Marketing and Sponsorship
Geico fills NASCAR’s insurance category
The deal deepens the company’s ties to the sport
NASCAR has signed Geico as a new corporate partner, filling one of the most important open categories for the sanctioning body.
The multiyear deal, which will be announced this week, designates Geico as NASCAR’s official insurance partner and will cost the insurer a low-seven-figure annual rights fee, according to people familiar with the matter. The spend could rise if Geico becomes one of NASCAR’s premier partners in its new sponsorship model debuting in 2020. NASCAR is seeking closer to $20 million annually for premier partners, and some industry executives have predicted that Geico is a top candidate to take the position.
Geico also sponsors Germain Racing’s No. 13 Chevrolet.getty images
Geico already has a sizable presence in NASCAR across the team and track levels, including race title sponsorships, campground sponsorships and a seasonlong primary sponsorship of the Germain Racing team’s No. 13 Chevrolet. But this deal will grant the insurer exclusive status in the category, rights to league marks, added hospitality assets, and additional track advertising and media assets. NASCAR has not had an insurance partner since Nationwide vacated the position after 2017.
Daryl Wolfe, NASCAR’s executive vice president and chief sales and partnership officer, said the deal took about six months to put together. Scout Sports & Entertainment negotiated the deal on behalf of Geico.
“Geico not only is one of the top advertisers in the country, they’re also a very edgy brand, smart marketers and longtime supporters of our sport … so we’re very excited about this new partnership announcement,” said Wolfe, who also serves as executive vice president and CMO of track operator International Speedway Corp.
On top of the value and assets granted by becoming an official NASCAR partner, Geico will get additional restart zone branding at several tracks. In 2016, Geico landed rights to 11 of ISC’s 12 tracks to get large, camera-visible branding painted on the race restart areas. Geico also will now have them at five of Speedway Motorsports Inc.’s eight tracks.
Geico executives were not made available for comment. The company has recently signed deals with the NCAA and one for the jersey patch of the Washington Wizards. It is a 2019 Sports Business Awards nominee for sponsor of the year.
“Any time that you can take a brand and asset that we have collectively built equity in and expand it even further across the entire sport, that’s a real positive thing because the entire stakeholder base can now come together to collectively market it,” Wolfe said. “That builds even more equity into it in future ... so I do believe it is incredibly additive and the best part is so do they.”
