Well this is a partnership I never expected…
According to the Sports Business Journal, NASCAR will now be paying the University of Alabama to become an official partner of Alabama athletics.
This move marks the first time NASCAR has ever sponsored a college athletic department, and it was revealed to the public last week on social media via the Crimson Tide Sports Network account, but no further detail was added.
The outlet says that the partnership is a one-year deal that will last from this summer to the next, but no estimation of money that will be spent has been released.
NASCAR can now use Alabama’s IP, in-venue experiential activation opportunities, social and digital media integration, along with first-party data that NASCAR will use to drive ticket sales.
In an effort to promote Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR will run radio spots, along with creating new signage and marketing assets for out-of-home advertising in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa.
NASCAR will also get in-venue LED board inventory and “NASCAR Drive Summary” videoboard features at all of ‘Bama’s seven home football games.
An LED stanchion inventory and a “NASCAR Drive of the Game” videoboard will also be featured at ‘Bama’s home basketball games as well, and a sponsorship of Alabama sports network’s weekly Facebook show.
Fans will also get a chance to enter a sweepstakes, and NASCAR will also get access to first-party data across Learfield’s Fan365 platform.
This is all being done in an effort to help grow the sport in different ways, and for ‘Bama fans, it’ll be pretty cool to see all of the new features the sponsorship with NASCAR will bring along with it.
