I never said being a winner, or driving out front didn't work when it happens. I said "the days of measuring successful sponsorship based on how the car finishes on the track are long gone." Trust me...I've sat through sales presentations from just about every single team in the garage. They're mostly the same. "Here's how much each part of the car costs for X number of races, and here's how well we do on the track, so here's how many people should see your message." Honestly...you'd smile if you knew how similar each team's "sales presentations" were. And they always start off with "we're not like any other team." It's actually charming.
The investigation that went into the National Guard is the smoking gun that supports my point. There's no doubt in my mind the National Guard got significant return on investment from their association with Jr. No doubt whatsoever. Problem is, other than Repucom or Joyce Julius numbers showing what kind of race day exposure the brand got - no one else had any kind of other pertinent data. NASCAR sponsorships have got to work harder than race day logo recognition.
Also...many big time NASCAR sponsorships are born from top executives being NASCAR fans (a CEO, President, Marketing Director etc). They typically have personal relationships with the owners (Hendrick, Gibbs, Richard C etc...all guys who usually have very good relationships with, and are responsible for bringing in and keeping many relationships). The relationship tends to last as long as the executives last. Sometimes, the execs are replaced by other execs who are ok with the NASCAR $$. Other times (Office Depot, UPS, many more) an executive is replaced by someone who says "what the hell are we getting out of NASCAR anyway?" It's up to the teams to be able to prove significant ROI...and very few are able. Many sponsorships are a house of cards.
But back to the original point - if you're sitting back until Sunday, and praying the driver and paint scheme does well that day for marketing purposes, you're doing it all wrong. Race day should be the celebration of a successful marketing program, not THE marketing program. Top finishes should be gravy, not turkey.
