A moment that went viral from last Friday’s Mets-Braves game has been a boon to gas/convenience store chain RaceTrac. The Atlanta-based company sponsors the Braves’ “Beat The Freeze” promo in which a fan races along the SunTrust Park warning track against a man in a superhero costume known as The Freeze. Friday’s race was shown on national highlight shows after the fan began celebrating too early and was passed by The Freeze after falling face first into the dirt. RaceTrac Dir of Communications & Partnerships Ashleigh Womack said, “We’ve only done the race a few times this season. Friday night was one of those moments where lightning struck and it was really engaging and fun. Maybe not as much for the fan at first, but really an engaging and fun result to what we kind of thought was a cool race.” The Freeze character, who is portrayed by a member of the Braves grounds crew who was a college track star, is an extension of RaceTrac’s frozen drink machines that serve a popular drink called Numbskull. On the machine, it says “Unleash the Freeze.” RaceTrac Partnerships Manager Terrica Bailey said, “We really wanted to tie in a product in our stores that could be fun and exciting for summer time, but then also have some branding behind it already.” The Braves began the promo on Opening Day and have typically been running it once a homestand. However, due to the buzz from last weekend, the team has switched up the schedule and plans on performing it more frequently.
TRAC & FIELD: RaceTrac has been partnering with the Braves since ’14 and has rights to the team’s marks and logos. The company runs promos such as Braves helmet bowls filled with ice cream and branded T-shirts. When it comes to activation within the ballpark, the RaceTrac logo can be found on LED screens every game. They also have the RaceTrac inning which takes place in either the second or third inning where if a home run is hit during that period, fans can take their ticket to a RaceTrac store the next day and get $5 off any food or beverage item.
