editors of Financial World came to a clear and concise conclusion: Motorsports delivers the best promotional return on a corporation's dollar investment," the magazine's public relations director, Thomas D. Gibson, said in a letter to drivers and team owners.
"Traditional sports such as baseball, football, hockey, golf and tennis do not possess the ability to deliver frequent sponsor mentions and the promotional value that motorsports has proven it can," he wrote.
That's a big part of why Hardee's returned to racing.
"It came to a point where we couldn't afford not to be involved," said Maurice Bridges, Hardee's public relations director. "We had 10 years of equity in NASCAR, and what our consumers told us was they wanted to see us in the sport."
On race mornings, the Hardee's outlets near the tracks sell enormous amounts of chicken, starting as early as 6 o'clock.
"We found out that our customers enjoy racing and that it makes business sense for us to have visibility," Bridges said. "This is a very cost-effective way of reaching Hardee's consumers."
Even now, during the off-season, Hardee's restaurants in Virginia have been busy using Burton to help publicize a promotion with the state lottery.
The $3 million or $4 million it costs each year to sponsor a top Winston Cup team is a drop in the advertising bucket for many big corporations, such as Kodak, which will sponsor Sterling Marlin's Morgan-McClure Chevys in 1994.
That money earns loyalty as well as exposure.
In recent years, Kodak has been losing market share on film sales, except among racing fans. "We've done business research on our program every single year, and the brand loyalty of fans has stayed consistent from day one," said Kodak spokeswoman Karen Hagler.
Not only are stock car fans staying with Kodak, Hagler said, but more people are bringing cameras to the track - 57 percent as opposed to 45 percent a few years ago - and they're carrying more film - almost three rolls, compared with about two rolls in the past.
"It more than doubled our recognition," said Interstate Batteries spokesman Charles Suscavage. And that was before Dale Jarrett won the 1993 Daytona 500 in Joe Gibbs' Interstate Batteries Chevrolet.
That victory produced a whole new wave of publicity.
"Every one of our sales guys was calling in on Monday after the race saying how every one their accounts was talking about it, how the first thing out of their mouths was, `Hey, how about that Jarrett, beating Earnhardt,' " Suscavage said.
"It makes it a little easier for our sales guys to break the ice. One of the largest Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Los Angeles, well, their general manager is a NASCAR fan. We got the business" in the service department, he said.
Two years ago, before it became a sponsor of one of Junior Johnson's cars, McDonald's Corp. did a racing card promotion in some of its southeastern restaurants.
"In many markets, it was one of the biggest hits they had," said McDonald's David Paro. "We heard some very interesting stories about people coming in and ordering large quantities of food to get the cards. It definitely had a lot of impact in our knowing we wanted to stay involved in the sport."
But the popularity of NASCAR sponsorships creates its own problems.
Procter & Gamble Co.'s Tide laundry detergent was one of the first NASCAR sponsors to employ a now-routine strategy: using its sponsorship as a multi-dimensional marketing tool that included show cars, advertising, promotions, race tickets and incentive programs for retailers, among other things.
The Tide folks, however, know that the longer they continue to sponsor the Ford Thunderbirds owned and raced by Chesapeake's Ricky Rudd, the more difficult it becomes to come up with new twists.
"When you're in it awhile, the challenge every year is to come up with fresh, new stuff that keeps you ahead of the game," says Kirby Boone, executive vice president with Entertainment Marketing Corp., the Charlotte-based company that handles Tide's sponsorship. "The more people that become involved, the more cluttered it gets. I'm not going to say it's tougher, but it becomes a bigger challenge to pull yourself out of the clutter."
\ AUTO RACING SPONSORS\ \ These companies will be major sponsors of NASCAR Winston Cup and Grand National teams or races, or NASCAR special awards, points fund or contingency awards in 1994. This list does not include dozens of other companies that are associate sponsors.
\ Airlines: USAir Group\ \ Autos, parts and services: Prestone, Interstate Batteries, Sears DieHard batteries, Mark III Vans, Jasper Engines, Puralator, Fram Filters, DuPont, Plastikote, Busch waxes and cleaners, Pontiac, Chevy Dealers of New England, Autofinders, Manheim Auto Auctions, Ford Motor Co., Meineke, Valvoline, Quaker State, Texaco Havoline, Pennzoil, STP, Chesrown, Slick 50, Goodwrench, Ford Quality Care, Western Auto, AC-Delco, All Pro Auto Parts, Advance Auto Parts, Jasper Engines, Raybestos, Detroit Gasket, A.E. Clevite, Bilstein, Edelbrock, Auto Meter, Bowman, Dayco, Holley, Hurst, JE Pistons, Moog, Perfect Circle, Stant, Wiseco, Aeroquip, Competition Cams, Moroso, MSD Ignitions, Penske Shocks, ROL, Speed Pro, Torque Master, Splitfire, Champion, Autolite, Goodyear and Hoosier.
\ Banks and financial companies: TransSouth Financial, First Union Bank, TIC, Ford Motor Credit.
\ Beer: Anheuser-Busch, Miller.
\ Clothing: Hanes, Simpson.
\ Contractors: Diamond Ridge.
\ Film: Kodak.
\ Food: Kellogg, Tyson Holly Farms, Luck's, Kraft Budget Gourmet, Dentyne, Fiddle Faddle, Slim Jim, Texas Pete, Penrose and Carolina Pride.
\ Furniture: Heilig-Meyers.
\ Gasoline: Citgo, Finalube, Unocal.
\ Government: Virginia Department of Tourism.
\ Laundry detergent: Tide.
\ Machinery: Melling Tool and Die.
\ Medicine: Goody's.
\ Restaurants: McDonald's, Hooters, Hardee's.
\ Retailers: Fingerhut, Factory Stores of America, True Value Hardware, High Point Bedding, Fay's Drug Stores.
\ Soft drinks and beverages: Maxwell House, Mello Yello, Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Mountain Dew, Sundrop, Country Time, Gatorade, Lipton Iced Tea, White House Apple Juice.
\ Supermarkets: Food City, Save Mart, Winn-Dixie, Food Country USA, Pic N Pay, Kroger.
\ Television networks: The Family Channel.
\ Tobacco: R.J. Reynolds, Skoal, Kodiak, Granger Select.
\ Tools: Dewalt, ChannelLock, Craftsman, Mac Tools.
\ Trucking: Active Trucking, Alliance Schools.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB