NASCAR and the Pentagon: As American as Apple Pie

The battle over spending continues to rage on Capitol Hill and while Republicans are keen to take an axe to the budget, one interesting item was spared: The Army’s sponsorship of NASCAR. The House gave the green light for that sponsorship to continue, rejecting an amendment that would have blocked the Pentagon from using taxpayer dollars for NASCAR ads.

The Army spends more than $7 million a year to sponsor NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Ryan Newman and several million more as part of a partnership with NASCAR. It says the prominent ads on the car and presence at the track help attract recruits.

Over the last decade each branch of the military has had a partnership with NASCAR. But now just the Army, Air Force and National Guard continue to sponsor teams - the Marines, Navy and Coast Guard dropped their own NASCAR sponsorships in recent years.

Perhaps the ads are working. Military recruitment is surging - the waiting lists to sign up are currently longer than they have been in recent years which could be a result of several factors: the still-struggling economy, high unemployment rate and the post-9/11 GI Bill, that pays for education and housing for family and service members who have served at least 90 days and were honorably discharged.

Recently NASCAR revamped its business and marketing model to reach new and younger audiences hoping to increase track attendance and TV ratings. NASCAR's audience had steadily eroded over the last four years due to a variety of circumstances, not the least of which was alienating its longtime, hard-core fans with a variety of changes: later starts to appease West Coast viewers; altering its rules that made for safer, albeit less exciting racing; as well as a tepid economy, rising ticket prices and skyrocketing gas prices.

The new integrated-marketing communications department has focused a good part of its attention to the critical 18- to 34 year-old demographic, using social media to help organize college viewing parties; developing a dedicated youth website; and promoting young drivers such as surprise Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne (age 20), Joey Logano (21) and, starting with the Nationwide Series Kroger 200 race this Saturday, action sports star Travis Pastrana (27). It is also expanding its outreach for branded entertainment in TV, films and music videos, and taking a deeper dive into the burgeoning Hispanic market with the creation of more Spanish-language content.

The Army saw an opportunity to leverage NASCAR’s strategy into a recruiting tool so it sank some serious advertising dollars into drag racing. They wanted a driver to be all he could be for them, personable with a heavy foot on the gas, as passionate for what the Army represented as he was for squeezing every nano-second out of his Top Fuel dragster. The Army’s sponsorship places an impetus among young fans that sharpens the focus and dedication, the idea being that a military branch active in a foreign theater provides more of a motivation than, say, selling auto parts.

The Army has maintained a presence in NASCAR since 2000, through direction from Congress itself. NASCAR, of course, is one of the most popular spectator sports in America, and if the Army wants to attract more people, then—stereotypes aside—there aren’t many better places than stock car racing.

All Publicity Is Good Publicity

Any brand will tell you that the pinnacle in publicity is to have your customers be your brand ambassadors since word of mouth is cheaper than any advertising campaign. Recently we encountered two situations (no pun intended) where this premise was put to the test.

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino doesn't usually require a lot of motivation to lose the shirt. But Abercrombie & Fitch wants him to go one further — the company offered to pay a "substantial payment” to "Jersey Shore" cast members to stop wearing clothes carrying their brand because the series is "contrary to the aspirational nature of the brand. We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image," the retailer said in a news release.

It may seem strange that a brand that employs half-naked models to stand outside its flagship stores and courted controversy with racy catalogs has come out with such an aggressive campaign against the hard-partying cast of "Jersey Shore." But the audacious approach is getting the teen retailer tons of publicity during the crucial back-to-school season, the second biggest shopping period of the year. The CEO says it's having fun with the ploy, and marketing experts say the company may wind up laughing all the way to the bank. "It's free marketing. Because the approach is so ridiculous, everybody's talking about it," said Wall Street Strategies analyst Brian Sozzi. Most companies spend millions paying movie stars to wear their brand, but Abercrombie & Fitch flipped that model on its head.

Peter Shankman, social media entrepreneur and self-described steak lover, was on a flight to Newark when he jokingly tweeted the following:

“Over the past few years, I’ve developed an affinity for Morton’s Steakhouses, and if I’m doing business in a city which has one, I’ll try to schedule a dinner there if I can. I’m a frequent diner, and Morton’s knows it.” said Shankman who insisted that he was merely joking and had no expectations from that tweet. But lo and behold! Next to his driver waiting at the airport was a Morton’s representative carrying a Morton’s bag with a Porterhouse. Shankman was so pleased and surprised that he tweeted out what happened to his 100k followers --some of whom wondered if it had been staged (was not) and if this would have happened if Shankman had had only a few followers.

Shankman credits Morton’s “spectacular” Customer Relations Management system and social media team (they know his mobile number) for going above the call of duty to make a customer happy. “Customer service is no longer about telling people how great you are. It’s about producing amazing moments in time, and letting those moments become the focal point of how amazing you are, told not by you, but by the customer who you thrilled. They tell their friends, and the trust level goes up at a factor of a thousand. Think about it: Who do you trust more, an advertisement or a friend telling you how awesome something is? We live in a world where everyone you meet is a broadcaster. Look around. Think of all your friends, all your colleagues. Do you know anyone anymore who doesn’t have a camera in their phone, or anyone who doesn’t have a Facebook or Twitter account?” Shankman said.

All this raises the question -- what are you doing with your brand that flip-flops the norms the way Abercrombie & Fitch did or that transforms your customers into brand ambassadors?