In an effort to "revitalize the buildup" to the Indy
500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) has "boosted" ad
spending 2,000% from '98, to about $10M this year, is airing
ads by Wieden & Kennedy and is "permitting sponsors to more
frequently use" the track as a "backdrop for marketing,"
according to Bill Koenig of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS.
Although the "race itself" still draws the largest one-day
crowd for a sporting event, "attendance has diminished" for
practice and qualifying sessions. Now IMS is "following the
lead of other racetracks and trying to market the entire
spectator experience." IMS VP/Sales & Marketing John
Newcomb: "We're behind where we should be on the
entertainment side" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS, 5/14).
NO BULL: In Winston-Salem, Mike Mulhern profiled RJ
Reynolds Sports Marketing Enterprises President Cliff
Pennell in a two-part series. While "skeptics have said
that tobacco companies' racing sponsorships were doomed,"
RJR's NASCAR program is "thriving." Pennell, on NASCAR:
"What we're attracted to is still there -- a lot of folks at
the tracks. Our market is adult smokers, and there are a
bunch in Winston Cup racing" (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 5/9).
More Pennell, on NASCAR's future: "I see it continuing to
rotate its fan base and bring in new fans, from primarily
middle America" (WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL, 5/10).
