Creativity Key In Securing Newest NASCAR Sponsorship For Yellow Flag Cautions

In this tough economy, any company has to be creative with their tight advertising and marketing dollars, especially in the world of sports.  Promotions and tie-ins abound, often ranging from the wacky to the absurd.

NASCAR has always provided a great venue for corporate sponsorships, since almost everything in the sport is "sold."  Every inch of the race car, from the hood to quarter panels and everything in between, can be used as a constant on-track advertisement. 

Drivers are walking billboards for the companies that they partner with and endorse.  NASCAR itself as a sanctioning body seeks corporate sponsorship to be the official "whatever" of the sport.

Even NASCAR tracks get into the act, often seeking to have corporate sponsors' names on the track, like Lowe's Motor Speedway or have a corporation's name on a particular race at their venue.

Often these sponsorships are pretty strange and even far fetched.  The naming of two of last season’s races, The Hefty Odor Block 200 and the Tums Quick Pak 500, come to mind.

But the newest corporate sponsorship just announced by NASCAR with ServiceMaster Clean takes the cake in my book.  This company, known for its home and business clean up work after fires and floods, is the first ever official sponsor of the caution periods in NASCAR's history.

So, whenever a yellow flag is thrown at ISC and SMI race tracks, the ServiceMaster Clean Yellow Flag will come out.  Then, the little yellow cars of the company will take to the track to clean up the debris, restoring the track to race quality.

But the sponsorship doesn't stop there.  All of the track clean up and drying vehicles will sport the ServiceMaster Clean logos and the clean up crews will also wear those cute little yellow uniforms.

Wait, there's more to this sponsorship deal.  Whenever the yellow comes out, ServiceMaster Clean will get mentions on the radio coverage by both MRN and PRN.

Jim Wassell, the Chief Marketing Director and designer of this unique corporate sponsorship, announced that not only will this sponsorship be used to acquaint customers with their brand, but will also be used for employee team building and morale.  

Franchise owners will be able to go to their local tracks and host hospitality events and other promotions for their employees.  Little yellow die cast cars with the ServiceMaster Clean logo, are no doubt in the works for these events.

And the sponsorship goes on with the announcement that ServiceMaster Clean has also retained Kyle Petty to be their corporate spokesperson.  Of course, you can bet that corporate fundraisers for Victory Junction Gang Camp will be announced in the very near future.

This is probably one of the most creative sponsorships ever sold in the NASCAR community.  And it is definitely one of the most far-reaching, with this company getting an incredible "bang for their buck."

It's also an example of the future of corporate sponsorship in the sport.  With money so tight, NASCAR will have to ensure even more ways that their corporate partners can get their brand out into the racing community.

So, welcome to NASCAR, ServiceMaster Clean.  We look forward to seeing you fulfill your company's mission of keeping the tracks clean whenever that yellow flies.