NASCAR’s Chase playoffs kick off this weekend with turtle power.
This year marks the sixth straight season that Chicagoland opens the Chase, and this time it does so with a robust marketing plan from title sponsor Nickelodeon. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 is designed to shift attention to the animated franchise following this summer’s release of the Paramount Pictures film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.” The Sprint Cup Series race comes just days before the DVD release of the film.
The race marks a change in venue for Viacom-owned Nickelodeon, which last year titled the SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway. The title sponsorship is part of a multiyear deal with track owner International Speedway Corp. that a source valued in the mid to high six figures annually, and is part of a broader push into the sport in recent years by Nick.
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“They’re very activation savvy,” Chicago-land’s Scott Paddock says of Nickelodeon, which has a multiyear deal with track owner ISC.
Image: COURTESY OF NICKELODEON
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“They’re very activation savvy, and when you get an entitlement partner that’s willing to put resources behind the event to really enhance the guest experience, that’s just tremendous from our perspective,” said Scott Paddock, president of Chicagoland. “I always believe that the kickoff of the Chase should have a bigness to it and should be electric … and we just continue to develop momentum around that coveted position on the calendar.”
Nick’s presence at the race will be tied to a “Team Turtles vs. Team Foot” theme, referencing the Ninja Turtles’ nemesis in the series, the Foot Clan. The activation includes seven paint schemes on cars between the weekend’s Sprint Cup and Xfinity series races for the four hero turtles plus three members of the Foot Clan. Nick is asking fans to “pick a side, choose your ride” and cheer on the car with the paint scheme of their favorite character.
Nick will have costumed characters around the track, a kids zone filled with photo opportunities and special artwork, and will be filming for its NASCAR-themed show “Hammer Down.” The channel also will have a hospitality presence and will debut its co-branded merchandise line it created with the sanctioning body.
Victory Management Group is handling marketing and PR for Nickelodeon.
“NASCAR’s demonstrated a really progressive interest in reaching kids and families, and bringing experiences to them, and that’s opened up a number of opportunities for us like this race,” said Anthony DiCosmo, Nickelodeon’s senior vice president of sports marketing and development.
On top of the presence from Nick, Chicagoland renewed efforts this year to get Chicago-based businesses to have a presence at the track. That resulted in doubling the number of displays in its Champions Park activation area this year, Paddock said. Locally based companies that are participating include McDonald’s and agricultural company Brandt, which has a new activation area in the infield fan zone called “Let’s Talk Food,” showcasing the role agriculture plays in bringing food to families.
Paddock says the approximately 55,000-seat track is “just about where we want to be” on ticket sales heading into the race and is sold out of premium hospitality, trackside billboards and grandstand banners. He added that camping metrics are pacing ahead of 2015, too. The track also recently sold its restart zone naming rights to American Ethanol, which is using the event as a test for a possible ISC-wide deal for the on-track areas.
Meanwhile, Nickelodeon is already committed to returning to Chicagoland next year and is evaluating which franchise to promote. DiCosmo listed “The Loud House” or a ’90s theme as possibilities.
“We have some fun properties that definitely translate really well in this sport,” DiCosmo said.
