UK Sports Marketing Conference Presentation: A Sponsor Looks at NASCAR Marketing

1. Activating Sponsorship to Achieve
Strategic Business Objectives
A Sponsor - Owner View
Barry Bronson
Director of Communications - Valvoline
A Division of Ashland Inc.
Lexington, Kentucky, USA

2. Insert SEMA video Nov. 2006
Up until MaxLife commercial;
Include: At Track Race shop
End with logos.

4. Valvoline Sponsorship
Goal is to extend the Valvoline BRAND to popular
sports by achieving disproportionate exposure
to dollars spent . . . and by attaching high-
performance imagery to our products.
• Use motorsports for BRANDING
• Use motorsports as ALTERNATIVE MEDIA
• Element of our ADVERTISING
• Element of our PROMOTIONS
• Element of our CUSTOMER RELATIONS

5. TV PRINT
BRAND EXPOSURE BRAND EXPOSURE SALES PROMOTION
VEHICLE
PUBLIC RELATIONS REGIONAL
VEHICLE RETAILER
LEVERAGE
HOSPITALITY
VEHICLE
LICENSING
APPAREL,
SOUVENIRS
PRIMARY INCENTIVE
TEAM CAR VEHICLE
SPONSORSHIP
BUSINESS-TO-
BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH &
DEVELOPMENT
NEW PRODUCTS
SHOWCAR PRODUCT COUPON
PROGRAM SAMPLING
PERFORMANCE
IMAGERY
DRIVER, TEAM
ENDORSEMENT

6. Brand Fact-of-Life
Consumers in many cases are
becoming active supporters of
brands, not just buyers.

7. 1. Super Bowl
2. Summer Olympics
3. World Cup
4. DAYTONA 500
U.S. viewership. Source: FORBES Magazine
• 30 new commercials featuring 15 drivers
• Fox broadcast - 33.7 million viewers

8. Sponsor as Owner
• F1: Mercedes & McLaren.
• F1: Honda buys out BAR.
• F1: BMW takes over Sauber.
• NASCAR & F1: Red Bull!
• Valvoline was first consumer products company to own
NASCAR team.

9. Integration
• A car by itself is just a colorful advertisement.
• It is the FIRST dollar spent.
• It gives you a platform on which to spend more dollars.
• Field participation.
• TREND: Properties reducing or even waiving fees in
exchange for more promotional commitment.

10. Current NASCAR Sweepstakes

11. Who is Doing it Right?

13. The Rights Fee Was
Just The Beginning!

14. Crown Royal presents the Jim Stewart 400
• Team sponsor activates with:
– Media Buy
– Sweepstakes
– Cause Marketing
– Publicity
• Entitlement recognized by
broadcast, media partners
• Online Essay: “Most
Memorable Crown Moment?”
• 15,000 entries, nine finalists
• $50,000 charity donation
• Jim Stewart

16. Retail Promotions
 NASCAR fans are more likely than non-fans to notice
and value a variety of promotions when shopping.
 Retailer to effectively reach these consumers with
NASCAR-related themes.
Index NASCAR Fans vs.
Noticing promotions while shopping NASCAR Fans Non-Fans
Non-Fans
Store brochures / flyers 66% 54% 122 *
Signs on racks and shelves 62% 48% 129 *
Free standing display w/ product 60% 46% 130 *
Promo/displays at end of aisle 55% 43% 128 *
In-store demos 46% 35% 131 *
Video monitor displays 21% 15% 140 *
Source: Simmons National Consumer Survey (Spring 2006 – Fall 2006)
* indicates statistical significance at the 95% confidence level

17. NASCAR Developments
• New Markets Push (1999-present)
– California, Indianapolis, Chicago, Kansas City, New Hampshire
– Hoping for New York, Pacific Northwest, Denver
• Lengthened Season
• Los Angeles Outreach
• Overseas Expansion: More Licensing than Event Strategy
– Canada – CASCAR
– Mexico – Busch Series Event
– China?
– “Stars But Not the Cars”
– NBA Model
– Strong licensing, merchandising, TV packages
– In-country exhibitions

18. NASCAR International Expansion
• International development and growth is an important long-
term strategic initiative for the industry.
• In a short period, NASCAR has expanded its reach and is
now broadcast in over 150 countries and more than 30
languages.
• Expansion into Canada and Mexico represents the first
stage of international development. New strategic
partnerships in these markets are providing incremental
growth opportunities for the industry.

19. Activation Learnings -- NASCAR
• The huge run-up in NASCAR sponsorship fees
makes activation very expensive.
• Companies choosing to become sponsors are
placing bigger bets on more selective group of
targets.
• PR is cost-effective alternative to expensive
sales promotion, events.
• “Shoulder” TV programming helps.
• Sponsorships increasingly multimedia.
• Racetrack littered with failed sponsorships,
activation.

20. Challenges to NASCAR Activation
• Networks leverage advertising for coverage.
• Short-term sponsors.
• Multiple sponsors per car.
• International activity, but national budgets.
• More scrutiny of ROI.
• More non-traditional sponsors.
• More interactive broadcasts, digital TV.
• More “shoulder” programming.
• Teams, tracks becoming more adept at negotiating
deals, making sponsorships pricier than ever before.

21. Activation: Partners Help

22. Leveraging Technology
• Not just marketing which is leveraged . . .
• For Valvoline, racing is laboratory for developing
new consumer products.

23. Insert EDITED CNBC segment on Steve Williams
Start: 00:50 End: 01:28