Monster Energy's status as a sponsor of NASCAR

So for giggles I went to Monster's home page. I'd done this once before, sometime in the middle of last season. Back then, I immediately noticed something, and I noticed it again today.

Monster's home page has no mention of NASCAR.

No mention of either the Cup series in general or the Monster-sponsored #41 in particular. I clicked the 'Featured' link; no NASCAR. I clicked the 'Motorsports' link; still no NASCAR. I clicked 'Sports', saw a collection of links titled 'Motorsports', FINALLY saw a NASCAR link ... that apparently was last updated on Feb. 19th after the D500. No mention of Atlanta. As to Vegas, the page says the next race is the 'Pennzoil 400' at 'Bethpage', which apparently is in New York; not the Kobalt 400 from Sin City. (The site does note that Truex is the defending winner at Bethpage, so I guess that's another of his home tracks.) Oh, and according to Monster's web site, the race starts at 2:00 AM Eastern on Sunday, so adjust your clocks and DVRs accordingly.

The NASCAR page does have six links across the top: Schedule, Results, Standings, Drivers, News, and Media. If you click any of them, the URL at the top of the page changes to match the link, but the page content doesn't. In other words, all six links appear to load the exact same content.

This is a level of sponsor involvement that gives me the impression Monster regretted this deal from the beginning and has already ceased to give a greasy used lug nut. No one looking at their web site should be surprised when they pull out.
 
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I know if Im Monster and I am paying Nascar 20 million a year to Nascar my association with them better have the results I want. The last thing I want to do is to have to spend time trying to save Nascar or make them look better. If Nascar wants that sort of thing they better be paying me.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
So for giggles I went to Monster's home page. I'd done this once before, sometime in the middle of last season. Back then, I immediately noticed something, and I noticed it again today.

Monster's home page has no mention of NASCAR.

No mention of either the Cup series in general or the Monster-sponsored #41 in particular. I clicked the 'Featured' link; no NASCAR. I clicked the 'Motorsports' link; still no NASCAR. I clicked 'Sports', saw a collection of links titled 'Motorsports', FINALLY saw a NASCAR link ... that apparently was last updated on Feb. 19th after the D500. No mention of Atlanta. As to Vegas, the page says the next race is the 'Pennzoil 400' at 'Bethpage', which apparently is in New York; not the Kobalt 400 from Sin City. (The site does note that Truex is the defending winner at Bethpage, so I guess that's another of his home tracks.) Oh, and according to Monster's web site, the race starts at 2:00 AM Eastern on Sunday, so adjust your clocks and DVRs accordingly.

This is the level of sponsor involvement that gives me the impression Monster regreted this deal from the beginning and has already ceased to give a greasy used lug nut. No one looking at their web site should be surprised when they pull out.
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That is strange as you would think they would have the Nascar logo on the home page that you could click to get all the hype and BS. I looked myself and Nascar is reduced to some little block letter hyperlink (I think thats whats its called) under events. Based on that it looks like they want to write the whole thing off as a bad experience and move on to something that suits the Monster Lifestyle whatever that means. Splain that one to me Lucy.
 
NASCAR has obviously been very accommodating to Monster at least on the time front, with the extension of the extension of the extension. They must be confident that they'll re-sign Monster, but I'd be sending out feelers right now considering the short timetable to sign and integrate a new partner should Monster decide to bail.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
So for giggles I went to Monster's home page. I'd done this once before, sometime in the middle of last season. Back then, I immediately noticed something, and I noticed it again today.

Monster's home page has no mention of NASCAR.

No mention of either the Cup series in general or the Monster-sponsored #41 in particular. I clicked the 'Featured' link; no NASCAR. I clicked the 'Motorsports' link; still no NASCAR. I clicked 'Sports', saw a collection of links titled 'Motorsports', FINALLY saw a NASCAR link ... that apparently was last updated on Feb. 19th after the D500. No mention of Atlanta. As to Vegas, the page says the next race is the 'Pennzoil 400' at 'Bethpage', which apparently is in New York; not the Kobalt 400 from Sin City. (The site does note that Truex is the defending winner at Bethpage, so I guess that's another of his home tracks.) Oh, and according to Monster's web site, the race starts at 2:00 AM Eastern on Sunday, so adjust your clocks and DVRs accordingly.

