To learn best practices and discover tips for planning and selling auto racing promotions, as well as find inspiration in past success stories, flip through the slide deck from our How to Drive Revenue & Audience with Auto Racing Promotions webinar.
16. 2014 Grand Prize winner
AUTO RACING CHALLENGE PRIZES
receives all inclusive
package to Daytona 2015
Value: $4,200
37 weekly national prizes
NASCAR Fathead of your
choice from Fathead.com
#promotionslab
34. SAMPLE SALES PACKAGE
Promotion
Cost
Exclusive title sponsorship of 37-week racing game
$1,000
500,000 300×250 ROS impressions on website
$2,000
100% SOV expanding pencil ad on your homepage (up for the entire week before the start of the racing
season)
$2,000
Feature on homepage carousel promoting contest with logo for all 37 weeks of the season
$1,000
Email opt-in on the contest registration page
$2,000
Like button for the advertiser on the registration page
$1,000
Email campaign, all including the sponsor’s logo and coupon/offer
$7,000
Sportscaster to mention contest and sponsor each week (37 weeks) with logo on screen during the
sports segment of the nightly news
$20,000
Sponsor logo inclusion on all promo ads for the contest on
air and online
$1,000
Text blast to the promotions database of over 13,000 people encouraging entries
$2,000
Social media mentions with links back to the advertiser’s Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the
contest
$1,500
Up to 35 sponsor employees can participate as VIP pickers
$1,500
Mobile site ads linking to the contest page with logo
$1,000
TOTAL COST
$43,000
#promotionslab
35. SAMPLE SALES PACKAGE
Promotion
Cost
Sponsorship of 37-week racing game
$500
50,000 300×250 ROS impressions on website
$1,000
20% SOV expanding pencil ad on homepage (up for the entire week before the start of the racing
season)
$250
Email opt-in on the contest registration page
$500
Like button for the advertiser on the registration page
$250
Email campaign, all including the sponsor’s logo and coupon/offer
$500
Sponsor logo inclusion on all promo ads for the contest on air/print and online
$500
Up to 6 sponsor employees can participate as VIP pickers
$250
COST PER SPONSOR
$3,750
TOTAL REVENUE (5 SPONSORS)
$18,750
#promotionslab
45. Digital Activities of US Internet Users at Least Once Per Day
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
91% check
email once
per day
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Pinterest
Source: eMarketer
#promotionslab
YouTube
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
Text
Email
46. THE IMPACT OF EMAIL
Promotions
Build Your List
#promotionslab
An Engaged
Database Drives
Promotions
Revenue
47. THE IMPACT OF EMAIL
Contest Submissions by Day
400
350
300
Represents
70% of
Submissions
250
200
150
100
50
0
Day 1
#promotionslab
Day 2
Day 3
Email Sent
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
65. SAMPLE SALES PACKAGE
Promotion
Cost
Exclusive title sponsorship of 37-week racing game
$1,000
500,000 300×250 ROS impressions on website
$2,000
100% SOV expanding pencil ad on your homepage (up for the entire week before the start of the racing
season)
$2,000
Feature on homepage carousel promoting contest with logo for all 37 weeks of the season
$1,000
Email opt-in on the contest registration page
$2,000
Like button for the advertiser on the registration page
$1,000
Email campaign, all including the sponsor’s logo and coupon/offer
$7,000
Sportscaster to mention contest and sponsor each week (37 weeks) with logo on screen during the
sports segment of the nightly news
$20,000
Sponsor logo inclusion on all promo ads for the contest on
air and online
$1,000
Text blast to the promotions database of over 13,000 people encouraging entries
$2,000
Social media mentions with links back to the advertiser’s Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the
contest
$1,500
Up to 35 sponsor employees can participate as VIP pickers
$1,500
Mobile site ads linking to the contest page with logo
$1,000
TOTAL COST
$43,000
#promotionslab
67. THE IMPACT OF EMAIL
Contest Submissions by Day
400
350
300
Represents
70% of
Submissions
250
200
150
100
50
0
Day 1
#promotionslab
Day 2
Day 3
Email Sent
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
72. QUESTIONS?
Julie Foley
Director of Affiliate Success
@julie_foley
Emily Thousand
Affiliate Success Manager
@emilythousand
#promotionslab
Editor's Notes
At 37 weeks, auto racing is the longest-running national sports season in the United States. This is great news, because it means that you have the opportunity to run an auto racing pick’em contest and generate 37 weeks worth of sponsorship revenue and drive 37 weeks worth of audience engagement.
