Comments on: The Secret of NASCAR’s Marketing

By: Kirstie Willard

Kirstie Willard — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:56:43 +0000

Hey so how do you know what to do? I want to do this same thing in college. How many yrs were you in college for? What’s it like advertising nascar? What do you do? please let me know. im very interested.

By: Susanna

Susanna — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:45:56 +0000

She’s right! As a rabid MotoGP fan, though, I must say she forgot one thing.
It’s really fun being a mare on a stud farm. In MotoGP it’s 70/30. It’s fun for us girls to watch our favorite racers AND be surrounded by men, some of whom are actually attractive.

By: Ann Handley

Ann Handley — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 18:26:07 +0000

This is purely observational, but it always seems to me like the licensed merchandise NASCAR produces (bikinis, stiletto heels, baby doll t-shirts, and so on) appeals mostly to the male buyer…not to the women themselves.

By: Christine Pilch

Christine Pilch — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:15:26 +0000

Being a marketer and a lifelong NASCAR fan, (I went to my first Daytona 500 at 14-years-old in 1980,) I read this post with great interest. I disagree with the theory that NASCAR’s shouldn’t market to women, especially knowing how difficult it has been for years to find a sweatshirt or t-shirt that fits right. Even now, the catalog has a two page spread for female merchandise and probably a dozen pages for everything male. NASCAR seriously misses the mark.
Go to a race and you’ll see mostly 30-50-something folks, many with kids in tow. Unfortunately, the “pink” female wear is made for teens and twenty-somethings. It’s rather inappropriate for the average female NASCAR fan.
Imagine the marketing potential of the right merchandise. With a 40 percent female fan base despite any effort to attract them, imagine what would happen if NASCAR really nailed this demo!

By: Andrea Learned

Andrea Learned — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 00:37:15 +0000

I agree! The color pink is in now, and a lot of brands are leveraging it. But, that’s because it is a fashion trend today, and not just “pink because all girls have always liked pink” – which would have reflected an old-fashioned/superficial approach to marketing to women. And, I understand your point about NASCAR, and agree that it is worth it to focus more attention on the women’s market once you see the interest. I am just impressed by brands that do what they do best.. and let core fans generate initial excitement with the next layer of customers, organically – without stepping in and forcing the issue too soon. A smaller number of women enjoyed NASCAR before any pink t-shirts or special promotions. Their enthusiasm helped ignite the interest of more women, AND those “early adopting” women also caught the attention of marketing savvy NASCAR, so they then wisely committed to the female fan base – with the stilettos, pink t-shirts, perfume and so on.

By: Gerry Myers

Gerry Myers — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 00:15:59 +0000

I disagree with Andrea’s premise that having a good product makes it unnecessary to acknowledge or market to women. In fact, once NASCAR officials noticed that women were coming to the track, they began an aggressive marketing campaign realizing the potential they had. Could their numbers have swollen quicker with some strategic marketing moves? Probably. I’m not a big advocate of pink as the way to reach women. Right now women are so happy to have apparel made to fit them, that pink is ok. I doubt it will be NASCAR’s main thrust in the future as they try to continue and enhancetheir courtship with women consumers.