From the crash helmet on display at its Sandy Springs headquarters to a national series of TV ads urging racer Dale Jarrett to race a delivery truck, UPS says it’s getting maximum mileage from its multimillion-dollar NASCAR sponsorship. It’s an odd pairing for the staid delivery firm known for exhaustive planning and conservative business practices. But UPS has steadily expanded its NASCAR presence since its first race sponsorship in 2000, and the company recently extended its annual contract for Jarrett’s #88 car through 2006. Now, UPS uses NASCAR events to launch new products, entertain big clients, showcase national ads and reward employees — a broader, more comprehensive approach than other NASCAR sponsors. At the Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend, hundreds of UPS employees will be showing off the company’s products, selling merchandise and entertaining clients during the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500. If the UPS car finishes in the top five, employees at the famously buttoned-down company will be allowed to wear casual clothes next week. When John Beystehner, UPS senior vice president for sales and marketing, showed up at his first NASCAR event in Talladega, Ala., four years ago, he was convinced it would be a good fit for the 360,000-employee delivery firm. Atlanta’s Home Depot and Coca-Cola also sponsor NASCAR racers, but NASCAR officials say no other company has adopted the sport as thoroughly as UPS. UPS has directed a variety of managers to get involved in NASCAR promotions, and they’ve come up with a broad array of promotions. This year UPS began offering “trackside services,” or next-day letters that could be sent to or from pit row at the Daytona 500. The company also began a series of humorous “race the truck” ads encouraging Jarrett to go head to head with a UPS delivery van. UPS won’t say how much it spends on NASCAR-related promotions each year. Trade journals say the going rate for a major sponsorship and a top driver is about $15 million a year. UPS has one major and one minor sponsorship. UPS sells next-day-air envelopes with #88 on them, and it recouped more than $1 million last year from the sale of shirts, hats, jackets and other goods with its corporate logo. UPS has a separate racing Web site where it promotes the sales. ( Atlanta Journal-Constitution )(3-6-2003)
