Anatomy of an Official Sponsor

You've seen the ads that say, "XYZ Corporation, Official Whatever We Are of NASCAR." There are many such companies, and all have a vested interest in promoting their product through America's most visible and marketing-savvy sports medium.

Add to that list Office Depot, which on Monday became NASCAR's first "Official Office Products Partner." As the first in its category to commit to NASCAR, the Delray Beach, Fla.-based retailer is using NASCAR to fuel a shift in its marketing strategy going forward.

What exactly is an official sponsor, and what does Office Depot's money buy?

Well, let's start with category exclusivity in NASCAR's NEXTEL Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck series. There are NASCAR-themed customer promotions (both national and regional), NASCAR-themed television, print and radio advertising, NASCAR displays in Office Depot's 900+ stores throughout the United States, and advertising during NASCAR race telecasts on NBC, FOX and TNT and in a variety of national sports media. NASCAR also becomes an Office Depot customer for office supplies and services.

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"Part of the beauty of sponsorship in NASCAR is the many levels a company can become involved and get results -- from having a small contingency program sticker on a race car to supporting a driver or track to title sponsorship of the sport's premier series," said Andrew Giangola, director of business communication for NASCAR.

"An official partnership is complementary to these. Certainly, the right to use the NASCAR logo and name in promotional efforts and advertising materials is very powerful. NASCAR fans say they are three times more likely to purchase the products bearing the NASCAR name than non-sponsor products. Official partners also have category exclusive marketing rights and privileged access to NASCAR cross-promotional and B2B relationships."

What that means to Office Depot is that they can use the NASCAR logo to bolster promotion and marketing efforts across the breadth and depth of NASCAR's marketing powerhouse while at the same time delivering targeted, precise messages to the groups and areas defined as crucial to their business model.

In other words, Office Depot picked up about 100 horsepower over its competitors in terms of marketing and promotions toward its key business focus, which happens to be small business, women and minorities. Small-business owners make up approximately 80 percent of Office Depot's global sales across all channels.

"What we did when we took a look at our sponsorship strategy for 2005, we decided we wanted to find a national leadership property that had local relevance in our key markets and that would really speak to small-business owners, women and minorities," said Lynn Connelly, director of sponsorships and alliances at Office Depot.

"When we evaluated NASCAR across many different criteria ? and we evaluated every sports property ? NASCAR kept coming to the forefront. Over the course of the last three to four years, we've seen an increase in small-business owners who are fans of NASCAR, their TV viewership has increased and it's the No. 2 sport watched by women. All of those things were really attractive to us. Plus, NASCAR offers you a tremendous opportunity to activate the property. We are looking at very aggressive activation through media, all of our channels of business and through national and regional promotions. NASCAR really walks the talk, I have to say. People have been very responsive, creative and have worked very well for us. It's been a great property in that regard to align with. Our core strategy is to really attract the small-business owners and women."

As NASCAR continues to grow, more companies are looking more at NASCAR for the kind of reach and attention such a program offers than they are at other sports where the levels of interaction are not quite so defined.

"For us, it really is a pinnacle shift in our sponsorship strategy and how we are looking to reach our core customer," Connelly said. "It comes at a great time in our own company where we are very focused on some of the same values that NASCAR upholds. Office Depot is very focused on the same values, such as excellence of execution, discipline, commitment, focus and winning. That is where our company is today, so this property aligns perfectly to where Office Depot is today."

The program, which will also include a Nextel Cup team sponsorship to be announced at Daytona, is the primary national sponsorship platform for Office Depot in 2005 and will be incorporated into a new brand positioning effort, Taking Care of Business. In addition, Office Depot will also be involved with the developing NASCAR diversity initiative.

With such a large first step into motorsports, what would Connelly consider a successful first season for her company? "We want our driver to win every race, become the Nextel Cup champion, and for every small business owner in America to switch and buy all his office supplies at Office Depot. Failing that, we're not going to succeed," she said with a laugh, tongue planted firmly in cheek.

"Our success will be based on a couple of things. One, we have an absolute business model with an ROI [return on investment] that we are tracking against and all of our partners are aware of and lined up to meet and beat that ROI model. That would be one of the criteria. Internally, the passion and emotion and the values of NASCAR are embraced by our employees and certainly delivered back out to our customer. Already, we can feel the excitement and passion within our own company. Already we have seen quick success in that regard. In terms of our customer base, we are aligning with a property they are passionate about and they recognize that commitment. Aligning our brand with another great brand is always a very positive space to be in. To be with one of the hot properties in 2005 is a good thing for Office Depot."

That, in a nutshell, is what being an official sponsor of NASCAR in 2005 is all about.

NASCAR.COM's business feature appears each Wednesday afternoon. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.