The NASCAR page does have six links across the top: Schedule, Results, Standings, Drivers, News, and Media. If you click any of them, the URL at the top of the page changes to match the link, but the page content doesn't. In other words, all six links appear to load the exact same content.

This is a level of sponsor involvement that gives me the impression Monster regretted this deal from the beginning and has already ceased to give a greasy used lug nut. No one looking at their web site should be surprised when they pull out.
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Five featured articles on the front page are about NHRA, Supercross, UFC, and Call of Duty.

Five featured articles on the motorsports page are about NHRA, Supercross, WorldSBK, and F1.


Good partnership that is.
 
Maybe Nascar should keep the series name and use marketing along with commercial time as the best method of making money. They all ready have contracts with many companies as the
official (bleep) of Nascar. By featuring each company at each race they can charge extra for the advertising. The system is in place, they just need someone with brains to operate it.
I also think when these TV contracts are up Nascar should keep the rights and sell them to the highest bidder each race.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
So for giggles I went to Monster's home page. I'd done this once before, sometime in the middle of last season. Back then, I immediately noticed something, and I noticed it again today.

Monster's home page has no mention of NASCAR.

No mention of either the Cup series in general or the Monster-sponsored #41 in particular. I clicked the 'Featured' link; no NASCAR. I clicked the 'Motorsports' link; still no NASCAR. I clicked 'Sports', saw a collection of links titled 'Motorsports', FINALLY saw a NASCAR link ... that apparently was last updated on Feb. 19th after the D500. No mention of Atlanta. As to Vegas, the page says the next race is the 'Pennzoil 400' at 'Bethpage', which apparently is in New York; not the Kobalt 400 from Sin City. (The site does note that Truex is the defending winner at Bethpage, so I guess that's another of his home tracks.) Oh, and according to Monster's web site, the race starts at 2:00 AM Eastern on Sunday, so adjust your clocks and DVRs accordingly.

The NASCAR page does have six links across the top: Schedule, Results, Standings, Drivers, News, and Media. If you click any of them, the URL at the top of the page changes to match the link, but the page content doesn't. In other words, all six links appear to load the exact same content.

This is a level of sponsor involvement that gives me the impression Monster regretted this deal from the beginning and has already ceased to give a greasy used lug nut. No one looking at their web site should be surprised when they pull out.
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I couldn’t even get the nascar links to load on my phone. I don’t think it is possible to have a stranger relationship between a series sponsor and the league it is promoting. I will truly be shocked if they’re the cup sponsor next year.
 
You have to think NASCAR is already courting other sponsors just in case. My guess is you'll know they have another sponsor in the chute if they don't give Monster any further extensions.
 
For all of NASCAR management's faults, I think a big share of the blame for this fiasco clearly falls on Monster. The lack of effort they have put into this from day one almost guarantees failure, and if they want out, fine, but it's a real chicken **** way to operate to leave somebody hanging for months and months. You kind of have to hope karma catches up to people that do business like that.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Five featured articles on the front page are about NHRA, Supercross, UFC, and Call of Duty.

Five featured articles on the motorsports page are about NHRA, Supercross, WorldSBK, and F1.


Good partnership that is.
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It is bizarre. Looking at Monster's presence across the motorsports world, it is almost as if their objective is to minimize NASCAR's stature within it by making it look like a red-headed step-child to much smaller entities that, yes, fit their brand demographics better and allow them more creative control. As a person who likes other forms of racing more than NASCAR, this is kinda funny. But if you're NASCAR, this is lunacy.
 
