Tums not a stranger at bringing relief to racetrack

Considering the types of food that fans often enjoy at the racetrack, it makes sense that Tums would sponsor a NASCAR team.

When you've consumed too much or the tension on the track just makes you a little bit out of sorts, tummy-wise, head to the Tums Dinermobile and grab a new Tums Smoothie. It's the cure for what ails you.

"Racing is a great fit for the Tums brand," said Bill Kollitz, Tums brand manager for GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare. "The NASCAR fan is also a Tums fan. In fact, some 21 percent of NASCAR fans turn to Tums first when they have heartburn or indigestion, more than twice as frequently as they choose any other over-the-counter heartburn medication. There are many similarities between the personality of the Tums brand and the NASCAR fan -- down-to-earth, trusted friend, loves to celebrate with friends and family, and a focus on speed and fast action."

A NASCAR team sponsorship is also a great fit for the Tums brand, offering immense sampling opportunities and allowing the brand to carve out its own niche on NASCAR's landscape.

It's not like GSK is a stranger to racing, as Tums joins fellow GSK brands Nicorette, NicoDermCQ and Commit smoking cessation products and Goody's Headache Powders on the NASCAR sponsor and team list.

"There is a pretty positive feeling at GSK for motorsports," Kollitz said. "With now three brands involved in NASCAR, at the end of the day, what it all comes down to is, does it help sell the product?"

Tums has been involved in sampling activity at Speedway Motorsports Inc. tracks for the past two years, and Kollitz said that program has been very successful. "I've been out with samplers, and you hear first-hand the comments and the very positive feelings they have for the Tums brand. We figured we were on to something big and it was time to ramp up our program."

Ramping up is right, as Tums has jumped aboard as an associate sponsor of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and drivers Reed Sorenson and David Stremme. During the Texas race weekend, Sorenson will sport primary Tums paint on his Dodge, and the company will back that up with special events and sampling opportunities at the track. Stremme will wear the Tums colors on his Dodge at Chicagoland.

The sampling program remains the most effective part of Tums in-market activation strategy, Kollitz said.

"From a business standpoint, the ability to reach so many people with the Tums message of fast heartburn relief and simple solutions for heartburn is the key," he said. "We realized that a sample delivered at a NASCAR event has a high probability of turning into a sale. We have research that suggests that and actually backs it up. That's very important to the program, getting one of those Tums Smoothies samples, with that great taste and texture, into a fan's hand so they can try it.

"The other aspect of the sport that is attractive is the sheer number of people."

For those people, Tums Racing has engineered a national promotion to win an Ultimate Race Weekend getaway later on this season.

There's also a Web site, www.TUMSracing.com, which will launch just before the Texas race, featuring details about the program as well as schedules for appearances and other vital information, and the Dinermobile program will hit 18 tracks and other community events this year.

One of the neatest features of the new Web site is the Tums Track Tour dining guide for the NASCAR circuit. Full of dining tips and favorite places from drivers, team owners and media members (the real experts on any question involving food), it is a must-have for race fans.

Tums has banked its considerable market presence on NASCAR team sponsorship rather than other sports because of the unique mix of opportunity the sport affords its sponsors, Kollitz said.

"We really come at it from four different points," Kollitz said. "We have our on-track sponsorships, our at-track activation, partnerships with the trade and our reach into the home. From other sports, we don't have any sort of depth like we do at NASCAR.

"For example, we'll sample at a few NFL games, a few baseball games, doing some program ads for the Super Bowl, but nothing with the comprehensive scale that we have with NASCAR."

Kollitz is somewhat unique among program managers in the sport, as he has had some racing experience.

"A good friend of mine, his father was involved in SCCA racing and in Indy cars, and I would travel with him to four, five, six races a year and get a look at what went on behind the scenes," Kollitz said. "I've always had that interest, growing up.

"Having that experience, it helps me relate to what the race fan would like and what would resonate and what doesn't. It's definitely helped in the learning curve, let's put it that way."