NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson at the '13 Motorsports Marketing Forum in Las Vegas said that racing early in his career on a smaller budget ended up helping him land the No. 48 car with Hendrick Motorsports and build his brand into what it is today. While off-road racing for Chevrolet early in his career, Johnson, because of limited budgets, was forced to build a brand on his own. “I thought Chevrolet had this magical budget and that they could write a big check and place me with a race team and make things happen,” he said. “That’s not the way things work. But they could help introduce me to people. … (Chevy) would put me in front of sponsors and team owners and drivers.” Johnson: “The toughest thing for me is to sit down in a meeting and tell them what my brand is. ... The brand is important, but the brand to me that’s most important is hoisting those trophies.”
The event, hosted by SportsBusiness Daily/Global/Journal, wraps up today at the ARIA Resort & Casino. Today's sessions include a presentation on driving sales from Eastman & Beaudine CEO Bob Beaudine, as well as panel discussions on "Big Series: Big Events: Creating the Ultimate Fan Experience," "Cessna: Using NASCAR Team Sponsorship to Drive Business," "Go on Yello: The Coca-Cola Co. Moves to Mello Yello for the NHRA Title Sponsorship" and "Firestone: Continuing to Build the Brand through its IndyCar Sponsorship."
For more updates from the conference, see our On The Ground blog.