Formerjackman said:
The lack of effort they have put into this from day one almost guarantees failure,
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I don't follow the other forms of motorsports Monster sponsors, so I can't say if they put more effort into other series than they do for NASCAR. Maybe they use a different strategy in those other series. Maybe the use the same minimal approach but it doesn't work for stock cars. Maybe they're more active partners overall in those other series than in NASCAR.

Last year is the first time in 20+ years I didn't catch a live race, due to circumstances beyond my control. Maybe they're all over the place at the track. I can say that from my recliner, Monster in NASCAR is darn near invisible.
 
gnomesayin said:
It is bizarre. Looking at Monster's presence across the motorsports world, it is almost as if their objective is to minimize NASCAR's stature within it by making it look like a red-headed step-child to much smaller entities that, yes, fit their brand demographics better and allow them more creative control. As a person who likes other forms of racing more than NASCAR, this is kinda funny. But if you're NASCAR, this is lunacy.
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Well, NASCAR is considered a joke within the wider motorsports world, so Monster's position makes total sense in that regard.
 
Acs said:
Well, NASCAR is considered a joke within the wider motorsports world, so Monster's position makes total sense in that regard.
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Which corners of the motorsports world are you referring to. Most of the racers I know - in fact probably all of them - have high regard for Nascar racing as hard core, balls out racing that demands skill and sophistication. (I am aware of ignorant fans who like to stereotype things, but don't regard them as really a part of the motorsports world.)
 
Acs said:
Well, NASCAR is considered a joke within the wider motorsports world, so Monster's position makes total sense in that regard.
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Eh. To some within it, yes. NASCAR is certainly an easy target for good and bad reasons. It is also an 800 lb gorilla within the industry. If you were counting off Monster's sports pecking order, you would be on your second hand and maybe taking a shoe off by the time you reach NASCAR. That is absurd.

I believed Sprint was a poor partner because their brand identity had devolved into "Yes, we are the worst mobile carrrier. But not by as much as you think, and we're cheaper." It is never desirable to be associated with a discount also-ran.

Now I am starting to believe that NASCAR would be better off with any corporate partner who thinks that auto racing is NASCAR and barely knows other forms of it exist.
 
NASCAR IMO ****** this up by accepting Monster’s bid at the last minute. They should’ve gone without a title sponsor until the right deal came along. This was clearly a cash grab on the France’s part, as Monster’s bid came in well below the asking price.

They now find themselves in self imposed limbo with a company that has been lukewarm on this gig from the get go.

I’ve never seen a company back itself into a corner with negotiations like NASCAR does. Once again, the sanctioning body looks like a bunch of idiots.
 
Formerjackman said:
For all of NASCAR management's faults, I think a big share of the blame for this fiasco clearly falls on Monster. The lack of effort they have put into this from day one almost guarantees failure, and if they want out, fine, but it's a real chicken sh!t way to operate to leave somebody hanging for months and months. You kind of have to hope karma catches up to people that do business like that.
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This is exactly what I am talking about. It appears as though Monster jumped on because NASCAR was desperate and cheap (another discussion in and of itself), so they though "What the heck?" If they have no real intention of activating their NASCAR partnership or renewing for 2019, then just back out and everyone involved can learn something from this. NASCAR has many faults, but this fiasco is in Monster's hands.
 
My 2 cents but Monster is only doing what Nascar is letting them do so I dont think they are doing anything wrong. Unfortunately Nascar doesnt have a whole lot of options and Monster knows it so they can jerk them around. When Monster signed on I thought it would be all good for a bunch of reasons but I was wrong.

The problem where I live isnt that people think Nascar is a joke they just dont think about it or support it at all. At least for now Nascar is really really cold and it doesnt get in the papers or on local TV and I know some other regions like that. Even little things like soda machines with a driver on it or cut outs of drivers in supermarkets arent around now. I know some open wheel fans that I think are snobby as they think Nascar is a big joke but you cant trust what they say.
 
