Qualifying Rainouts Cost Advertisers Exposure, Says Firm

At a time when companies facing a tough economy are already questioning the cost of NASCAR sponsorship, any loss in brand exposure can make justifying that expense even harder.

The 2008 season was about the worst timing to have 10 Sprint Cup qualifying rainouts rob sponsors of airtime. But apparently when it rains, it really pours.

Eric Wright of Joyce Julius & Associates, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company that tracks NASCAR sponsor exposure on television, says the loss has been measurable.

“What we’ve seen is an average of 1 minute and 30 seconds [of exposure gained] off the car during a qualifying run,” says Wright. “When they’re not having it, then it gets to be a really unpredictable run.”

While the networks will usually have some drivers doing interviews during a rain stoppage to fill time—which helps give exposure to a few companies—some sponsors really lose out.

“A couple of the sponsors getting 1:30, they were, like, literally less than 10 seconds on these other shows when they weren’t getting out on the track,” says Wright.

As is often the case in NASCAR, it’s the have-nots who suffer the most.

“I think it probably is a bigger deal for some of the more marginal-type teams, and those accompanying sponsors, that maybe are going to have difficulty getting a lot of TV time in the [race],” explains Wright. “So they really count on the qualifying and the Happy Hour and the prerace to sort of supplement their exposure that way. I’m probably going to make the leap that that’s a bigger deal for them than it is for a brand in the Chase.”

Wright concedes that it isn’t the “end-all, be-all” to lose exposure in a qualifying session that gets much lower ratings than the race telecast. However, the people watching qualifying comprise an important demographic that teams and sponsors want to cater to.

“You know, that’s your core watching the qualifying,” notes Wright. “That’s not your casual fan. That’s your hardcore fan watching that. And it’s important to get out and get watched by those folks, too.”

* There’s been a dearth of new companies coming into NASCAR recently. But Hunt Brothers Pizza, which joined with Haas-CNC Racing in what was termed a “sponsorship test” in 2008, apparently liked what it saw.

“HBP plans on participating in the 2009 racing season,” says Malea Barron of Hunt Brothers PR firm Gish, Sherwood and Friends. “However, at this time, HBP has not signed a contract with a team.”

* Can current Haas-CNC driver Scott Riggs stay in the Sprint Cup Series by bringing his sponsor to a new team? Apparently State Water Heaters has some interest in that scenario.

“We are still working on our plans for ’09,” says Jeff Storie, the brand manager for State Water Heaters. “Scott has been a great asset for us and many of our hard-working plumbing contractors have enjoyed spending time with him. I hope we can remain together next year but we haven’t reached anything final at this point.”

* Are there any parents or caretakers of special-needs children in the Miami area with an interest in NASCAR? If so, please e-mail me.