Nationwide sees payoff as No. 2 series title sponsor

John Aman, advertising and brand officer for Nationwide Insurance, made a bit of a splash earlier this year when he addressed the annual NASCAR Sprint Media Tour presented by Lowe's Motor Speedway.

He brought with him to the podium a clear-sided box full of dollar bills, saying that the proceeds were from folks who had referred to NASCAR's No. 2 series by its former name. Each slip cost a buck, and at the end of the season, Nationwide would make the combined take a donation to charity.

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It was a big hit, and in the months since Nationwide became the series sponsor, NASCAR -- the organization, its teams, drivers, sponsors and fans -- has been giving back, though not quite in the way that Aman first anticipated.

"The boxes full of dollar bills aren't filling up as fast as we'd thought they might, and I think that's because we showed we'd be good-natured about this," Aman said. "Because we weren't being ogres about it, it became easier for people to remember what they were supposed to say. They weren't as nervous about slipping up because we were having fun.

"We will still make a donation at the end of the year, whether the barrels are full or not."

While the boxes might not be filling up, Nationwide's customer rolls are, and it's a direct response to the company's NASCAR sponsorship.

"Something that hasn't happened in the other sports properties we've done is that I've received three or four e-mails just this week from agents saying, 'I just wrote two pieces of business today because we sponsor NASCAR,'" Aman said. "The story goes something like, "so-and-so just got their premium renewal notice from a competitor, there was an increase, they know that we are sponsoring NASCAR now, so they called, I quoted and I now write their car, their home and their ATV. Thanks a lot, and keep it up.'

"The other thing we're seeing is in our phone centers -- we can't confirm yet why, but we believe it has to do with the NASCAR sponsorship -- are a little bit busier on Monday than they used to be."

That's quick work even for NASCAR.

"The NASCAR folks have been very professional, they have engaged very well and we are impressed with the talent they bring to the experience from a marketing standpoint and the effort they are making to understand our business so they can participate with us to make this work," Aman said, on the heels of last week's launch of its national Driving While Distracted campaign.

That campaign, designed to help parents and young drivers understand the dangers of not concentrating fully on the road when at the wheel, is one of many initiatives Nationwide presents to its customers, both current and potential.

"The Driving While Distracted program is something Nationwide has been looking at for a couple of years as we try to strategize on how to reach teenagers and their parents," Aman said. "So it's part of the overall Smart Ride program that we've put together for parents and teenagers, to teach them ways to be smart while driving. One of those ways is to not be distracted while you drive, hence the name.

"We have 37 percent of the youth out there admitting to distracted driving, saying they've text-messaged while driving, and a third of them saying they've driven in some sort of distracted manner. These are very dangerous things to have happen, especially when someone is just learning to navigate on the road."

Nationwide is using its position as a series sponsor to drive that message home, Aman said. The company will bring NASCAR drivers to local high schools throughout the country to drive home the message that multitasking behind the wheel puts drivers and their fellow motorists at risk. Students and community members will receive a firsthand look at the impact driving while distracted has on their driving abilities while racing in a NASCAR simulator.

"It gives us a chance to merge the safety design aspects of NASCAR and their exceptional drivers, and in our series most of them are up-and-coming drivers," he said. "Teens will listen to them when they deliver a message on how to properly conduct themselves on the road. What we understand in general is that teenagers will listen to a 22-year-old better than they will a 50-year-old."

The first event in Nationwide's national campaign kicked off April 2 with NASCAR drivers Kenny Wallace and Brad Coleman in the Dallas/Fort Worth area at Southlake Carroll Senior High School.

For more information on this unique program, a combined venture from Nationwide and the National Safety Council, visit www.NationwideSmartRide.com, a Web site to provide parents and teens free tools and resources to help develop safe drivers and reinforce smart behavior. It is available free to anyone regardless of whether they are a Nationwide customer or not.