NASCAR, Nextel paint the Big Apple yellow

Ad campaign makes racing bigger than life in New York

NEW YORK -- "You've come a long way, baby," may be an ad slogan from the business category Nextel replaced in NASCAR, but it appropriately sums up the extraordinary journey of the new title sponsor to NASCAR's premier series.

Ten short months and 11,000 laps after the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series began, Nextel has become a fixture in the sport, and has helped put NASCAR on the map in New York City. To celebrate Champions Week in New York, Nextel has painted the town yellow. Nextel's Big Apple marketing highlighted omnipresent ads surrounding the Waldorf-Astoria, site of the annual NASCAR Awards Dinner (Dec. 3, TNT). The clever ads are concentrated within a five-block radius of the Waldorf. They are found on phone kiosks, newspaper weights at the local corner stores, placemats in hotel rooms, key cards, vendor umbrellas, taxi wraps, and even on 150,000 coffee cups.

"The ads speak specifically to the NASCAR visitors in town in a New York tone," said Matthew McCartin of Nextel. For example, Nextel replaced street numbers with driver names representing their numbers. One ad reads "Your hotel is on Park Avenue between Jimmie Johnson and 59th Street." Another says, "The Empire State Building is on 5th Avenue, four blocks down from Elliott Sadler".

Visitors will learn that "The best hot chocolate is between 5th and 6th Avenue on Bobby Labonte. One ad drawing laughs is: "You can have sushi for $300 per person on 59th Street and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Nextel's promotional commitment is critical in the country's largest media market, said NASCAR Chairman Brian France. "New York is a very important market from a fan, television and corporate perspective," France said. "Nextel's creative and attention-getting marketing of NASCAR has helped us get noticed in a large and growing market."

The sport's promotional activities during Champion's week was highlighted by the jaw-dropping "Victory Lap" down Broadway on Thursday, Dec. 2. The New York Daily News headline summed it up well: "NASCAR Nation Ruled Times Square."

Said reporter Richard Huff who rode in a pace car: "I've done a lot of things and been to a lot of places, but riding that route ranks way, way up there. What struck me were the crowds beyond Broadway. I expected them there, but never did I imagine people standing there on Madison Avenue."

As NASCAR's top 10 rumbled by, one NFL marketing executive based on Park Avenue sent an instant message to NASCAR. "Dude," he said, "we are trying to have a meeting and your drivers are rattling our windows."

New Yorkers got a chance to belly up to stock cars all over the city all week long. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers got their game cards punched at each show car location to win prizes like a trip to the Daytona 500.

"Kurt Busch's No. 97 Sharpie Ford is in front of the Seagram Building, our office in the City," said Chris Stuart, a member of the partnership marketing group in New York who helped develop Victory Lap. "All day long, the FDNY's fire trucks have been pulling up, with firemen toting their game cards. That's pretty cool."

And for Nextel, effective, too. "This (NASCAR) sponsorship is probably the smartest thing I've done as the CEO of a company," said Nextel CEO Tim Donahue. He noted that NASCAR fans like fast cars and fast calls -- 500,000 Nextel phones were used at the track this year, placing 50 million calls, he said.

Nextel made sure the calls got through. Commiting millions of dollars to cellular-tower technology at track is "an investment we will gladly make," said Mark Schweitzer, SVP of Marketing for Nextel.

Donahue and Schweitzer believe fans are taking notice. Donahue said NASCAR fans are five times more likely to switch to Nextel.