Live From Motorsports Marketing: Daytona 500 Plans Revving
As the 50th anniversary Daytona 500 approaches, brands are building their support campaigns in what figures to be a benchmark event of $100 million in promotions.
Among the highlights around the Feb. 17 NASCAR race covered by Terry Kalna, managing director of marketing partnerships for the International Speedway Corp., during a panel at the Motorsports Marketing Forum in New York City on Tuesday:
*General Motors is running a sweepstakes offering VIP trips to Daytona for winners from each of the 50 states, with 10 of them to take home a Chevy after the race.
*AAA is running a consumer sweepstakes playing off a tie-in between reaching 50 million members and the race’s 50th anniversary.
*Anheuser-Busch, Gatorade and new Daytona 500 sponsor Coca-Cola are producing Daytona-themed product packaging in retail outlets.
*UPS has been sponsoring 10 online chat sessions with Daytona winners. Three sessions remain before the race.
Speaking at the conference sponsored by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, Kalna said ISC is also conducting public relations outreach in select markets with past Daytona champions, NASCAR crew chiefs and team owners.
Doug Dixon, manager of brand marketing for Holiday Inn, another rookie Daytona player, reported a big consumer response to a sweepstakes offering free race tickets to each 500th fan who books a trip online. That promotion, plugged by e-mails to its Priority Club customers has netted Holiday Inn 60 million web impressions.
The race’s anniversary coincides with the motel chain’s 55th anniversary. “It was a natural fit for us,” Dixon said.
Kroger has been running a promotion in its 2,500 stores since July with 44 brands displaying the Daytona 500 logo. A direct mail campaign of coupons sent to 7,000 customers has prompted a response double the usual rate, according to Jim Doyle, president and CEO of Retail Sports Marketing, which planned the Kroger activation.
A dedicated web site, www.kroger.daytona500.com, featuring games and other race-related features, has been a boon to Kroger’s database. “We’re collecting names in what will probably be the best consumer database in NASCAR,” said Doyle.
General Mills has four brands participating in the Dayton promotion, including Pillsbury, Yoplait Yogurt, Hamburger Helper and Totino’s Pizza. Alison Miller, General Mills marketing manager, reported strong results for the deal struck directly with Kroger: “It’s a chance to get volume at one of our best retailers.”
Doyle reported that competing brands battled to be part of the promotion. “For a brand to get an eight-month display in a store is unheard of,” he observed.
Kalna declined to reveal an exact dollar amount for promotions tied to the historic Daytona race, but said spending for the run-up was “much more significant” than in years past.
