gnomesayin
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Helping out with the suggestion to create a sponsor news thread. Glad to see this topic move away from the Deathbed thread, which opening always felt like walking through a puddle beneath a leaking sewer pipe. You'd try to skip over it, but sometimes it's too wide.
Here's an article centering around activation as it relates to Toyota's sponsorship of the Richmond races.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mauryb...the-bar-for-nascar-sponsorships/#2c0ef5eb4c68
Here's an article centering around activation as it relates to Toyota's sponsorship of the Richmond races.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mauryb...the-bar-for-nascar-sponsorships/#2c0ef5eb4c68
Richmond Raceway And Toyota Set The Bar For NASCAR Sponsorships
Maury Brown
Toyota Owners 400 Weekend at Richmond Raceway will see loyal Toyota owners exposed to a number of perks that builds brand loyalty and has others asking, "How can I get in on this?"
Sponsorships have changed dramatically in sports over the years. The days of just seeing signage at an event has shifted into a myriad of ways that businesses work to activate deals to give them maximum exposure and return on their investment.
For motorsports, sponsorships are the life blood of the teams, and tracks. No longer satisfied with 200 mph billboards, sponsorship deals have gotten creative in not only establishing brand but building out relationships at the track that eventually culminate in sales.
For those watching on television this weekend, the ToyotaCare 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Friday, and Toyota Owners 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on Saturday night under the lights at Richmond Raceway may appear to just have “Toyota” as an entitlement sponsor to highlight a car manufacturer that sees drivers such as Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., or Denny Hamlin at the wheel. But at the event, how Toyota is engaging with customers that have purchased their vehicles, or thinking about changing car or truck brands, is setting a standard that other sponsorships should look to.
As a way of rewarding loyal Toyota customers, as well as working to lure others to the brand, multiple levels of hospitality are provided at the race. That can include special Toyota owners parking where you simply show your key to gain entry; to light food and drink hospitality areas; to driver meet-and-greets; to a Toyota based autocross course that drivers will take loyal owners through; to having passenger cars and trucks on display to examine up-close; to having access lanes for Toyota owners to get in and out of the track easier. All of which provides a massive brand presence at Richmond Raceway. While being part of this “hub”, Toyota will gather information from existing or possibly new customers that filters into leads for potential sales.
“This is our seventh year of doing the ToyotaCare 250 and the Toyota Owners 400, and Richmond has always been a very important market for us,” said Ed Laukes, Group Vice President, Toyota North America. “It’s especially important for us in the NASCAR community because it’s Denny Hamlin’s home, so Richmond was a really nice fit for us when we at Toyota got involved with racing in NASCAR.”
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The entitlement sponsorship and how it is activated shows a direct correlation to sales. Regionally, Laukes said that sales have increased 8% in the Richmond area while within the region the increase is 6%. And while not all of that is attributed to the entitlement sponsorship of the ToyotaCare 250 and the Toyota Owners 400, there’s a firm belief that is playing a strong part in it.
A key aspect of sponsor engagement at NASCAR events is the amount of time that customers are at an event. Given that the Toyota Owners 400 Monster Energy Cup Series race is at night, that dwell time is longer, and thus allows Toyota to continue to relationship build.
For Tanner Hulette, Vice President Page Auto Group, there is a direct tie between not only customer sales through the Toyota activation at Richmond Raceway, but service and maintenance. “There has been a regional effect,” Hulette says. “We have seen initial customer growth through ‘conquesting’ – bringing in customers from other car brands over to Toyota. But the larger story is what it’s done for the ownership experience and the parts and services aspect.” Hulette went on to say that due to the direct connection to customers at the events, it’s leading to an increase in seeing vehicles serviced at Toyota dealerships.
Toyota owners get preferential parking treatment as part of the sponsorship deal at Richmond Raceway such as preferred parking
HARRELSON PHOTOGRAPHY
For Richmond Raceway, having Toyota as a partner moves beyond just the races that will take place this weekend. It provides year-round relationship building.
“The benefit of working with Toyota at the national, regional, and local level allows us to engage with them all throughout the calendar year to improve the experience,” said Dennis Bickmeier, President, Richmond Raceway, adding that the idea is to enhance the race weekend for the fans. “We’re fortunate to work with Toyota on all three levels. That allows us to promote the Toyota brand 365 days a year, not just on the weekend of the ToyotaCare 250 and Toyota Owners 400. Whatever we can do to help drive fans to dealerships to help sell the Toyota brand, that’s what we’re here to help do.”
The Toyota partnership goes past just this weekend. Richmond Raceway will host regional dealership meetings at the track once-a-month throughout the year, further building the ties between the track and Toyota at the regional level that Bickmeier said shows a level of engagement and commitment to the partnership with Toyota
Ultimately, sports sponsorships are about bringing an audience to a product. Toyota’s presence at Richmond Raceway – not only visually with traditional brand exposure through signage, but in engaging and providing experiences to current and potentially future car owners – is a successful one. The synergy between the track, its location within the region with NASCAR fans, and Toyota make it a strong bond that provides a benchmark for others.