Sponsorship of choice
for nut fanatics
Mars North America will extend its contract as official NASCAR partner. The multiyear sponsorship commitment designates four Mars products as official NASCAR brands:
- M&M's as Official Chocolate of NASCAR
- Snickers as Official Chocolate Bar of NASCAR
- Combos as Official Cheese-Filled Snack of NASCAR
- Pedigree as Official Pet Food of NASCAR
The partnership complements Mars' existing contracts with Joe Gibbs Racing, a relationship that began in 2008, writes Retailer Daily.
For 2009, Mars will continue to develop programs that build relationships directly with NASCAR fans. Among the highlights:
- Now in its second year, M&M's "The Most Colorful Fan of NASCAR Contest" will launch at the Daytona 500 and run for 24 weeks.
- For dog lovers, Pedigree will launch a contest, Pedigree Brand April, when the first of three cars sponsored by Pedigree races at Talladega Superspeedway.
- Mars' Combos Brand will leverage its NASCAR sponsorship with the new "Man Zone" on-pack promotion, visiting 10 race tracks during the first half of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.
- Snickers Brand will promote its sponsorship at retail stores nationwide.
While Mars has been involved in NASCAR for nearly 20 years — with a variety of Mars brands sponsoring various teams — the company officially teamed with the sport's sanctioning body in 2003.
The 2008 season was highlighted by Kyle Busch in the No. 18 M&M's Toyota with Joe Gibbs Racing, banking eight wins, 17 top-five finishes, and 21 top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Online, brands in the Mars stable penetrate deeply. Snickers.com garners occasional spikes in traffic resulting from controversial ad campaigns.
Earlier this year Mars acquired Wrigley, a confectioner whose brands are the sole advertisers on Candystand.com, a popular advergame site. Wrigley sold Candystand to Funtank, LLC in September.