ChaneyComment & questions on TwitterQuestions RecordingSurvey at the end – your feedback is welcomed
Contest OverviewPlanningSeason Long Fantasy GameUGCSweepstakesHow to Sell ProspectPackageOvercoming ObjectionsSales Case StudiesHow to PromoteQ&A
Before you think the average NASCAR fan is a “Dukes of Hazzard”character come to life, Scarborough Marketing and Public Relations Manager Haley Dercher says the report offers some information that might surprise you.
While I might not be the #1 fan of nascar but I am the #1 fan of the opportunity around this sports contest! Scarborough researchshows fans are 13 percent more likely than the general population to purchase items like electronics. They are also As for what they already own, they’re 80 percent more likely to have an ATV, 61 percent more likely to own a boat.The U.S.’s No. 1 spectator sport, holding 17 of the top 20 highest-attended sporting events in the nationHuge Audience of Young People and Families75 million fans – 1/3 of the U.S. adult populationThe No. 2-rated regular season sport on television12.5 MM households watch the Daytona 50060% male, 40% female60% of fans live outside of “the South”46% of fans 18-44So if you thought that the Duke boys were your typical Auto Racing fans, think again. Its actually THESE people.
The Sprint Cup Series Champion for 2013 is Jimmie Johnson – winning his 6th title. There is a lot of excitement around Auto Racing. Let’s look at some of the promotions opportunities that go along with this sport. Not only do they watch the races – they are highly engaged with the brands associated with the stock cars36 Percent of NASCAR fans can name every sponsor of the top 30 ranked cars66 Percent of fans are willing to pay more to buy a sponsor’s product!
JULIEWe’ll discuss how to make money with auto racing and how to promoteyour contests later in the webinar but first we need to talk about howto plan your strategy.It’s true that your 37-week Auto Racing Pick’em will be at the core of yourpromotional campaign. However…Running auto racing contests throughout theseason will increase your overall revenue, reach,and database growth.So how do you come up with a strategy to keep your auto racingpromotions on track?
Managed each weekContest design – multiple platformsSales KitPlaybookLab articlesCase studies
Players select a team of ten drivers each week and receive points based on how those drivers finishEach fan’s best 15 races are used to compute the season score Second Street provides national prizesGame administrators can add local prizes Players can create their own private/public groups to play with friends
Play Anywhere! Desktop, tablet, mobile and inside Facebook
Play Anywhere! Desktop, tablet, mobile and inside FacebookCox Country Station in Dayton, OH
Package Includes 4 Days/ 3 Nights AccommodationsAirfare ($1,500 voucher) Two Tickets to the Friday Night RaceTwo Tickets to the Saturday Night Race Two Tickets to the Daytona 500 Race on SundayOfficial Daytona 500 Race Week ProgramTotal Packaged Valued at $4,200
simple enter-to-win sweepstakes is a great way to attract lots ofsubmissions and build your email database over the course of the season.The Toronto Sun’s Win a Trip to Michigan Speedway generated 4,170 entries!
Complement your season-long racing game and attract a slightly differentaudience with a custom contest like “Biggest Fan” or “Best Tailgate.” Youcould even get creative with “Tastiest Tailgate Recipes.But don’t use the term NASCAR
Ballots are a great way to engage your audience. This is an example of a Live HS football ballot from the Signal in Santa Clarita, CA. 800 users so far. 16,000 votes, 400 write ins (pre-seeded the ballot with a lot of options) Just launched 2 weeks agoAn auto racing-themed ballot could include categories like Best Drivers, Best Pit Crews, FavoriteSponsors, Best Raceways, and even Best racetracks for Tailgating. Run this at the beginning or end of the season to really capture the excitement of all things racing!
