NASCAR racing is less well known in the western U.S. than in the rest of the country. So when Tosco Marketing wanted to help the racing league celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, we had to find a way to introduce it to consumers, while promoting Tosco’s 76 brand gasoline stations and Circle K convenience stores.
We found our solution with The Beach Boys, quintessential West Coasters also known for their love of the road and fast cars.
The stations and stores were already NASCAR sponsors and the league’s official fuel so we had a relationship to build on. To drive the business objectives of increasing site traffic and sales per customer we delivered a program that communicated the combined equity of the brand and NASCAR while enhancing the consumer’s overall experience.
We created eye-catching point-of-sale materials, staging a photo shoot with band members Mike Love, Bruce Johnson, and David Marks, wearing NASCAR apparel. It seemed like a natural fit to insert a 76-themed car. The auto, with the band members and the beach shot, were digitally composed to create an image used for POS.
This imagery was also used for art of a custom collectible compact disk and cassette titled The Beach Boys Salute NASCAR with Their Favorite Car and Racing Tunes. Along with some of the band’s greatest hits including 409 and Little Deuce Coupe, the recordings featured a personal introduction by Mike Love with his endorsement of 76.
We designed a 1998 NASCAR Commemorative Calendar and Race Guide that was given to consumers free with the purchase of the recordings. This piece was created to involve customers in the spirit and history of the race and illustrate the tremendous technological and demographic advances the sport has made since its debut on the beach at Daytona, FL.
We combined classic and current NASCAR photos with trivia, contemporary racing news, and 76 and Circle K coupons. The result was a value-added consumer take away that contemporized the sport, the promotion, and ultimately the brands.
The promotion ran for six weeks starting in February, delivering broad consumer appeal, leveraging the current sponsorship equity, and fueling sales.
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