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Sponsors celebrate the milestone

Come race day this Sunday, viewers tuning in to the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 on ABC won’t see any splashy advertisements from the race’s first presenting sponsor, PennGrade Motor Oil.

Much was made when Hulman & Co., the owner of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, revealed last year that it would offer the event’s first presenting deal, which it pitched for around $1 million to $1.5 million annually, according to sources.

But while the presenting role could have been viewed as more of a consumer-facing opportunity, D.A. Lubricant, the Indianapolis-based company that bought the PennGrade brand in 2014, is using it instead to connect with big-box retailers that may be open to carrying soon-to-launch PennGrade products.

Fuzzy’s Premium Vodka has crafted commemorative 100th running bottles.
That the presenting sponsor of a race that is expected to draw around 350,000 spectators in person and millions of television viewers around the world is using such a role for business-to-business purposes underscores the host of different approaches the sport’s sponsors are taking around the 100th running.

Thanks to the added attention around the milestone, sponsor activation around the 500 — from selling specially licensed products to deploying point-of-sale displays, purchasing tailored media buys and plastering logos all over Indianapolis on everything from parade floats to hotels — is widely expected to be at levels not seen in years.

“We’re taking a message to the streets that’s resonating,” said Rod Davis, chief revenue officer of IndyCar and IMS, who has added a combined 12 new sponsors since he came aboard last November. “We’re seeing a company like MillerCoors, who is extremely important and vital to our success here, and they have 150 different in-market promotions and 500 retail displays across retail channels [going on around the race].”

IndyCar now has 25 official sponsors, while IMS has 22.

In addition to MillerCoors’ consumer activation, other consumer-focused activation will come from IndyCar title sponsor Verizon. The telecom company will have an experiential display at IMS that highlights “Hum by Verizon,” the company’s smart-car solution. It will demonstrate other projects as well, and will provide charging stations. The company, which also will host a group of fans on the 10th floor of IMS’s iconic pagoda, runs the official IndyCar app and will give media members a tour of the company’s mobile app command center during the weekend.
Verizon’s agency of record is Just Marketing International.

Another business-to-consumer sponsor activating around the race is Indianapolis-based Fuzzy’s Premium Vodka, which has a team deal with Ed Carpenter Racing and an expanding relationship with IMS. The vodka brand, which was founded by golfer Fuzzy Zoeller in 2009 and has been involved in IndyCar sponsorship ever since, crafted two commemorative 100th running bottles for the race: A 750-milliliter bottle whose label pays homage to IMS and past 500 winners ($24.99), and a 1.75-liter bottle of vodka that is filtered through charcoal and lava 100 times ($100).

Fuzzy’s made 10,000 cases of each of the two types of bottles and will sell some of that stock on premises at the race. The company also will do print and digital advertising, have signage at Indianapolis International Airport the week of the race, and recently repainted and rebranded the Turn 2 suites area at IMS. CSM Sports & Entertainment is the company’s agency of record.

Shell, which is a longtime sponsor of Team Penske, will have signage welcoming race fans at 119 Shell gas stations across the Indianapolis area. The company’s Pennzoil show car also has been making appearances at auto parts stores and grocery stores in the area throughout the month of May, and Shell will be giving away free merchandise via “hotel drops” during race weekend. Shell’s agency in motorsports is Sports Dimensions.

Novo Nordisk, an insulin maker and sponsor of Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 83 Chevy driven by Charlie Kimball, will change the number of Kimball’s car for the race to No. 42 (SportsBusiness Journal, May 16-22, 2016). In IndyCar this season, Novo is pitching its new insulin product, Tresiba, whose key characteristic is that it lasts 42 hours.

One added twist at this year’s 500 from a sponsorship perspective will be that Honda, one of two auto

MillerCoors’ activation includes in-store promos around its Henry’s Hard Soda brand.
manufacturers in IndyCar alongside Chevy, will get to have a presence — a move that could raise some eyebrows since Chevy is the track’s official vehicle. But realizing the importance of the event, Chevy brokered a deal with Honda to allow the Japanese manufacturer to activate on-site in exchange for similar concessions at IndyCar races that Honda sponsors.

“It’s important for the health of the sport to find solutions that drive mutual value for the partners, and we’ve been successful in working with partners across the various series that we participate in to find that winning connection where everyone has a chance to benefit,” said Terry Dolan, director of marketing for Chevy Racing, which will have a consumer vehicle display at IMS that is twice the size of the one it typically brings to activate at NASCAR races. “We did specifically do some things at Indianapolis [with Honda] to enable an engagement that’s kind of different from years’ past; we felt it was the right thing to do to work that through with our partners.”

On the B2B side, hospitality programs will be robust. On top of selling out of grandstand seating for the 500, IMS sold out of permanent premium-seating options, including suites and the new Hulman Terrace Cub. It also sold more than 15 temporary hospitality chalets.

Global shipping company DHL, which has been a sponsor of Andretti Autosport since 2011, typically hosts a group of customers during the weekend, with activities such as a meet-and-greet with driver Ryan Hunter-Reay, a garage tour, and Andretti’s annual cocktail event on the night before the 500, according to Christine Nashick, DHL’s chief marketing officer. The company expects to host about 25 people, the same as other years.

Sherwin-Williams, the official paint of IMS and IndyCar, will entertain 80 customers and guests from Latin America, plus 25 to 30 guests from around the U.S.

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