NASCAR’s digital ad sales group says it’s off to a fast start this year since bringing rights back in house from Turner Sports, signing 12 new partners offering fresh inventory.
NASCAR has been gradually bringing its digital rights back in house and took the final step this year with ad sales rights. NASCAR created a digital ad sales group, led by former Sports Illustrated executive Jon Tuck, who serves as chief revenue officer for the group and reports to Colin Smith, NASCAR’s vice president of digital media.
Tuck said the group has exceeded internal expectations thus far by signing the dozen new partners, who include ServiceKing, Penske Leasing, Busch beer, AAA, Eli Lilly and NAPA Auto Parts. Several renewals also have been secured.
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The Toyota-sponsored, food-centered NASCARnivore is among new sponsored content series.
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NASCAR also is making a more concerted effort toward selling paid social media integration this year, an option that’s already been snapped up by brands including Credit One Bank and Wix Filters. And it’s created sponsored lifestyle content series tailored to different aspects of the NASCAR brand.
“We started off the year really well, and we’re really confident that we’re going to be able to grow the business year over year,” Tuck said. “What most clients are looking for right now are real custom solutions; it’s very rare when the clients are buying just straight banner campaigns.”
Tuck’s team started off by focusing on its relationships with current sponsors in the sport to make sure their “digital experience is paying off for them,” something that could help mitigate concerns over sagging linear television ratings. It’s also working with teams to find new opportunities, exemplified by the deal with Penske Leasing, and canvassing the wider ad market.
The paid social media integration is among the newer forms of inventory being introduced. Tuck said the sanctioning body now typically includes social assets in wider sponsorships as well. He said NASCAR has established a percentage of posts to sell against in order to keep the sanctioning body’s feeds from becoming overly commercialized.
Another push this year is sponsored content series that leverage different aspects of the NASCAR brand. Toyota is sponsoring a new series called NASCARnivore, which is centered on the food culture around NASCAR races, and Eli Lilly is sponsoring an upcoming series around health and wellness in the NASCAR realm.
The digital ad sales group also is working to better integrate clients into NASCAR’s offerings on race day, when traffic typically spikes. This includes NASCAR’s Drive product, which has features such as in-car cameras and audio and which NASCAR says averages 42 minutes’ worth of engagement per user. ServiceKing was the presenting sponsor of NASCAR Drive as of last week.
So is the ultimate goal of Tuck’s group to better NASCAR’s bottom line or create enhanced value for stakeholders in the sport?
“Everybody understands the importance of digital and social engagement seven days a week, attracting the next generation of NASCAR fans,” Tuck said. “That’s ultimately what our mission is.”
