Danica Patrick: Why Sponsors Still Seem to Love Her
In the world of auto racing, sponsors are responsible for keeping teams and individual drivers afloat. One of the most heavily courted drivers among sponsors is Danica Patrick of the Indy Racing League.
Although Patrick is far from the IRL’s premier driver with just one win under her belt, it’s obvious why sponsors are so interested. The main goal of auto racing sponsors is to get the most air time possible. While being saddled with a driver who wins races and championship is one way to get air time, aligning with a popular driver can be just as fruitful.
This is the case with Danica as she has been voted the IRL’s most popular driver every year since her debut in 2005. Due to Danica’s status as a semi-successful female in a male-dominated sport, the amount of exposure she gets is inevitable. Add in the fact that she’s considered a sex symbol among racing and non-racing fans alike, and Danica is the perfect storm for sponsors.
A comparable male driver to Danica in terms of sponsorship opportunities is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt may be on a 100-plus race winless streak in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but due to his popularity among fans, he’s guaranteed to be heavily featured on every race broadcast. For sponsors, this is just as good as a win.
With Danica heavily contemplating a full-time move to the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2012, and a subsequent move to the Sprint Cup Series in 2013, sponsors are salivating over the exposure Danica will garner in America’s most popular racing organization. With a number of high-profile sponsors already supporting Danica, and many more surely on the way, she has all the makings of a cash cow for NASCAR.
Here is a power ranking of Danica’s current sponsors in ascending order based upon their impact on her racing career.
Meijer
1 of 8
Although Meijer may not be well-known in many locales due to its regional nature, it is credited as being the United States’ first chain to combine a grocery store and department store. This is something that has since been adopted by Wal-Mart, Target and many other chains.
While Meijer certainly isn’t one of Danica’s most lucrative sponsors, it does serve its purpose as an auxiliary sponsor for Danica’s Indy car.
Since Meijer doesn’t have a significant relationship with NASCAR as it does the IRL, it’s unlikely that Danica will remain affiliated with the hypermarket chain if she does, in fact, leave the IRL.
AirTran Airways
2 of 8
As another of Danica’s associate sponsors, AirTran hasn’t exactly had a massive impact on Danica’s career to this point. AirTran has been a very loyal and reliable sponsor over the course of her stay in the IRL, however.
AirTran’s signature moment as Danica’s sponsor came after her only IRL win in Japan in 2008. In celebration, AirTran rechristened one of its Boeing 717 planes as “AirTranica Won,” a play on words based on the famed presidential Air Force One.
After being bought out by Southwest Airlines, AirTran is no longer a long-term option for Danica. While AirTran will operate as an independent airline for the next two years, it will officially merge with Southwest after that, essentially absolving its relationship with Danica.
Coca-Cola
3 of 8
As the world’s largest soft-drink maker, Coca-Cola has a large influence when it comes to advertising through professional sports leagues. Coke is little more than an afterthought, however, when it comes to their sponsorship situation with Danica Patrick.
As it currently stands, Coke is missing out on a great sponsorship opportunity. Due to the company’s immense success, it’s unlikely that a sponsorship change could have much of an effect on sales, but the addition of Danica as a lead spokesperson could only be a positive move.
Due to Coca-Cola’s massive presence in NASCAR, it’s quite possible that Danica could become much more involved with the company. Coke already sponsors a whole host of successful drivers, so Danica should make for a sensible fit.
Coca-Cola could potentially become a very significant sponsor for Danica should she venture to NASCAR next season.
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XM Satellite Radio
4 of 8
As the most popular satellite radio service in the United States, XM Satellite Radio has built a solid presence in the IRL as a sponsor.
They also landed the biggest fish in the IRL by teaming with Danica Patrick. XM has significantly more clout as a sponsor than the previously mentioned as it is considered the tertiary sponsor for Danica’s No. 7 car.
While Danica isn’t a particularly active spokesperson for all her sponsors, she has a very good relationship with XM. She is often featured on XM radio shows and was even a co-host on the Andretti Green Racing Hour.
Since XM doesn’t have an arrangement with NASCAR, the company’s future with Danica is in doubt, but she may be open to retaining XM if it makes a pitch.
Boost Mobile
5 of 8
Danica has had a revolving door of sorts when it comes to her primary sponsor during her time with the IRL.
During the 2009 season, Boost Mobile served in that role. Not only did Danica represent Boost Mobile on the track, but she was also featured in a number of commercials promoting the company. As a mobile service directed at a younger demographic, Danica was an ideal fit as a spokesperson.
Like most of her sponsors, there is no guarantee that Boost Mobile will still be linked to Danica if she transitions to NASCAR. Due to the fact that Boost Mobile is subsidiary of Sprint Nextel, however, Boost Mobile could certainly make a play for Danica in NASCAR.
With NASCAR’s top series being sponsored by Sprint, Boost Mobile has a very obvious in if it decides to become more involved with NASCAR.
Tissot
6 of 8
One of Danica’s newest sponsors is Tissot, a Swiss luxury watch company. While Tissot sponsors many sports leagues and individual athletes, Danica may be the company’s most high-profile spokesperson to date.
Although Danica’s relationship with Tissot doesn’t carry over to the IRL, she did drive a Tissot-sponsored stock car in a handful of NASCAR Nationwide Series races last season.
Danica’s partnership goes far beyond the track too, as Tissot has produced a line of watches under her name, aptly titled “The Danica Patrick Collection.” Tissot currently has an agreement with Danica’s Nationwide team, JR Motorsports, through the 2011 season.
Tissot isn’t contractually obligated to remain with Danica should she make the full-time leap to NASCAR in 2012, but with so many resources invested in her, it’s a safe bet that Tissot will stay on as a part-time sponsor at least.
Motorola
7 of 8
Motorola has been among Danica’s primary sponsors since she signed with Andretti Green Racing in 2007. Although Danica hasn’t driven a car with the Motorola paint scheme since early in the 2009 season, it is still one of her main sponsors.
Due to having lost $4.3 billion between 2007 and 2009 (perhaps coincidentally the timeframe in which it was Danica’s primary sponsor) Motorola has been broken into two separate companies: Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions.
With Motorola’s influence as a sponsor of Danica waning a bit in recent years, it’s extremely unlikely that it will follow her to NASCAR.
Due to suffering such significant financial losses Motorola probably doesn’t currently have the funds necessary to sponsor any driver, let alone Danica Patrick, in auto racing’s most popular division.
Go Daddy
8 of 8
When thinking about sponsor/athlete combinations, inevitably, one of the first partnerships to come to mind is Danica Patrick and Go Daddy.
Since becoming a “Go Daddy girl” in 2006, Patrick has been featured in a number of racy commercials, many of which have been shown on Super Bowl Sunday. Go Daddy is the primary sponsor for both her Indy car and NASCAR Nationwide Series car.
Since Go Daddy first rose to prominence, its goal has been to employ well-known, attractive women as spokespersons, presumably to reel in the male demographic.
With that in mind, Danica may be the absolute perfect fit for the company. Because of that, it’s no surprise that Go Daddy representatives have already said that the company is fully committed to sponsoring Danica full-time should she move to the Nationwide Series.
If Danica does indeed race a full Nationwide schedule in 2012, her eventual ascent to the Sprint Cup Series is almost assured. This would be an absolute coup for Go Daddy as it will be the primary sponsor for perhaps the most popular driver in the most popular racing series in the country.
Danica has already, undoubtedly, made Go Daddy a ton of money, but a full-time move to NASCAR might put the company’s exposure in a new stratosphere.
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