Hello everyone! As the semester is coming to an end, this will be my final post. This semester has brought me a wealth of knowledge about marketing and I have tried to use that knowledge to help you understand the marketing within NASCAR. I also have used everything that I have learned in my marketing class to put on an event. I tried to focus on the main points that I believe are most important to marketing. In my first blog post, I discussed the diversification analysis of NASCAR. This took into account looking at current and new products with current and new markets. My second post looked at the voices of NASCAR and how they use opinion leaders. My third post was about market segmentation and looked to the many different aspects of NASCAR fans. Finally, in my last post, I wrote about the new product process and how NASCAR must keep on using new products to stay up to date with technology and what the fans want to experience. All of these helped to convey marketing concepts and terminology. Marketing can be seen everyday almost everywhere you look. There is not much that is seen that is not a form of marketing. When you look at objects, there will most likely be a brand name on it. Everywhere you go will have some sort of marketing to keep you going there or keep you buying the products.
In order for marketing to exist, there must be someone there who is willing and able to buy the product or service. The customers have great power over what products succeed and what products fail. However, customers do not always know if they want a product or even need a product. This is where the marketing comes in which the company tries to give the information needed in order for the customers to know how to use and give a reason why they should buy their product or service. The marketing process starts and ends with customers. There are many roles of marketers. When marketers advertise, they are trying to gather information in order to get it out to their target markets, those who they believe will buy the product most. Before sending out an advertisement, research needs to be done in order to have people put into groups of similar nature in order to effectively advertise. Once the advertisement goes out, information is collected based on how effective the advertisement is. This can be based off of sales revenue, reactions, and how many people it reached. This impacts the market research and finances of a company.
Companies have moral and ethical standards when it comes to advertising. Sometimes there are issues that companies have within an advertising campaign or just as a company in general. This past week, Starbucks was in the news because they were racially profiling two black men and had them arrested because they did not buy anything, but there were other people in the restaurant that also did not buy anything, but nothing was done. This led to some bad news and people wanting to boycott Starbucks. After this, Starbucks found it to be their responsibility and this is leading to them closing 8,000 stores one day for bias training. This is Starbucks trying to show they have a responsibility to their customers that they are fair and ethical. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/business/starbucks-arrests-racial-bias.html
Lastly, I would like to write about my experience in advertising for this class. A group of friends and I had to make a commercial for an event that we ran. Our event was a Guitar Hero Tournament to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Vermont. For our commercial, I never realized how much work went into them. First, we needed to come up with a storyline for the commercial, had to prepare, film, and edit. We also made some posters in order to spread the word about our event. Word of mouth was the best method of advertising for us as people spread the word and the event grew to what we expected. We believe that our event was a success as we only spent $3 and made over $200 to benefit Make-A-Wish.
I would like to thank you for following me on this journey. As my marketing knowledge grew, it came through in the blog posts. I hope I was beneficial in your learning about marketing and the marketing within NASCAR. It was great to write about two things that I am passionate about. Below you will see a picture of my favorite driver, Denny Hamlin, in victory lane at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (I attended this race). Once again, thank you for reading!
With all forms of entertainment, it is clear that there needs to be change in order to be successful in business. In the sports industry, there has been declining numbers in attendance at live sporting events as well as viewership on television. The sports are always trying new ways to get more fans and to keep their fanbase. In this post, I will look at the new-product process for NASCAR. This process includes 7 steps which include; new-product strategy development, idea generation, screening and evaluation, business analysis, development, market testing, and commercialization. (Marketing the Core, Kerin & Hartley)
The first step in the new-product process is a new-product strategy development. For NASCAR, over the past 10 years, there has been a decline in both the fanbase and the viewership. They needed to find a better way to be innovative, but not too innovative that they lose their fans. Since they are mostly a service industry, it is hard to tell what will work and what will not. The second step is idea generation. NASCAR uses two groups for most of their ideas which are the Driver’s Council and the NASCAR Fan Council. Over the past couple of years, these groups have allowed for a lot of change in NASCAR. The Driver’s Council has made the biggest impact in the past 2 years as they have introduced stage racing and the new points system. To go along with this, NASCAR has decided to change to digital dashboards and allow fans to access the data from the cars. This makes the sport a lot more fan friendly and allows fans to be more invested in the sport.
The third step is screening and evaluation. NASCAR mostly uses internal screening because fans do not necessarily know what they want. Internally, the drivers usually know what to do in order to make the racing better. For stage racing, it definitely helps with the racing throughout the race as drivers would just ride around until the end because there was no incentive to race throughout. Now, they get bonus points and stage points throughout the race. The fans also have a say externally. They can use surveys to tell NASCAR what they want and this also led to the new points system and stage racing. The fourth step is business analysis and what market strategy is needed to make their ideas successful. Within this process, they have to try to get the fans to understand what they are trying to get across. They were able to do this through news conferences where reporters could ask questions about what they were trying to do. This was important because the reporters could put NASCAR’s words into easier language to understand.