Unfortunately Monster is only providing the "B" level girls for NASCAR. If you don't get the A-Team, you might as well end the deal. The girls are a joke.
 
AtomicPunk55 said:
My 2 cents but Monster is only doing what Nascar is letting them do so I dont think they are doing anything wrong. Unfortunately Nascar doesnt have a whole lot of options and Monster knows it so they can jerk them around.
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For these types of sponsorships to work, you have to spend 2-3 times the actual sponsorship amount to get a decent return on the deal. You can't convince me that Monster has spent even a FRACTION of that amount promoting their involvement in NASCAR, so if they aren't getting the the exposure they wanted, they have nobody to blame but themselves. The world of NASCAR sponsorship is a fairly known commodity. If you don't know what you're getting when you make that deal, then you obviously haven't done your homework. As far as Monster jerking NASCAR around, you're right that they CAN, and they ARE, buy that doesn't mean they SHOULD. If this deal wasn't the right one for Monster, that's fine, they tried something and it didn't work. Happens all the time. That doesn't mean you should put somebody through the wringer just because you hold all the cards. If they want to come back, but are just low-balling on the money, then NASCAR should just say thanks, but no thanks, smile and move on
 
Formerjackman said:
For these types of sponsorships to work, you have to spend 2-3 times the actual sponsorship amount to get a decent return on the deal. You can't convince me that Monster has spent even a FRACTION of that amount promoting their involvement in NASCAR, so if they aren't getting the the exposure they wanted, they have nobody to blame but themselves. The world of NASCAR sponsorship is a fairly known commodity. If you don't know what you're getting when you make that deal, then you obviously haven't done your homework. As far as Monster jerking NASCAR around, you're right that they CAN, and they ARE, buy that doesn't mean they SHOULD. If this deal wasn't the right one for Monster, that's fine, they tried something and it didn't work. Happens all the time. That doesn't mean you should put somebody through the wringer just because you hold all the cards. If they want to come back, but are just low-balling on the money, then NASCAR should just say thanks, but no thanks, smile and move on
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On one hand Monster and Nascar seemed like a good fit as Monster could have had access to young hipster drivers and Nascar could have had access to the young hipster audience of Monster. Like others have said I would rather see Nascar not have a sponsor then to go on like this.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
So for giggles I went to Monster's home page. I'd done this once before, sometime in the middle of last season. Back then, I immediately noticed something, and I noticed it again today.

Monster's home page has no mention of NASCAR.

No mention of either the Cup series in general or the Monster-sponsored #41 in particular. I clicked the 'Featured' link; no NASCAR. I clicked the 'Motorsports' link; still no NASCAR. I clicked 'Sports', saw a collection of links titled 'Motorsports', FINALLY saw a NASCAR link ... that apparently was last updated on Feb. 19th after the D500. No mention of Atlanta. As to Vegas, the page says the next race is the 'Pennzoil 400' at 'Bethpage', which apparently is in New York; not the Kobalt 400 from Sin City. (The site does note that Truex is the defending winner at Bethpage, so I guess that's another of his home tracks.) Oh, and according to Monster's web site, the race starts at 2:00 AM Eastern on Sunday, so adjust your clocks and DVRs accordingly.

The NASCAR page does have six links across the top: Schedule, Results, Standings, Drivers, News, and Media. If you click any of them, the URL at the top of the page changes to match the link, but the page content doesn't. In other words, all six links appear to load the exact same content.

This is a level of sponsor involvement that gives me the impression Monster regretted this deal from the beginning and has already ceased to give a greasy used lug nut. No one looking at their web site should be surprised when they pull out.
Click to expand...
Personally I think they have done a piss poor job of representing the sport.
 
About Nascar being considered a joke within the wider motorsports world. If that means the drivers, team owners, engine builders and things like that I dont see it. If it means Brian France, Dewar, Odonnell, Denny Hamlin and that kind of stuff well I do understand that. Heck a lot of fans seem to think Nascar is a joke hahaha.
 
