Forget paint schemes … Ganassi Racing has plaid schemes.
Longtime Ganassi partner Target this week will roll out a major marketing effort tying together the retailer’s fall plaid fashion campaign with its NASCAR sponsorship. During each of the nine remaining Sprint Cup Series races this season, Ganassi driver Kyle Larson’s No. 42 Chevrolet will feature a different plaid pattern.
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The No. 42 Chevy will sport plaid paint schemes.
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The Minneapolis-based retailer, which is offering more than 360 items in the tartan pattern with not just traditional garb like T-shirts but non-traditional items like Coke bottles and ChapStick capsules, will start the tie-in this weekend with a tan, checkered scheme for the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
“Whether it’s a Mello Yello throwback or a camo design honoring fallen military men and women on Memorial Day Weekend, we are constantly working to bring unique paint schemes to life that highlight key Target initiatives and some of our top vendor partners,” Dan Griffis, Target’s vice president of experiential marketing, wrote in an e-mail. “We are even planning to run a houndstooth car in Talladega as a way of celebrating Alabama’s favorite coach, Bear Bryant —
it’s a way to show our style and nod to those fans.”
The campaign, which will be unveiled and promoted via digital and social media, represents the most extensive integration of an overarching Target fashion campaign to the race team in the 26-year association between Target and Ganassi. This is not lost upon Steve Lauletta, president of Ganassi Racing, who called Target’s move a plus for his company.
“To be able to take the platform of plaid, which is going to be everywhere in store, and bring it to the racetrack with a different look each week is something we haven’t done before and are very excited about,” Lauletta said. “Hopefully it’s a connection back to Target to get all the NASCAR fans to Target and fill their homes with plaid.”
From a timing perspective, Target’s idea to initiate this tie-in was optimal because NASCAR’s Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs start just as summer ends. The effort also won’t be limited to the paint scheme itself, as Larson’s firesuit and his pit crew’s uniforms also will be plaid. And Target will loop in plaid activation during the upcoming Ganassi Sound Garage event, which the race team created as a way to marry pop culture, racing and millennials.
“It’s fantastic — particularly because it is style and that is the DNA of Target,” Lauletta said. “Using a platform as big as NASCAR to help more NASCAR fans know it’s a focus in the store — I think it’s a win-win.”
