Conseco's sponsorship of A.J. Foyt's new NASCAR Winston
Cup team and its official sponsorship of NASCAR are intended
"to further the efforts to make Conseco into a financial
'brand name,'" according to Bill Koenig of the INDIANAPOLIS
STAR-NEWS. Conseco Exec VP Thomas Kilian: "We've made it
clear Team Conseco is here to win. We're pumping in
substantial resources into this." The company, which viewed
sports sponsorship as "part of the drive to establish the
Conseco brand name," began looking at NASCAR in March.
Conseco Exec VP/Marketing & Strategic Planning Stewart
Stockdale: "We kept coming back to NASCAR. The fan base was
the same market. We're a middle-market player." Conseco
said that it chose NASCAR because well-established companies
such as Coca-Cola and Kodak are already involved in NASCAR.
By "racing alongside such corporate titans, Conseco figures
some of their luster will rub off." Conseco execs also saw
the "potential of Team Conseco merchandise to further the
'branding' campaign." NASCAR feels Conseco will help
diversify "its traditional sponsor base of beer, motor oil
and cigarettes." NASCAR VP/Admin. Dennis Huth: "It opens
some doors that weren't open before" (STAR-NEWS, 9/11).
NEW DEALS IN RICHMOND: In Charlotte, Jim Utter reported
that Pontiac and Chevrolet will sponsor the two Winston Cup
events at Richmond Int'l Raceway for the next three seasons.
Pontiac has sponsored races at the track "for the past 13
years" and the May race will continue to be called the
Pontiac Excitement 400 through 2002. Chevrolet will take
over sponsorship of the September race from Exide to
"promote its Monte Carlo nameplate." The race will be
called the Chevrolet Monte Carlo 400 (CHAR. OBSERVER, 9/11).
