Promo - March 2008 - (Page 28)

Sports Marketing ALLTEL’S WINNING AMBUSH When Ryan Newman drove his Alltel-branded stock car past the competition to win the Daytona 500, it mirrored his sponsor’s offtrack activity that week. Alltel, too, had to come from behind. The telco was effectively shut out of participating in the corporate branding activities at the track. As title sponsor of the NASCAR cup series, Sprint enjoyed mobile category exclusivity on-site. But Alltel had the last laugh when Newman won. And the scrappy firm’s second car driven by Kurt Bush finished right behind Newman. The week before the race, a 36-foot Alltel trailer was parked across the street from the corporate displays crowding the raceway concourse. Newman signed autographs inside the vehicle, which doubled as a location to tout the wireless carrier’s services. And in the run-up to the big race, Alltel mounted a major promotional presence just north of Daytona at the Dirt Car Nationals in Volusia Speedway. That included a Ryan Newman Night on the Friday preceding the event, with Newman waving the green starter’s flag for that night’s race, and signing autographs while the show car of his Alltel racer was on display. “We wanted to find a way to be present with the fans,” says Samira Zebian, Alltel’s director of sponsorship marketing. “There’s a nice overlap between the dirt car circuit and the NASCAR circuit.” At both locations, if Alltel subscribers showed their phones, they received benefits in the form of additional minutes and other perks. And prospects received special offers to sign up. The venue fits Alltel’s customer “footprint,” as does the entire NASCAR circuit, according to Zebian, with Alltel holding a major presence in rural markets. Among Alltel’s promotional ploys this season is “My Circle 500,” Continued on page 28 with 10 winners of the sweepstakes taking an all-expenses-paid trip to Charlotte, NC, in late May to train with the Alltel team and compete as pit crews for a $500,000 grand prize.–Richard Tedesco

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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