True Value, Gatorade, A-B, Mattel, EA Sports, Visa and
Wrenchhead.com are "in as sponsors" of "NASCAR Rocks," the
CBS/NASCAR 30-city summer music tour featuring the Allman
Brothers, according to Terry Lefton of BRANDWEEK (See THE
DAILY, 3/26). CBS Sports Senior VP/Marketing Keith Ritter:
"There is still a misperception among some people who buy
media that NASCAR fans are a bunch of yahoos, which may be
why you don't see any computer or financial services
sponsors. This is an attempt to get them to open their
minds and at the same time get a new audience to taste it a
little bit." McDonald's is not an official sponsor, but
will print concert schedules and feature a "premium offer"
on 76 million bags. The tour begins June 12 in Denver
(BRANDWEEK, 3/29). Among cities hosting the Allman Bros.
and other "up-and-coming" musical acts are Boston, Chicago,
Philadelphia, Charlotte, Nashville, New Orleans, Dallas,
Phoenix, Las Vegas, L.A., S.F., Seattle, Detroit, Cleveland,
Atlanta, Kansas City, St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Houston
(Langdon Brockinton, SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 3/29).
TRADE ROUND-UP: The SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Andy
Bernstein reports that Gulf Oil has "agreed to a one-year
sponsorship pact" with MLB that will make it the official
gasoline of the league and of the '99 All-Star Game. Gulf
will feature a series of MLB promos and is paying an
estimated rights fee in the "low six-figures."....In other
news, Bernstein adds that Conoco will become a "founding
partner" of the Pepsi Center in Denver and will install a
Conoco filling station on the arena parking lot....Time
Warner's Fortune has retained TX-based The Marketing Arm as
its sports marketing agency. Fortune "plans to make a major
sports push that could include sponsorships, conferences and
various advertiser incentive programs" (SBJ, 3/29 issue).
...BRANDWEEK's Becky Ebenkamp reports that K-Swiss is going
for a "bigger share" of the U.S. footwear market with an
$18M ad campaign that "positions it as a performance brand."
Four ads break this week on MTV, Fox Sports and ESPN, as K-
Swiss links "its brand to four up-and-coming athletes,"
including minor league baseball player (Tigers OF prospect)
Gabe Kapler and UNLV tennis player Luke Smith. K-Swiss
VP/Marketing Debbie Mitchell: "Michael Jordan and the top
athletes are not selling shoes anymore. Kids can relate to
up-and-comers more than the pros" (BRANDWEEK, 3/29).
