Coke, Gatorade, Kroger, Others to Spend $100 Million to Sponsor 50th Daytona 500
The International Speedway Corp. is accelerating the marketing hype for next year’s 50th anniversary Daytona 500 with a growing list of sponsors.
Coca-Cola, UPS, Holiday Inn, Gatorade, AA and Kroger are among the 40 brands that will spend a combined $100 million in activation fees around the historic event in February.
Kroger’s presence in the mix has brought in 24 new products among 40 brands – including Nabisco, General Mills, Kellogg and Unilever that will carry the 50th anniversary Daytona logo on Kroger shelves in the run-up to the race.
Coca-Cola, which signed a 10-year deal with ISC supplanting Pepsi earlier this year, will kick-start its NASCAR sponsorship with commemorative bottles and cups bearing the Daytona logo. It will have signage at the venue, where it will also officially provide refreshments.
“We really value long-term partnerships so that we have time to understand the partner’s business and really deliver results for them,” said Roger VanDerSnick, ISC senior vice president of marketing and business operations.
ISC marketing partners typically strike deals of three to six years in duration, according to VanDerSnick.
ISC owns and operates 12 NASCAR tracks—more than half of the venues on the North American circuit—where it sells the tickets and sponsorships for the respective races.
Imagery from the past 50 years of Daytona races will be woven into sponsors’ packaging and advertising, VanDerSnick said.
In the most innovative Daytona sponsorship ploy, UPS launched a series of interactive online “Champion’s Chat” sessions last week. Mario Andretti was the first champion in the series of 10 chats planned to precede the race that will include UPS spokesman Dale Jarrett.
The sponsor rush for the historic NASCAR season opener is a natural one, considering the brand loyalty NASCAR sponsorships convey. ISC claims that NASCAR fans are three times as likely to buy NASCAR sponsor’s products—and that response rate doubles for NASCAR devotees to go to the tracks.
“Fans see the connection,” VanDerSnick said.
A football-field sized area of product displays inviting interaction between NASCAR fans and sponsors will reinforce that connection at Daytona.
