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Today the NASCAR brand is recognized worldwide as a preeminent sports property. More Fortune 500 businesses use investment in NASCAR racing than any other sport. Landor Associates was cited in December 2004 as stating “NASCAR was the #6 brand in 2004 and is forecast to be the #2 brand in 2005, ahead of Google and iPod,”
From its humble beginnings in the Southland, NASCAR racing has grown to almost unbelievable popularity across the whole US recently. From the inaugural races started in 1948 to today's NEXTEL Cup and Busch series, NASCAR has become arguably the leading spectator sport in The US, featuring 75 million fanatical fans.
Amazingly, 40% of current race fans are women and 53% work in white-collar or skilled labor jobs. And even with this variety, the counts continue to be strong; annual attendance at race tracks is upwards of 7 million and more than 275 million People follow on the tube.
The NASCAR recipe is one that no other spectator sport utilizes. Each Week, the leading teams (drivers) are brawling head to head against each other. Unlike, for example the NFL, where you may have to wait for weeks for that very big match up, at a NASCAR race, you can follow number 1 challenging number 2 every week. It’s practically like having the U.S. Open of this sport every week.
Those who follow the circuit ascribe this and other reasons to its’ success. Many years of history and a grass origins start are just a couple of the factors given for the sport’s popularity. The roots of the sport in the “bootlegging” days and the humble background of numerous of it’s original aces seems to be motivating to followers in this day of the spoiled, babied, disrespectful pro athlete.
From little local races in the Southern US, NASCAR is now very big business today. With television revenues, sponsorship dollars, and licensed product sales, NASCAR generates huge bucks today. NASCAR merchandise gross sales now have moved up to over billion per year and the markets continue to remain robust. This is built on a 250% growth from 1995 to 2004.
Race followers seem to have a great appetite for wares that shows endorsement for their preferred driver, whether it is by getting into NASCAR apparel, buying accessories for their auto or pickup truck, or even decorating their home. NASCAR wall clocks, desk clocks, even blankets, sheets and wall tapestries are popping up in homes everyplace.
Within the large NASCAR product market, robust sub markets show up. NASCAR collectibles are very big simply by themselves. A mixture of products from plaques and signed pics to diecast cars are snatched up, partially due to popularity, but also in hope of gain in value for the collectables market.
While the NASCAR diecast market has softened lately, it is still respectable in strength. As drivers switch their paint schemes, it permits producers to expand the product sets several times over in this niche and that helps keep gross sales from dipping too much.
Clothes such as NASCAR jackets,NASCAR jerseys and t-shirts, etc. appear to be thriving in success as manufacturers bring out expanded product sets and are even including more pricey things like leather jackets and specialty products like jewelry. The true devotee can even outfit the entire family unit with recent introductions of full NASCAR kids clothing and youth lines.
Where will it all stop? I don’t imagine we know, but when I see corporate secretaries putting on NASCAR hats and white collar managers putting on NASCAR shirts with photos of “Junior” plastered on them, I question if there is a limit to this marketplace.
