NASCAR and Chip Ganassi Racing on Friday jointly announced that they both have signed deals with Credit One Bank. The Las Vegas-based company, which is one of the top 10 Visa credit-card issuers in the country, is becoming the official credit card of NASCAR and a primary sponsor of CGR’s No. 1 Chevy driven by Jamie McMurray for three races this year. Terms were not released, but a source valued NASCAR's deal in the seven figures annually. The source added Ganassi’s deal is likely in the neighborhood of $1M annually. With NASCAR, Credit One Bank fills the rights formerly held by Bank of America, which exited its role as official partner after ’15 and opened up a range of rights accordingly. NASCAR Exec VP & CMO Steve Phelps: “We’re excited to have some energy in this particular part of the category; Bank of America had kind of gone in a different direction with when they first acquired MBNA (for $35B in ‘06). It was still pretty fertile and there was some money going there and then they just sort of stopped. So it’s nice to be in this portion of the category with someone who is so eager and is going to spend some significant money marketing this product to our fanbase.” The bank, whose agency of record is Bespoke Sports & Entertainment, was landed by NASCAR Dir of Licensed Ventures & Business Development Peter Landman.
AFFINITY CARD COMING: Credit One Bank as part of the deal will launch an affinity card with NASCAR marks and logos, plus other rewards. It is readying a sizable media campaign that will include TV, digital/social and radio advertising -- which will feature McMurray -- and sweepstakes and promos. Credit One Bank has also struck a deal with Fanatics to have a showcar outfront of the Fanatics trackside merchandise tent that travels from race to race, and will have representatives on hand to talk to fans about the brand. Credit One Bank VP/Marketing Communications Laura Faulkner said, “We’ve been looking for opportunities to expand our awareness and brand presence in the marketplace for quite some time now. We looked around to the opportunities available to us; NASCAR is an iconic brand and really provides the ideal opportunity for their sponsors to activate their brands on a national level. We found that really appealing.”