The fifth step is development. An example of a product in the development phase in NASCAR would be the digital dashboard. Last year, they were testing the abilities of the dash to see what it could do. They were able to work out the bugs in the system and offer the fans the best product possible to the fans. NASCAR was able to monitor all the digital dashboards and they figured that it would be beneficial to have the fans have access to it. The sixth test is market testing. An example of this would be in last year’s All Star Race. During the All Star Race, they tried new things. The biggest experiment was the tires. They had a softer tire compound which meant that the tire would be faster during a short run and very slow on the long run versus a harder tire which would do the opposite. They tried this and found out that it did not really create much difference in the racing and the fans did not really enjoy it, so it was an unsuccessful prototype.
The final step is commercialization. This can be seen when NASCAR released its new points system and stage racing. Not many fans were very excited about it to start, but it has grown on many of them. The stages have definitely made for better racing throughout the race and has led to more action on the track. The points system has definitely made a huge impact as there has been a lot of drama with it. The drama leads to a lot of fans choosing sides with drivers and makes them come back for the next race to see if anything will happen.
Market segmentation aggregates prospective buyers into groups that have common needs and will respond similarly to a marketing action (Marketing the Core, Kerin & Hartley). NASCAR is very difficult to understand in regards to market segmentation. With NASCAR being a nationwide sport, there are many different groups that the marketing team of NASCAR must reach in order to have the sport be successful.
There are four main bases of segmentation; geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral. Geographic segmentation is based on where prospective customers live or work. Demographic segmentation is based on some objective physical, measurable, or other classification attribute of prospective buyers. Psychographic segmentation is based on some subjective mental or emotional attributes, aspirations, or needs of prospective customers. Finally, behavioral segmentation is based on some observable actions or attitudes by prospective customers. (Marketing the Core, Kerin & Hartley)
First off for NASCAR, they must look at the geographic segmentation of their customers whether it be for ticket sales or people who watch on television. This is a very difficult segment because NASCAR is spread throughout the country with 23 tracks in 20 states ranging from the West Coast of California to the Northeast in New Hampshire. As the sport began, it was mostly a southern sport because that is where it was founded, but over the years, it has expanded greatly. This means NASCAR must market to people who are close to the tracks for ticket sales and to the whole country for those who want to watch on television.
The demographics of NASCAR is a wide range as well. Fans may differ from North to South, but they are all passionate about the sport. The fanbase is primarily men (67%) with much of the population being aged from around 18-54. Their income is usually lower around the $30,000-$50,000 range with some above and below. One key stat is that one in every five NASCAR fans is a minority. (http://www.brentsherman.com/PDFS/NASCAR.pdf)
The mentality and emotional attributes of NASCAR fans are pretty similar. Diehard NASCAR fans are usually very compulsive when buying tickets or making sure they see the races every week. They are usually very extroverted and love to communicate with other fans when they are at or watching a race. Lastly, they have the needs of wanting quality racing, low prices, and convenience. NASCAR has tried to increase the quality of racing through stage racing, they have been lowering prices so more people can afford to go to races, and they have tried to make it more convenient to shop at the track and watch the races live.
Finally, NASCAR must look at the behavior of their fans. It is usually a little expensive to attend a NASCAR race so many of the fans are turning to just watching it on television instead of going to the race in person. This means that the usage rate for television is much greater than that of attending races at the track. NASCAR fans are aware of the product, but are never sure of it when something changes. This is when they need to be educated about the changes and it may take awhile for them to accept them. The customers of NASCAR are usually regular fans and the additions to the fanbase are usually through current NASCAR fans bringing them to the track to watch a race.
It is clear that NASCAR has to do much analysis about the segmentation market in order to be successful. Looking at the geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral segments, it is seen that the population is different from north to south. The one thing that NASCAR fans all have in common is that they are passionate about the sport they love to watch and attend.
The opinion leaders in NASCAR have shifted greatly over the life of the sport. An opinion leader is an individual who has social influence over others (Marketing the Core, Kerin & Hartley). When you look at NASCAR, there have been many drivers who have had influence on the sport and on the fans and this has impacted the sport greatly. I will discuss how the opinion leaders of the fans have shifted throughout NASCAR’s history and how the opinion leaders within the sport has helped to change the sport to what it has become today. From NASCAR’s inception, it is clear that it has a huge opinion leader with Richard Petty. Petty has a record 200 wins and is tied with two other drivers for the most championships at 7. Petty has had strong influence on NASCAR and marketing to its fans. Petty was sponsored by STP in his famous #43. Since he did so well in his career, he is well respected by almost all the fanbase.
When Petty’s career slowed, Dale Earnhardt Sr. came in as the fan favorite. Known as the Intimidator, Sr. made his presence known on and off the track in his #3 black Chevrolet Monte Carlo. He had great influence on the fans as he compiled 76 wins with 7 championships. Dale Sr. would make commercials for Monte Carlo, Wrangler, and Goodwrench. All these sponsors would stick with him throughout his career and his fans would stick with those sponsors as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Irqc5Udmg
Dale Sr. lost his life suddenly on a last lap crash of the 2001 Daytona 500. When this happened, the racing community was distraught and did not really know what to do. The racing community knew one thing, the Earnhardt name. After the tragedy, most of his fan base stuck with the Earnhardt last name and decided to pull for his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. has had a strong influence on the racing community as you can hear the crowds go crazy whenever he takes the lead or gets a win. As 15 consecutive time Most Popular Driver driving the famous Budweiser #8 and AMP Energy #88, he was a huge spokesperson for Budweiser, AMP, and the sport.
