Second But Best? Carl Edwards' Marketability Discussed
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Edwards' Success, Personality
Making Him Highly Marketable |
The marketability of NASCAR driver Carl Edwards was profiled prior to ABC's coverage of the Sprint Cup Dickies 500 at Texas Motor Speedway yesterday, and ABC's Allen Bestwick said while Edwards, who is currently 106 points behind Jimmie Johnson, "may not take the championship ... if there were a title for ‘Most Marketable Driver,’ Carl would win that hands-down.” Bestwick: “From magazines to TV commercials, Edwards is everywhere." CNBC’s Darren Rovell said a company “needs a winner, and that’s really where it starts. From there, it gets to how good is that person’s personality, how likeable is the person. Even though it’s a product pitch, it somehow has to come off as genuine.” ABC’s Mike Massaro noted Edwards “has generated big bucks from sponsors.” Aflac will pay a reported $78M over the next three years to be the primary sponsor of Edwards' No. 99 Ford, and Edwards was also "sought-out by Subway to be their spokesperson in 2009.” Rovell: "The question for a company isn’t whether to use Carl Edwards or not. It’s ‘Does he have anymore space on his firesuit or his car?’” Rovell added, "There’s only a couple of guys that have really transcended a sport. He’s good-looking, he takes care of his sponsors, he has sponsors that invest in him and he’s got the flip. That total package makes Carl Edwards one of the next big stars” (“NASCAR Countdown,” ABC, 11/2).
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