Attention Starbucks: NASCAR Fans Might Not Be in Your Target Market

dpkimmel2001

dpkimmel2001

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I guess Caleb Hannan's not a fan. :scratch: On CBL's show last night, SIRIUS/XM 128, I heard them talking about this article. I'll admit that I'm not a Starbucks fan but this is a little too much.

Starbucks, the people who made it cool for non-yuppies to break the bank for an espresso, is the newest sponsor of NASCAR. In exchange for an undisclosed sum of cash, the coffee maker is now the proud owner of a panel on the Chevrolet driven by Martin Truex Jr. News which begs the question: Has Starbucks ever met a NASCAR fan?

nascarfan.jpg

Dale Earndhardt's biggest fan can't start his day without a caramel macchiato.

Chances are if you're reading this you've never been to a race. That makes two of us. But thanks to a college education in Southwestern Virginia, I have hung out outside of one. Specifically, outside of the Richmond International Raceway.

And if the people tailgating there were any indication of the sport's primary clientele, I've got a bit of unfortunate news for Starbucks..

$4 doesn't describe what NASCAR's Average Fan might spend on a cup of coffee so much as it describes what he might spend on an outfit.

(Unless, of course, said outfit is emblazoned with a picture of martyred hero Dale Earnhardt or the number of his car, presented so artfully in the picture above. For that he'll gladly loot his kid's college savings.)

Accuse me of unnecessarily stereotyping? Fine. I understand that in the past decade or two NASCAR has grown from its humble back-country beginnings to official title-holder of the Fastest Growing Sport in the Country. And hell, the Pacific Northwest almost got a track a couple years ago before things went screwy in Bremerton.

But even as the image projected by NASCAR has moved away from blue-collar bootlegger in order to capture white-collar fans and advertisers, its core audience still looks pretty much the same.

Not to get all Jerry Seinfeld on you ("I love NASCAR fans. My dad's a NASCAR fan!"), but the few guys I befriended who spent their Sunday afternoons rooting for Jimmy Johnson or Kasey Kahne all did kind of look alike. White dudes with ball caps and empty Mountain Dew bottles half-filled with their Skoal backwash.

Maybe that says more about my choice in friends than anything else. But it also gives me an idea.

Starbucks might not be able to interest most NASCAR fans in the product they sell. But since a lot of NASCAR fans also love themselves some chew, they do have something of interest to the man with a wad of dip stuck in his cheek and nowhere to discreetly release: cups. Lots of 'em.

Starbucks: The Official Spit Receptacle of NASCAR? Now that just might work.
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Attention Starbucks: NASCAR Fans Might Not Be in Your Target Market - Seattle News - The Daily Weekly
 
ROTFLMAO

I've got a news flash for Starbucks --- I'm not a fan of yours! Guess I'd better back up here --- I do not like Starbucks coffee. Too rich for my taste buds. That's what I meant when I said I'm not a fan. Besides, the closest Starbucks to me, is about an hour away.

I'm happy that the company has stepped up to help sponsor. Wish more companies would do so.

I'm still not going to drink their coffee, though. :D

As far as the article and writer ---- much ado about nothing.
 
Looks like the hate mail has begun........


I like how people say that southern people are bigots, narrow minded and unintelligent when this guy has fully embraced that concept.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
ROTFLMAO

I've got a news flash for Starbucks --- I'm not a fan of yours!

As far as the article and writer ---- much ado about nothing.
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Just try to keep in mind. Starbucks isn't the enemy here. You may not like Starbucks but they are now a sponsor of a sport that I assume you like. They are a supporter of the sport unlike the author of that blog post.
 
dpkimmel2001 said:
Just try to keep in mind. Starbucks isn't the enemy here. You may not like Starbucks but they are now a sponsor of a sport that I assume you like. They are a supporter of the sport unlike the author of that blog post.
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dpkimmel, I guess what I was trying to say, and did so poorly, is that I do not like Starbucks coffees. And even if I did, the nearest is about an hour away from my home.

I'm glad they stepped up to help sponsor a car -- wish more companies would do so.

The writer of the article has his own opinion of my sport, and I have an opinion of him.
 