Alongside Jr. is Jeff Gordon who has had a strong impact on the sport. Sponsored by DuPont, Axalta, and AARP in the famous #24, Gordon compiled 93 wins and 4 championships. Gordon appeared in many commercials with his sponsors and for NASCAR. He also changed the sport from being mostly a southern sport to a more nationalized and corporate sport.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McI4SuA_xK0
Danica Patrick had a huge influence on the fan base as well. She had 7 top 10s in her career and a pole in her rookie season in 2013 for the Daytona 500. Patrick has had a great influence on female racecar drivers and is looking to retire from NASCAR after the Daytona 500 on Sunday.
These three drivers have had great influences on the sport and as Gordon retired after the 2015 season and Jr. after the 2016 season, there has yet to be someone as influential as these drivers within the sport for the fanbases. With the 2018 season just beginning, NASCAR is looking to see who their next most influential driver will be. There are many rookies and young drivers who can take over the sport as well as seasoned veterans such as Jimmie Johnson who has had great success within his career. As NASCAR looks for their Most Popular Driver for the fanbase, they also have influential drivers in the Drivers Council. The Drivers Council is key to new ideas and information for NASCAR. Before the 2017 NASCAR season, the drivers knew that they needed to make a change to make the racing better. They looked at some of the fans’ suggestions as well as brought up some of their own suggestions to make the racing better. There is no better person to come up with ideas about racing than those who participate within it every week. The Drivers Council has definitely made an impact on the sport of NASCAR and the racing. The stage racing is creating more exciting races throughout instead of just the end. The new points system is helping to crown a champion more over the whole season then the previous 10 race playoffs. They have also been advocates for cars with very little downforce so that the drivers have to wheel the car more. The Drivers Council continue to have strong influence on the sport of NASCAR and they look to continue to make the sport better in the coming years.
Hello everyone, I am Eric DeBlasio and I am currently a junior at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. I am an accounting major with a triple minor in mathematics, economics, and business. As part of the business minor, I am taking marketing and this blog will focus on marketing within sports, mainly in NASCAR because I have a strong passion for the sport. As the semester goes on, details of this blog and the connections of sports to marketing will be much stronger as my knowledge increases. In this post, I will be writing about the evolution of the diversification analysis in NASCAR. Diversification analysis is “a technique a firm uses to search for growth opportunities from among current and new products and markets (Marketing the Core, Kerin & Hartley).” This is done in current markets and current products through market penetration, new markets and current products through market development, current markets and new products through product development, and new markets and new products through diversification.
NASCAR has had a wide range of people for its fan base, but in recent years, the fan base has been diminishing. In order to keep the fan base, they are using market penetration to try to offer old fans of the sport what they want. NASCAR created the NASCAR Fan Council of diehard fans in order to get the knowledge of what the fans wanted in NASCAR. This helps them keep their customer base and fan base.
NASCAR is also using market development in order to attract new people to watch the races. During the 1970s to around 2004, NASCAR was sponsored by Winston, a cigarette company. This helped them with the population at the time since smoking was accepted widespread. In 2004, they switched sponsorship to NEXTEL and Sprint which helped them grow as a sport and attract new customers because many people used Sprint. Finally, last year, they switched to Monster which shows that they are trying to attract a younger audience that may not have seen NASCAR before. To go along with the sponsorships, they started NASCAR Next. NASCAR Next is using diversity to expand the fanbase with different ethnicities and genders. Within NASCAR Next are new, diverse drivers that represent minorities in the US as well as small town drivers with great talent rather than the traditional NASCAR driver.
Product development is key to success in the racing business. In 2004, NASCAR introduced the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup and this allowed drivers to have a playoff format to race for a championship in a season rather than racing for the championship over the whole season. This upset some of the fan base, but they were trying a new way to market racing.
This past year was the biggest year for change since 2004 because they were trying to diversify themselves. NASCAR announced a new points system where drivers could earn playoff points for each stage win and each race they won. This brought back the idea of racing for a championship over the whole season. They also introduced the aforementioned stages within the race. These stages make the drivers race throughout the entirety of the race instead of just riding around until a certain point. Also, with the stages, it allows for people to get up and go to the bathroom or visit the concession stands when they are at the race or make more time for advertisements and commercial breaks when they are watching from home.
With NASCAR using diversification analysis, it is clear that they want to try to keep their fan base which is currently shrinking. They are not afraid to try new things, but these new changes that they make might affect the fan base that they already have.
Work Cited:
Winston Logo: https://i.redd.it/sgk4r7ehqpby.png
Sprint Cup Logo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/thumb/9/92/Sprint_Cup.svg/1200px-Sprint_Cup.svg.png
Monster Energy Logo: https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/smart/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fmaurybrown%2Ffiles%2F2016%2F12%2Fimage2-1200x579.jpg