Once you have selected which promotions you are going to run and builtout a timeline for the season, it’s time to actually fill in your calendar.Use this sample calendar as a guide to help create your own auto racingcontest calendar. You don’t need to use all of these, so feel free to just picka few that would be a good fit for your market from the list. Be sure tointegrate it with the rest of your promotions calendar! REMEMBER we manage the Season long racing game so make sure to add that one to your calendar for sure! The revenue goals listed are for a mid-size market, but by no means feellimited by these numbers (or by the suggested dates).
We’ll discuss how to make money with auto racing and how to promoteyour contests later in the webinar but first we need to talk about howto plan your strategy.It’s true that your 37-week Auto Racing Pick’em will be at the core of yourpromotional campaign. However…Running auto racing contests throughout theseason will increase your overall revenue, reach,and database growth.So how do you come up with a strategy to keep your auto racingpromotions on track?
What are your goals? What are your advertisers goals?1: Increase customer acquisition(LEADS!!) for your advertisers.One of the best ways to drive foot traffic to your advertiser’s location is toinclude a coupon or offer on the thank you page or in reminder emails.2: Increase awareness & engagement.By including your advertiser’s logo on all contest branding and promotionalelements, you have the power to expose them to a wide – and activelyengaged – audience.3: Increase the size of your email database.91% of US Internet users check their email at least once a day. If you helpyour advertiser grow their email list by including an opt-in on theregistration pages, they will be able to generate more revenue with theiremail marketing campaigns.4: Increase social engagement.On Facebook, it’s all about engaging with your current fans and attractingnew fans. Running promotions is one of the best ways to achieve both ofthese objectives. In fact, the top reason that people Like companyFacebook pages is because of a discount or promotion taking place.5: Increase customer behavior data.You can include survey questions on your registration pages that willenable you to gather information about your advertiser’s customer base.This information both makes it easier for them to market more effectivelyand helps uncover hot leads that are ready to buy.
Full Promotions Team:MarketingSalesEditorial/Newsroom/Promotions ManagerITSupport
Sweeps (to build email list)37 week fantasy racing gameUGC photo contest to engage racing fansBallot to expand reach and create a “ Best of “ racing promotionJulie will give examples later in the deck
Look ahead two monthsConsider external factors – when racing season beginsConsider Internal factors – do you broadcast the races? Do you print a section on Nascar each week?Historical data and trends – how popular were your racing games in the past? How popular is racing in your market?Align with other company goals, efforts (sales, marketing/promotions, newsroom)Train your team on the power of promotions (sales/marketing)
Excite your sales teamCreate sales materials to make it easy for reps Give spiffs and bonuses Make promotions a part of the regular sales meetingHave a sales blitz
Now that you know all the great contest and promotion ideas out there for the racing season and have an idea of what your calendar is going to look like its time to SELL! This section is going to go over everything from sales targets to an example sales sheet! Lets get started!
SELLING TIMEFRAME: LATE NOVEMBER – EARLY JANUARYTHE BEST TIME TO SELL AUTO RACING IS RIGHT AFTER THE SEASON IS OVER. YOUR ADVERTISERS WILL BE EXCITED ABOUT THE NEXT SEASON (AND YOU’LL CATCH THEM RIGHT BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH)Go to the LAB for detailed list in the auto racing playbook.
Increase customer acquisition for your advertisers.One of the best ways to drive foot traffic to your advertiser’s location is toinclude a coupon or offer on the thank you page or in reminder emails.Increase awareness & engagement.By including your advertiser’s logo on all contest branding and promotionalelements, you have the power to expose them to a wide – and activelyengaged – audience.Increase the size of your email database.91% of US Internet users check their email at least once a day. If you helpyour advertiser grow their email list by including an opt-in on theregistration pages, they will be able to generate more revenue with theiremail marketing campaigns.Increase social engagement.On Facebook, it’s all about engaging with your current fans and attractingnew fans. Running promotions is one of the best ways to achieve both ofthese objectives. In fact, the top reason that people Like companyFacebook pages is because of a discount or promotion taking place.
