Industry licensing leader pushes aftermarket items - NASCAR - Brief Article

Discount Store News, Feb 21, 2000 by Peter J. Gallanis

Branding is big business in the automotive arts industry. From DieHard to Penske, manufacturers and retailers are pushing hard to establish themselves as names known throughout the households of every DIYer in America. But none has taken the industry by storm with as much marketing muscle as NASCAR.

In its third year of its automotive aftermarket licensing program, NASCAR is truly taking off at retail. NASCAR licensed products are now in some 18,000 retail locations across the country and big-name retailers such as NAPA, Parts Plus, O'Reilly, CSK, Monro-Muffler, Kmart and Pep Boys are jumping on the bandwagon to promote the NASCAR name.

NASCAR has a unique marketing approach that limits its licenses to products that "make your car go," according to Odis Lloyd, director of automotive aftermarket products for NASCAR. "We don't offer our license on floor mats." In short, it targets products that enhance the performance of a vehicle. Odis said it also limits the license offerings to the top two or three products in any particular category.

NASCAR works with retailers in developing marketing strategies at store level. Parts Plus, for example, was able to take a generic NASCAR pop display and customize it to suit their specific customer needs. Similarly, Kmart, riding on the tide of the increase sales of Excide batteries, offers in-store videos in its automotive section touting the benefits of the NASCAR/Excide partnership.

CSK Automotive uses several types of marketing and merchandising for NASCAR, including in-store signage, flyers and videos. "It's a great marketing opportunity for the retailer and the manufacturer," Lloyd said. "Our logo is on their product and assists customers making a purchasing decision. That gives the retailer the ability to create marketing and promotional campaigns on selected products." Within CSK stores, those products include Excide batteries and various Prestone items, and the retailer airs NASCAR Garage Tech Tip footage over its instore video monitors to promote the lines. As an added incentive, CSK created a sales competition to reward top employees in six regions with VIP trips to NASCAR races.

On the manufacturer level, Goodyear has an exclusive agreement with NASCAR to provide a licensed tire line, the Goodyear Eagle, and will begin distribution this spring in addition to offering licensed belts and hoses.

A base element to NASCAR's national media campaign is its NASCAR Garage on the TNN cable station. The television promotions offer licensees airtime for licensed products and retailers that carry those products. The advantage is the segments are more detail-oriented than standard television commercials and target automotive enthusiasts to increase traffic at the store level. NASCAR also publishes Professional NASCAR Garage, a quarterly publication that reaches more than 300,000 industry professionals.

Some have found the licensee program very profitable for both the manufacturer and the retailer. Excide car batteries, for example, increased its market share by 15% for 1998. Goodyear increased sales 25% and according to 76 corporate research, 76 locations increased 120% growth and sales of 76 lubricant products to the aftermarket have increased 300% since the inception of the program three years ago.

Steve Boguski, managing director of NASCAR automotive aftermarket products said, "Our promotions at retail programs have been the focus of our aftermarket team to build value for licensees. Looking ahead, these promotions and more will be implemented."

Once such promotion at the installer and retail level is NASCAR, Your Car, which will run from March to June 2000. Elements of the promotion include monthly sweepstakes, consumer monthly sweepstakes, trade broadcast and print media, consumer broadcast media, pop offerings, trade signage and Internet exposure.

The promotion is intended to create brand awareness and recognition and associate consumers with the NASCAR name to encourage foot traffic in stores and increase sales.

Retailers will receive a promotional kit with pop materials that include posters with logos, gifts and the opportunity to buy official NASCAR limited edition leather jackets. The promotion will be marketed to the consumer on television, radio, print and on line.