JBone88 said:
NASCAR IMO ****** this up by accepting Monster’s bid at the last minute. They should’ve gone without a title sponsor until the right deal came along. This was clearly a cash grab on the France’s part, as Monster’s bid came in well below the asking price.

They now find themselves in self imposed limbo with a company that has been lukewarm on this gig from the get go.

I’ve never seen a company back itself into a corner with negotiations like NASCAR does. Once again, the sanctioning body looks like a bunch of idiots.
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I remember when Brian said "I made this sales call myself". Not looking so hot right now.
 
Spotter22 said:
Personally I think they have done a piss poor job of representing the sport.
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I'm still not sure how anyone involved thought this was a good fit. NASCAR was obviously desperate for a check by late 2016 and would have partnered with almost anyone with a legal product. But what was supposed to be in this for Monster?

I get the impression that the energy drink market has reached maturity, meaning there are relatively few new customers to the market and companies are competing to take customers away from each other. (I could be wrong completely.) If I'm right, I don't see the NASCAR fan base as being heavy energy drink consumers. (If we were, Red Bull might have stuck around.) If we're not big caffeine-delivery buyers, I don't see how Monster was going to gain us as customers. I see their other sponsorships as going where customers already existed for their type of product. I think they figured $20m was a bargain for trying to reach a market that superficially is the same as their other motorsports attendees.

But I'm not in marketing and don't have access to any of the relevant numbers. I could be completely off base.
 
With Marijuana becoming legal in many states and here in Canada this year I wonder if Brian could switch from the booze and go to.... if he hasn't combined them both already.
After reading so many posts on here it seems like a lot of fans are already on it. :sarcasm:
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I'm still not sure how anyone involved thought this was a good fit. NASCAR was obviously desperate for a check by late 2016 and would have partnered with almost anyone with a legal product. But what was supposed to be in this for Monster?

I get the impression that the energy drink market has reached maturity, meaning there are relatively few new customers to the market and companies are competing to take customers away from each other. (I could be wrong completely.) If I'm right, I don't see the NASCAR fan base as being heavy energy drink consumers. (If we were, Red Bull might have stuck around.) If we're not big caffeine-delivery buyers, I don't see how Monster was going to gain us as customers. I see their other sponsorships as going where customers already existed for their type of product. I think they figured $20m was a bargain for trying to reach a market that superficially is the same as their other motorsports attendees.

But I'm not in marketing and don't have access to any of the relevant numbers. I could be completely off base.
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If it is true and the average Nascar fan is around 60 I dont see the benefit of Monster trying to introduce to them. I know that people in my age group drink coffee and decaf, water, lemonade and ice tea but not so much fizzy stuff or energy drinks. I dont know if Monsters drinks are fizzy or flat cuz I never had a energy drink before as I am set with what I drink. Maybe Monster came in because they thought they could have a big influence on Nascar and they found out it wasnt true. Maybe the delay now is them trying to get the influence they think they need so they can mold things as they like.

I read on Yahoo or google and someone was saying that the 20 million that Monster paid might have been the reason that lots of companies backed off the dollars paid to teams. The thinking was if you get the series for 20 why pay 15 for a team. COuld be true could be false but its interesting theory.
 
I thought Monster would really help with pushing marketing for NASCAR, but boy it has been the exact opposite.

Monster's new deal with Supercross and PBR just makes it realize just how unimportant NASCAR is IMHO... I might be wrong, I hope I'm wrong.
 
Team Penske said:
With Marijuana becoming legal in many states and here in Canada this year I wonder if Brian could switch from the booze and go to.... if he hasn't combined them both already.
After reading so many posts on here it seems like a lot of fans are already on it. :sarcasm:
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Ask Denny, he knows.
 
I think Monster has done a great job and I hope they stay. I believe it's NASCAR who has been the problem in the partnership and not allowing Monster to do certain things. Like what does the band playing have anything to with racing that NASCAR should object to. If Monster wants rock bands and rappers let them have them.
 