As with any promotion, you can sell different levels of sponsorship for yourauto racing promotions.Targeting an exclusive sponsor is ideal if the advertiser wants to be thecenter of the contest or if they can afford the exclusivity. Markets large andsmall can sell exclusive sponsorships. The key to exclusive sponsorships isoffering a package that allows your advertiser to shine.
Another approach to make the offer appealing to your advertisers is tohave category exclusive sponsorship, where you only have one sponsor ineach category.
Targeting multiple sponsors allows you to build relationships with severaladvertisers. This approach works in markets both small and large.Targeting multiple advertisers, which allows businesses that can’t afford tosponsor the entire contest to participate can result in driving a largeamount of revenue for your media property. For an auto racing contest withmultiple sponsors, definitely take advantage of VIP pickers.
Once you have identified your sponsorship type, aligned your contests withany relevant special sections or programming, and bundled yourpromotions together, it’s time to put a price on everything. Start by thinkingof the value of each element in the sales package.Print, On-air AdsOnline AdsEmail Opt-in for the advertiserSocial elementsMobile/Tablet adsCoupons/Offers on Thank you PageAlign with a deal “store”Remember, everything has value!
Need some inspiration? The following is a sample sales package for asingle title sponsor for a season-long racing game being run by a televisionstation in a mid-size market.
Small market
WNOR FANTASY RACING can be attributed to helping generate over $75,000 in both Non Traditional Revenue and spot revenue. oftentimes the promotion is used to leverage ANNUAL or LARGE buys. For smaller direct accounts we use it for NTR. We have 7 sponsors including a nationally known Auto Parts store, Hooters, Hardees, and a locally owned family car repair shop.GREAT EXAMPLE OF A MULTIPLE SPONSORSHIP MODEL THAT RESULTED IN NTR FOR SMALLER DIRECT ACCOUNTS AND MORE SPOT REVENUE FOR NATIONAL ACCOUNTS
WAFX FANTASY RACING can be attributed to helping generate over $62,000 in both NTR and spot revenue. Many times this is used to leverage ANNUAL or LARGE buys, and other times its used for NTR. We have 11 Sponsors ranging from a Car Dealership to credit union to flooring company to RV dealership, and more.
We packaged it this year with another product because we were looking for an increase from Fannin Our total deal with Fanning this year is $43,040. Of that, $15,000 is the race contest. The rest is a rotating leader board on our home page.GREAT EXAMPLE OF EXCLUSIVE SPONSORSHIP MODEL THAT RESULTED IN LARGER DIGITAL BUY!
Wichita Falls, TXDMA: 142Sponsor: Texas Motor SpeedwayPackage: Spots and rotating banner ads on contest pagesPromotion: On-air (across NBC, Fox, MyTV and Bounce), Online, Email, Radio Trade and Social MediaPrizes: Two tickets to the race at the Texas Motor SpeedwayRevenue: $75,000 TV spots (during races) and $7,500 web
Thisclient doesn’t run any other advertising with us throughout the year, andhad turned down a traditional advertising schedule the year before. Thiscontest sponsorship got us back in the door with this advertiser. It’s the 2nd year they’ve sponsored this contest! Persistent ads on the contest pages, logo inclusion in all print and onlinepromo as well as in e-mails and on social mediaGREAT EXAMPLE OF EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR WHO ONLY ADVERTISES BC OF THIS NICHE TARGETED CONTEST THAT REACHES THEIR DEMOGRAPHICS IN AN ENGAGING WAY!
Our reps love selling these sponsorships for a variety of reasons: #1) Although I’m sure many women like racing, traditionally its been a male skewed sport and the majority of our listeners/viewers/readers (when it comes to RACING) are MEN.#2) It’s a LONG promotion(37 weeks) – the entire Nascar season. Sponsors get a lot of longevity in this promotion.#3) Our audience comes back week after week. Frequency FrequencyFrequency.#4) Its not complicated – both sponsors and reps like it for that reason. They put it in at the beginning of the Nascar season and its done.
