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Marketing and Sponsorship

Higher ad rates lift NASCAR exposure value

The Daytona 500 was the top race in terms of media value, along with being the only race to make the list of top 10 brands ranked by exposure.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES

Brand exposure for companies doing business with NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series in 2012 totaled $1.21 billion, up 6.6 percent from 2011, according to the results of a study conducted by Repucom exclusively for SportsBusiness Journal/Daily.

The increase in value came despite a decrease in the overall number of exposures (down 12.6 percent), the total time on-screen duration (down 11.2 percent), the number of brands tracked (down 3.5 percent), and a decrease in viewership (down 3.6 percent) compared with 2011. Those negatives were offset because cost-per-minute advertising rates for the 29 races that were run through Sept. 30, 2012, increased 10 percent versus 2011. The final seven races of the year — six on ESPN, one on ABC — saw rates increase 15 percent.

Top 10 brands featured during the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Rank Brand Media value Change in rank vs. 2011 ($ change vs. 2011)
1 NASCAR $115,934,858 No change (+ $19,910,358)
2 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series $58,149,159 No change (- $1,599,412)
3 Chevrolet $51,974,922 No change (- $1,800,897)
4 Sprint $45,785,775 No change (+ $3,593,917)
5 Toyota $35,078,828 No change (+ $2,284,903)
6 Lowe’s $28,354,112 No change (+ $3,263,226)
7 5-Hour Energy $23,251,148 + 123 (+ $21,762,330)
8 3M $22,657,734 + 2 (+ $5,745,953)
9 FedEx $22,517,359 + 5 (+ $7,416,620)
10 Daytona 500 $21,552,997 + 16 (+ $11,470,146)
TOTAL ALL BRANDS $1.21 billion — (+ $75,224,773)

Top 5 Brand Moves: Changes in media value, 2012 vs. 2011

UP
Brand Change
5-Hour Energy + $21,762,330
NASCAR + $19,910,358
Farmers Insurance + $18,361,665
Daytona 500 + $11,470,146
Aaron’s + $11,114,500
DOWN
Brand Change
Red Bull -$15,488,845
Aflac - $13,674,395
Pizza Hut -$12,611,698
UPS -$11,666,631
Fox -$8,375,996

Key findings:

The NASCAR logo remained the top generator in media value for the third straight year, capturing 9.6 percent of the total value calculated for brands.
The increase in value for 5-Hour Energy can be related to its primary sponsorship of Clint Bowyer’s No. 15 car as well as an increased presence around the track and through network assets, according to Repucom.
Miller Lite finished the season ranked 15th in overall media value. However, when looking at team assets alone, Miller Lite, as primary sponsor of Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 car, ranked third in 2012 behind Lowe’s (Jimmie Johnson) and FedEx (Denny Hamlin).

For the study, Repucom analyzed the brand exposure of all TV-visible brands (more than 1,700 across the season) from all source locations, including cars, drivers, team equipment, broadcast graphics, track/promotional signage, and audio mentions from race broadcasts on ABC, ESPN, Fox, TNT and Speed. The broadcasts covered the 36 regular-season Sprint Cup Series races, the Sprint All-Star Showdown, the Sprint All-Star Race, the Budweiser Shootout and the two Gatorade Duel 150 races, for 41 events total. Pre-race coverage was included, but live race footage accounted for more than 90 percent of the media value generated for sponsors.

All visible exposures are scored based on size of logo, duration and placement on screen, among other factors. Also, for the purpose of summary calculations, each audio mention was assigned a duration of four seconds with a quality score of 100 percent.

The media values for brands, drivers and races are dependent on multiple factors including viewership, network advertising and broadcast sponsorship rates, and pedigree of the race itself. For example, 13.7 million viewers watched the two-day, rain-delayed 2012 Daytona 500 on Fox, down 12.4 percent compared with 2011. Still, it was NASCAR’s biggest audience of the year, and the race’s brands generated 161 percent more exposure value than the 2011 race because of the weather delay on Sunday and the red-flag incident during the Monday night telecast.

On the other hand, ESPN’s consecutive race weekends on Aug. 5 (Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono) and Aug. 12 (Finger Lakes 355 at Watkins Glen) produced the two lowest races in terms of overall media value. The broadcasts went head-to-head with NBC’s London Olympics coverage and were two of only three races without a title sponsor.

Top cars

Rank Car Media value Change in rank vs. 2011 ($ change vs. 2011)
1 Jimmie Johnson (No. 48) $56,045,749 No change (+ $12,188,308)
2 Jeff Gordon (No. 24) $37,410,169 + 2 (+ $2,816,112)
3 Denny Hamlin (No. 11) $34,323,337 + 5 (+ $11,318,379)
4 Tony Stewart (No. 14) $34,178,379 + 1 (+ $490,802)
5 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88) $30,583,098 + 2 (+ $2,498,449)

Note: This data includes all brands receiving exposure on the car and associated with the participant.

Key findings:

Johnson’s No. 48 car received the highest value for the third straight year and increased 27 percent in media exposure value from last year.
Series champion Brad Keselowski finished the year just outside the top five, ranking sixth and producing $29.92 million in media value, up 62 percent versus his 2011 output.
Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 car and Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 56 car finished 13th and 14th, respectively, in Repucom’s media value ranking. They were the only two of the 12 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship participants to finish outside of the top 12 in media value. Conversely, Kyle Busch (No. 18) and Carl Edwards (No. 99) were not in this year’s Chase but finished inside the top 12 for media value.

Top races

Rank Race Media value Change in rank vs. 2011 ($ change vs. 2011)
1 Daytona 500* (Feb. 26-27) $171,076,622 + 1 (+ $105,718,111)
2 Aaron’s 499 (May 6) $74,604,609 + 2 (+ $15,695,604)
3 Goody’s Fast Relief 500 (April 1) $72,639,611 - 2 (+ $3,760,484)
4 Federated Auto Parts 400 (Sept. 8) $63,755,815 + 7 (+ $15,695,604)
5 Coca-Cola 600 (May 27) $62,543,643 - 2 (- $2,105,087)

* Includes rain-delay coverage and coverage on subsequent Monday night
Note: Federated Auto Parts 400 aired on ABC. All other races listed aired on Fox.

Key findings:

The 13 “points races” on Fox produced more than 50 percent of the total household viewership in 2012.
The top 16 races in terms of generating media value were all featured on network broadcasts (Fox/ABC).
The preseason Budweiser Shootout on Fox produced more value than the season-ending Ford EcoBoost 400 on ESPN.
Despite being dethroned as the top race from 2011, the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 still increased in value by nearly $4 million.


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