Didn't Starbucks close a bunch of stores within the last 6 to 9 months?????
 
In my area they've closed down half of their locations..... Their only on every other street corner now. :beerbang:
 
This is off topic and probably a very DUM question but would someone explain to me in language I can understand what the hold is that Starbucks has over the public? I just don't get it. I've tried them and (a)They are so overpriced that it borders on the comical, (b) The coffee is nothing special. In fact I really don't care for the flavour at all, and (c) I can see the latte thing IF they're serving espresso but most of the crapichino's and frappes I see people with are just plain coffee with super-heated creme foam.

Maybe I'm just a bit slow, but I just don't get it. Explanation please?
 
Can't help you John.I don't drink coffee and never stepped 1 foot in a Starbucks.
 
Regardless if you like their product or not it's good to see a national company come forward with sponsorship.
 
SST55 said:
Regardless if you like their product or not it's good to see a national company come forward with sponsorship.
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I would have rather seen them re-open the stores they closed and put those people back to work than become a corporate sponsor of nascar.
 
John Galt said:
This is off topic and probably a very DUM question but would someone explain to me in language I can understand what the hold is that Starbucks has over the public? I just don't get it. I've tried them and (a)They are so overpriced that it borders on the comical, (b) The coffee is nothing special. In fact I really don't care for the flavour at all, and (c) I can see the latte thing IF they're serving espresso but most of the crapichino's and frappes I see people with are just plain coffee with super-heated creme foam.

Maybe I'm just a bit slow, but I just don't get it. Explanation please?
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I'm with you. Just give me a plain cup of joe with a touch of sugar.
 
Give me my coffee hot and black, like my women...

I have former friend that has been in NASCAR marketing for a while, and I made him mad one night back in the early 90's when we were talking about sponsors. I was joking about one of Dale Jarrett's new sponsors on his Busch car, White Rain shampoo and that it didn't belong in NASCAR, and it was a stupid. He then told me that any sponsor that pays is a great sponsor. Since then, I have seen everything from ED medications to Congressman running for Elections on sides of cars, and I laugh, but I am then thankful that they see the Value of sponsoring a NASCAR racecar.
 
SST55 said:
Regardless if you like their product or not it's good to see a national company come forward with sponsorship.
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Don't get me wrong. My question wasn't solely asked because I think their coffee is actually a poor excuse for coffee. That's just my opinion.

What I was questioning was this affection that apparently America has for Starbucks? As I previously stated, I'm probably a little "slow," and I admit to not being the brightest light in the harbor, but this one has stumped me since the first time I tried Fivebucks (Starbucks). I just don't get it.

I'm not a coffee addict but I have a pretty good idea of what good coffee tastes like. I also don't think my taste buds are that far off from those of the average American. I just DO NOT understand this obsession with Starbucks.

Is it a case of "Well, if I pay over $3-$4 for a cup of coffee, then it MUST be good?" Is it the concept of "There are seemingly Fivebucks on virtually every corner so I've got to drink Fivebucks to be part of the crowd?" Or is it, "I want to 'belong' so I'll walk around with the Fivebucks cup and thus be 'cool?'"

Or, is Fivebucks just a drinkable version of poodle skirts, Nehru jackets, bell bottom pants, or leisure suits?

Colour me flamboozled.
 
GREAT AMERICAN RACE FAN said:
Give me my coffee hot and black, like my women...

I have former friend that has been in NASCAR marketing for a while, and I made him mad one night back in the early 90's when we were talking about sponsors. I was joking about one of Dale Jarrett's new sponsors on his Busch car, White Rain shampoo and that it didn't belong in NASCAR, and it was a stupid. He then told me that any sponsor that pays is a great sponsor. Since then, I have seen everything from ED medications to Congressman running for Elections on sides of cars, and I laugh, but I am then thankful that they see the Value of sponsoring a NASCAR racecar.
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That was his point of view, but not NA__AR's. Ask Playboy, Trojan, or each of the last two major presidential candidates. There have been a couple more but they skip my mind at the present.

