Is $27 Million Too Much For Primary Status Of A NASCAR Team?
Posted: 7/13/2009 11:31:31 AM by
William Chipps | with 4 comments
Heard at this past weekend’s NASCAR race that Aflac paid $27 million last year for its primary sponsorship of Carl Edwards’ Roush Fenway Sprint Cup Series team.
Talk about buying at the top of the market.
To be sure, Aflac does a good job activating the sponsorship, at least through TV ads. There’s no escaping that pesky duck.
But really, one has to consider what else that kind of money could buy. Speaking in ballpark terms, $27 million would easily cover the cost of other national marketing platforms—ranging from nonprofits to stick-and-ball pro sports teams—with millions to spare.
I don’t mean to pick on Aflac, but you’ve got to wonder what kind of return they’re getting from the sponsorship. $27 million is a boatload of money, and really drives home the need to use the sponsorship to garner new and incremental business, not just as an add-on to TV commercials. Presumably Aflac is gaining ROI from B2B and B2C audiences as a result of the sponsorship. If not, good luck justifying that kind of expenditure to the company’s top brass.
On an unrelated note, heard that Ask.com—NASCAR’s only new major sponsor for the ’09 season—has pulled its merchandise trailer for driver Bobby Labonte. Apparently the search engine blew its activation budget during the first half of the season.
Read more blog posts
Filed under: motorsports, NASCAR, sponsorship measurement