Raising Cane's
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers is launching a major national marketing campaign around rising NASCAR driver Toni Breidinger at all of its stores through April, in one of the larger consumer-facing activations around a driver in years. The Baton Rouge-based QSR aligned with Breidinger last year by serving as primary sponsor in one race in the ARCA Menards Series and doing in-store and social media activations. It was its first time in racing. The company has more than 750 restaurants total between the U.S. and global markets, and it had $3.3B in sales and $647M in profit its last fiscal year, according to Bloomberg. It has become popular with Gen Z, with Piper Sandler data last year showing that it was the fifth most popular restaurant with teenagers.
The 24-year-old Breidinger has quietly started to become a marketing powerhouse in NASCAR despite not being at the premier level yet, with sponsors including Toyota, Celsius, Victoria’s Secret, PepsiCo’s Gatorade brand and Mattel’s Hot Wheels. She has more than 2 million Instagram followers, the most of any driver in NASCAR at any level, along with another 2.3 million on TikTok -- and she is the first Arab-American female driver in NASCAR. Breidinger is represented by L.A.-based agent Alvina Roman, President of Roman Empire Management & Media, which has its roots in the entertainment space.
Roman originally set up the Raising Cane’s deal by cold-call emailing company CEO Todd Graves, who has become a billionaire through the QSR chain. Now, Raising Cane’s is taking things to the next level by featuring her in billboards, in-store signage and menu items at every one of its locations in America, a nearly unheard of level of activation even for Cup Series drivers let alone for one who isn’t a full-time driver even in NASCAR’s lower levels. Breidinger competed in the season-opening NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race last weekend at Daytona, where she made headlines and stirred controversy on social media for a candid post-race interview. That was the only Truck Series race she is slated to run this season as of now as she seeks more sponsorship, but she has plans to run 20 ARCA races and more than a dozen events in other series. The marketing campaign from Raising Cane’s is meant to emphasize the speed of the QSR's service, along with its support of women athletics.
That a brand like Raising Cane’s would partner with a driver who has NASCAR’s biggest social media following but is not racing at the sport’s top level is an indication of how social media is changing racing. Hailie Deegan, another female driver in NASCAR who is No. 2 in Instagram followers in NASCAR after Breidinger and No. 1 on TikTok, has said she hears from brands often who are more interested in leveraging her social media than the space on her race car. Raising Cane’s Head of PR Megan Sprague said in an email: “We love Toni’s story and what she stands for, and she has a real passion for the brand, which made the partnership a no-brainer.”
Brooke Faw, VP/Client Experiences at Bespoke Sports & Entertainment, said the campaign is proof of how modern CMOs are putting a greater focus on social media. Faw: “How much of a social following an athlete has is as much, if not more, important than what the ratings are for the sport they play. The younger audience wants to feel like they’re connected to the athletes they follow. Toni has the strongest social media following of all NASCAR drivers, including Cup drivers. Her ability to reach her 2M+ fan base is attractive to any brand, especially one considering expanding into major NASCAR markets.”
Other QSRs in NASCAR include McDonald’s and Wendy’s. Several casual dining restaurants also did activations at Daytona International Speedway this past week including Chili’s and Golden Corral. Roman told SBJ: “Todd Graves and the Raising Cane’s team has been so innovative in Gen Z marketing, and now they are setting the bar high supporting and funding female athletes.”
Raising Cane's x NASCAR driver Toni Breidinger
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