Although that stuff they call coffee isn't to my liking and I question and am at odds with a lot of Fivebucks' social and political positions, I have zero problem with its name being on a race car. Their money spends.
 
Starbucks is where the pretentious meet to try to fool each other into believing that they actually have lives.
 
WOW!! So much bad talk about a company who has chosen to spend their money on sponsership for a sport you like to watch and it costs you nothing!! Have some people become so ridiculous that they will criticize this company? There are pleanty of sponsers that have come and gone in this sport that may not be the NASCAR branding everyone is used too (butt paste, the bras sponser for Shawna Robinson) but seriously, they are spending thier money to support a sport you want to see.
 
wolfcub said:
WOW!! So much bad talk about a company who has chosen to spend their money on sponsership for a sport you like to watch and it costs you nothing!! Have some people become so ridiculous that they will criticize this company? There are pleanty of sponsers that have come and gone in this sport that may not be the NASCAR branding everyone is used too (butt paste, the bras sponser for Shawna Robinson) but seriously, they are spending thier money to support a sport you want to see.
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Maybe I'm reading things wrong but I haven't seen anyone criticize the company. I've seen people say they don't like the product and I've seen allegations alluding that the big draw to Fivebucks might be "Snob appeal." I have yet to read one post which states that Fivebucks SHOULD NOT be on a race car in NA__AR.

I have personally stated that I think their product is vastly overpriced but I think that same thing about groceries, automobiles and most other things in the open market.

The closest thing I've seen to criticism is my stated feeling that their stances on social issues and politics differ greatly from mine. That isn't criticism, except to the extremely thin-skinned. That's merely stating a viewpoint.

But then maybe my analytical reading skills have become atrophied?
 
wolfcub said:
WOW!! So much bad talk about a company who has chosen to spend their money on sponsership for a sport you like to watch and it costs you nothing!! Have some people become so ridiculous that they will criticize this company? There are pleanty of sponsers that have come and gone in this sport that may not be the NASCAR branding everyone is used too (butt paste, the bras sponser for Shawna Robinson) but seriously, they are spending thier money to support a sport you want to see.
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wolfcub, please point out where I said bad things about Starbucks being a sponsor. I simply said I didn't like their version of coffee.

I believe I said I was glad the company had stepped up to sponsor a car.
 
When I see Starbuck's I don't think of NASCAR I think of politically correct yuppies from Washington state. :sarcasm:
 
blue92 said:
When I see Starbuck's I don't think of NASCAR I think of politically correct yuppies from Washington state. :sarcasm:
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Yeah, that's what I see too. But just like those who see snobby people sipping wine at Sears Point, I'll welcome them...as long as they don't believe they are better than the rest of us...which seems to be what the writer of this article feels. I remember when people would day that a good cup of coffee cost 10 cents, but some of them now say a good cup of mocha grande latte, what ever that is, cost a fin. No thanks folks, I will brew my own or in a hurry bite the bullet and get a "cheap" cup at a fast food place.
 
TexasRaceLady said:
ROTFLMAO

I've got a news flash for Starbucks --- I'm not a fan of yours! Guess I'd better back up here --- I do not like Starbucks coffee. Too rich for my taste buds. That's what I meant when I said I'm not a fan. Besides, the closest Starbucks to me, is about an hour away.

I'm happy that the company has stepped up to help sponsor. Wish more companies would do so.

I'm still not going to drink their coffee, though. :D

As far as the article and writer ---- much ado about nothing.
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I do not drink Starbucks or Folgers.. :)

I didn't eat Kelloggs Corn Flakes either. LOL
 
kelloggs5TLfan said:
I do not drink Starbucks or Folgers.. :)
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i drink folgers :) i like coffee tasting like it did when i grew up. can't stand the smell of flavored coffee much less drink it. don't like it whipped or whatever either. i also like hot chocolate with marshmallows. don't go mixing them together and calling it something special. i confuse easily. <g>

glad to have starbucks as a sponsor. :)
 
"$4 doesn't describe what NASCAR's Average Fan might spend on a cup of coffee.." Well, obviously he hasn't been inside a track or he'd know what NASCAR fans have to pay for a beer..
 
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