Promo - March 2008 - (Page 26)

Sports Marketing Continued from page 25 and NASCAR at events throughout the season in hopes of building the brand’s identity, says Ben Reiling, the company’s director of motorsports marketing. As part of the deal, a dozen drivers will make personal appearances on behalf of Coke at the races. “Their accessibility is extremely strong for the sport,” says Reiling. “You don’t get a chance to go into a Major League Baseball locker room. And fans of the sport recognize that the people who participate in it are just like them.” As if to prove it, driver Greg Biffle took two MyCokeRewards contest winners fishing with him in Mexico last season. The contest was popular, and Coke will be repeating it. But the brand’s most unusual promotion to date was giving away lug nuts used during a race. Reiling says fans snapped up every last one of them. Sprint’s heavy presence was evident outside the speedway as well. A football field away from the Coke tent lay the Sprint Experience trailer, where visitors could take a drive in a racing simulator or get a primer on how a race car works. The stripped-down car was demonstrated hourly, and viewers with an extra few minutes on their hands could also check out the latest Sprint phone technology. What’s more, Sprint tailored its offerings to reflect fan interests. The NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile product enabled users to personalize their handset content to stream broadcast race coverage and monitor live incar audio of their favorite driver. The service is free for any Sprint customer who buys a special data pack. “The business proposition for us is how we can get fans closer to the sport,” says Dean Kessell, director of NASCAR Nextel Cup Series marketing. At Daytona, Sprint also pushed its handheld FanView product, which resembles an oversized BlackBerry with Continued on page 30 RACING LEGEND RESURFACES AS MOONSHINE MARKETER Junior Johnson has come full circle. Johnson, 76, won 50 NASCAR races during his legendary career and eventually moved into ownership. As a young moonshiner in North Carolina, he honed his driving skills by escaping revenuers on dimly lit rural roads. This served him well when he hit the stock car circuit in the 1950s, winning the second Daytona 500 in 1960. “The track was not as exciting as it was running from the revenuers,” he recalls. “If you got caught, you knew you was going to jail.” Now he’s part owner of Piedmont Distillers and serving as front man for its Midnight Moon moonshine, a libation based on an old family formula. Johnson launched the brew, “the best shine ever,” at last month’s Daytona 500. Midnight Moon was primary sponsor of the No. 70 Chevy driven by Jeremy Mayfield. “Daytona 500 is the biggest event,” he says. “I think it’s bigger than the Super Bowl as far as return for the money.” Already in 27 Winn Dixies, Midnight Moon is an 80-proof blend selling for $19.95 a quart. Sampling in bars around Daytona gave it some traction. Johnson plans to use driver sponsorships in other NASCAR races this year to push the regionally distributed product and a sweet, spicy version dubbed CatDaddy to appeal to feminine tastes. He points out that he is part of a sponsorship tradition that also includes brands likeJack Daniels and Jim Beam. Meanwhile, a film is being produced about Johnson’s life called “Whiskey Beginnings.” It’s slated to start shooting in the fall. How’s he feel about his career? “It’s a dream come true,” he says.–Richard Tedesco 26 March 2008 / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / Promo http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - March 2008

Promo - March 2008 Editor's Note Girls' Club New Eco Regs? They're Not Going Anywhere Spreads Easily RFID Ramp-Up From Backyard to Broadcast Commentary VROOOM! Stuff We Can't Do Here Yet Q&A: Measuring Up Free Ink The Agency Center Resource Center Promotions 2.0 Index of Advertisers

Promo - March 2008

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