EMILYListen up marketing guys and gals on the line! This section is for YOU!You can plan a great season, sell an amazing sponsorship but if you don’t promote the contests you’re running you won’t have any players – and isn’t that the POINT? Use these tips to generate great buzz for your paid sponsors and to increase audience on your site!
Base plans on Events, Advertisers and Special Sections calendarProvide promotions specific pitch decks to help sales reps explain how your media company will be promoting the contests
Email is the single most important piece of promotion you can do for your contests
Email (91 percent) and text messaging (83 percent) are still the most popular daily “social” activities.This level of activity places Twitter top amongst all social networks alongside Facebook (both have 76 percent of users logging in once or more each day), and ahead of Instagram (70 percent), Snapchat (67 percent) and YouTube (66 percent).Google+, Pinterest (58 percent each) and, surprisingly, Myspace (46 percent) round out the top ten overallhttp://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-activity_b45692http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Social-Usage-Involves-More-Platforms-More-Often/1010019
The more promotions you run. The more emails Virtuous circle
Quad City Times Advertiser Facebook Sweepstakes “Win Dinner for 10 at Red Lantern”July 1-9 collected submissions517 total submissions355 came the day the email was sent70% of contest entries came from the email
Mention the URL – have on the screen (if TV) and mention the URL at least 2x!
Don’t forget the URLMention prizes
ROS and homepage placement
Contest pageCarousel on homepage
Facebook in an app!
Facebook in an app!
Twitter
JULIE
Alternate title?
Auto Racing – not just for Rednecks anymore! If you thought typical race fans were THESE ppl you’d be wrong – Its actually these ppl! The U.S.’s No. 1 spectator sport, holding 17 of the top 20 highest-attended sporting events in the nationHuge Audience of Young People and Families75 million fans – 1/3 of the U.S. adult populationThe No. 2-rated regular season sport on television12.5 MM households watch the Daytona 50060% male, 40% female60% of fans live outside of “the South”46% of fans 18-44
Once you have selected which promotions you are going to run and builtout a timeline for the season, it’s time to actually fill in your calendar.
Use this sample calendar as a guide to help create your own auto racingcontest calendar. You don’t need to use all of these, so feel free to just picka few that would be a good fit for your market from the list. Be sure tointegrate it with the rest of your promotions calendar! REMEMBER we manage the Season long racing game so make sure to add that one to your calendar for sure! The revenue goals listed are for a mid-size market, but by no means feellimited by these numbers (or by the suggested dates).
Increase customer acquisition for your advertisers.One of the best ways to drive foot traffic to your advertiser’s location is toinclude a coupon or offer on the thank you page or in reminder emails.Increase awareness & engagement.By including your advertiser’s logo on all contest branding and promotionalelements, you have the power to expose them to a wide – and activelyengaged – audience.Increase the size of your email database.91% of US Internet users check their email at least once a day. If you helpyour advertiser grow their email list by including an opt-in on theregistration pages, they will be able to generate more revenue with theiremail marketing campaigns.Increase social engagement.On Facebook, it’s all about engaging with your current fans and attractingnew fans. Running promotions is one of the best ways to achieve both ofthese objectives. In fact, the top reason that people Like companyFacebook pages is because of a discount or promotion taking place.
Need some inspiration?
The following is a sample sales package for asingle title sponsor for a season-long racing game being run by a televisionstation in a mid-size market.
generate great buzz for your paid sponsors and to increase audience on your site
Email is the single most important piece of promotion you can do for your contests
In The Auto Racing Promotions Playbook you'll find chapters covering:How to PlanHow to Make MoneyHow to Promoteand MORE!
More details on sales targets? And how to sell? – go to lab –download the playbookWhen racing season starts? Feb 23rd DAYTONA! – Nov 16thHow long is season? 37 weeksHow does it work? Fantasy Racing – pointsDo you have prizes? Yes! Trip for 2 to DaytonaSmall Market How much should I charge? $100 per week x 5 sponsorsDoes auto racing take place ALL on Fox? Fox (Feb-May), TNT, ESPN and ABC