|
The Grand National series is in a tight spot. Anheuser-Busch pulled their sponsorship of the series because they wanted to concentrate their marketing dollars on the Budweiser brand, particularly with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as their pitchman. Budweiser is A-B's flagship "premium" brand, while Busch is its downmarket label. As NASCAR's audience has become more upscale, they want to enhance the visibility of the product which they believe to have a more esteemed consumer image. A-B wanted better, and NASCAR probably wanted better as well.
On the other hand, Craftsman tools consistantly rate as having the highest product quality of not just tools, but all consumer goods put together. It was a coup for NASCAR to secure such a highly-regarded name as the backer for their fledgling truck series, and the quick success of that series is likely owed in large part to that brand association. The "Tough Trucks" image fits perfectly with Craftsman's reputation as providing top-quality tools fit for the most demanding of jobs, yet priced for the everyman.
NASCAR wants an esteemed title sponsor for the Grand National series, but at the same time, Sprint doesn't want to be outdone, while a lot of companies don't want to put their name on a "second-tier" division. I'd be highly surprised if Wal-Mart, after decades of shying away from sports sponsorship, would settle for second billing. Samsung might be an ambitious bidder, but they, and Korean manufacturers in general, are not held in very high regard by the American marketplace; plus, NASCAR would be wise to avoid instigating yet another flurry of lawsuits between them and other telecom companies. I would suggest that Kellogg's, who appear to the way out at Hendrick once Junior and Bud arrive at the end of the year, would make a good title sponsor, but there has been nothing from that camp through all this.
|