Simple Fan said:
I think Monster has done a great job and I hope they stay.
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What is Monster's job in your eyes, that they have been great at doing? Do you think Monster's hesitance about extending is due to their displeasure with NASCAR not allowing them more freedom? Have their been any reports about what NASCAR has stopped them from doing?
 
Team Penske said:
Maybe Nascar should keep the series name and use marketing along with commercial time as the best method of making money. They all ready have contracts with many companies as the
official (bleep) of Nascar. By featuring each company at each race they can charge extra for the advertising. The system is in place, they just need someone with brains to operate it.
I also think when these TV contracts are up Nascar should keep the rights and sell them to the highest bidder each race.
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Maybe one of the streaming platforms will bid on the contract and win. That would be something. Trying to teach people who are analog about streaming.:AHHHH:
 
Formerjackman said:
For these types of sponsorships to work, you have to spend 2-3 times the actual sponsorship amount to get a decent return on the deal. You can't convince me that Monster has spent even a FRACTION of that amount promoting their involvement in NASCAR, so if they aren't getting the the exposure they wanted, they have nobody to blame but themselves. The world of NASCAR sponsorship is a fairly known commodity. If you don't know what you're getting when you make that deal, then you obviously haven't done your homework. As far as Monster jerking NASCAR around, you're right that they CAN, and they ARE, buy that doesn't mean they SHOULD. If this deal wasn't the right one for Monster, that's fine, they tried something and it didn't work. Happens all the time. That doesn't mean you should put somebody through the wringer just because you hold all the cards. If they want to come back, but are just low-balling on the money, then NASCAR should just say thanks, but no thanks, smile and move on
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Maybe NASCAR is over a barrel because there aren't other suitors willing to provide that type of money to sponsor the sport?
 
If NASCAR drops the price any lower, they would be better served to just run it without a title sponsor for a while. NASCAR really can't afford to have the value of title sponsorship further diminished.
 
Formerjackman said:
If NASCAR drops the price any lower, they would be better served to just run it without a title sponsor for a while. NASCAR really can't afford to have the value of title sponsorship further diminished.
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They cashed Monster checks for approx $40 million.

The current value is the current value. Nobody walks away from money.
 
Formerjackman said:
If NASCAR drops the price any lower, they would be better served to just run it without a title sponsor for a while. NASCAR really can't afford to have the value of title sponsorship further diminished.
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To your own point, the activation commitment is more important to the series' health and growth. $5 million rights fee from a company that truly wanted to invest in and promote the association more seriously should be preferable to $20 million and what we've seen from Monster thus far.
 
aunty dive said:
They cashed Monster checks for approx $40 million.

The current value is the current value. Nobody walks away from money.
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Tell that to Rick Hendrick when he puts his own website on a car instead of taking some low-ball sponsorship offer and devaluing the sponsorships he already has in place. Sorry NAPA, you pay $400,000 per race for this car, but we'll let Joe's Bait and Tackle sponsor it for $50,000 per race. NOT. Frankly, if NASCAR takes any less money, the amount they would be getting would be statistically irrelevant anyway. I'd be willing to sponsor the Cup Pole award for $500.00 per year, any length of contract they desire, but so far, Brian Z. hasn't returned my calls.......
 
Formerjackman said:
Tell that to Rick Hendrick when he puts his own website on a car instead of taking some low-ball sponsorship offer and devaluing the sponsorships he already has in place. Sorry NAPA, you pay $400,000 per race for this car, but we'll let Joe's Bait and Tackle sponsor it for $50,000 per race. NOT. Frankly, if NASCAR takes any less money, the amount they would be getting would be statistically irrelevant anyway. I'd be willing to sponsor the Cup Pole award for $500.00 per year, any length of contract they desire, but so far, Brian Z. hasn't returned my calls.......
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Blah Blah all caps BLAH.

Nobody walks away from money, including
Rick Hendrick. When he “self” sponsors, there are no other options.
 
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