The deal is for the No. 48 Chevy driven by Jimmie Johnson, whose contract expires after next seasonGETTY IMAGES
Ally on Friday announced that it has extended its full-season sponsorship of Hendrick Motorsports through ’23, a three-year deal that is a significantly positive development for the NASCAR team. The deal is for the team’s No. 48 Chevy driven by Jimmie Johnson, whose contract is currently slated to expire after next season. The team did not announce his future but noted that the sponsor extension almost certainly ensures that the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion will retire as an Ally-sponsored driver. Ally Chief Marketing & PR Officer Andrea Brimmer told THE DAILY Friday morning the company has seen a strong start to its relationship both from a B2C and B2B perspective. On the consumer side, Brimmer said Ally’s brand awareness and consideration metrics are up substantially this year, which she partially credits to the HMS relationship. On the B2B side, Brimmer said Ally’s business relationship with Hendrick Automotive Group is also growing. She added: “I don’t think we ever came in thinking that it would be just a two-year deal. We came in knowing that we wanted to be committed long-term. A lot of it was just seeing the way fans responded to us as a sponsor and seeing the way the sport responded to us as a sponsor.”
NOT JUST A FILL-IN: Ally replaced former full-season sponsor Lowe’s this year. Brimmer has said since the deal got announced last October that she aimed to make Ally a disruptor in the NASCAR sponsorship space, and the brand has done unique activations this year. One included letting fans at some races wearing old Lowe’s-sponsored merchandise get free new Ally merchandise. Ally also brought a cheering section to the Boston Marathon to support Johnson as he ran the race earlier this year. Brimmer: “If I had to pick someone to be the ultimate representation of our brand, it would be Jimmie.”
