It’s not really anything new that Nascar is selling out. In fact, the way that Nascar is selling out isn’t new either. Yet, I’m still going to share this and air my frustrations.
Nascar has altered the length of a race to coincide with a new sponsor for the race. The annual event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been a 400-mile event. But come 2009, the race is being extended to 427-miles, for the new Shelby 427.
I hate this so much. In no other sport can a sponsor actually alter the event. But, this is Nascar, and sponsors rule the roost.
This abomination got me thinking what other sponsors could have their own personalized races:
I’ve been beta-testing WeSeed.com recently and I want to help get the word out for the site. Essentially, WeSeed takes investing in the stock market with fake money, but with real-time prices and updates, and combines this with the best of social media and web 2.0. They have a solid video that explains why WeSeed exists. Take a look.
I’m not sure why some people are expecting Apple to suffer so poorly. I’ve seen the stock slide of late, and for no real good reason. Shit, profit from fiscal Q4 this year rose 26% over last year- can’t be too bad. Kick in the fact Apple is sans debt and has plenty of cash, and they are a very solid buy.
Sure, I understand the worries of the recession and the upcoming ‘Google Phone.
As far as I’m concerned, Apple has the best products in nearly all the fields it has a presence in. Not just great products, but almost must-haves. Steve Jobs feels the same way:
“We don’t yet know how this economic downturn will affect Apple,” he said in a statement. “But we’re armed with the strongest product line in our history, the most-talented employees and the best customers in our industry. And $25 billion of cash safely in the bank with zero debt.”
Besides, when times get tough, companies usually create new opportunities to spur consumer spending; i.e. new products and innovations!
Its quite amazing the influence the iPhone has had in its short life so far. Consider how many people now own one. Consider how many companies and developers have created applications designed for the phone. Consider how many third party companies offer covers, cases, skins, wallpapers and other accessories.
Despite the amazing breadth of influence the phone has, this product still comes as a very surprising invention. The inventor of the iYo Magnetic Induction Charger resides in Sweden, which has a pretty good reputation of green living and sustainability. Sweden is engulffed by darkness in the winter, rendering solar panels useless. This charger would appeal to those looking to charge their iPhone’s in a sustainable matter during the winter.
I don’t think this will catch on very much here in the states, but I dig this guy’s efforts and ingenuity.
Although announced in April, the sale was finally approved today. This merger concerns me mostly because Wrigley is based in Chicago and has a long history with the city, and most notably, Wrigley Field. But also, both Mars and Wrigley have sponsorship deals in Nascar. Always curious to see what will happen to those sponsorships now that the two companies are one.
Enjoy some of Wrigley’s very successful commercials of late- both videos making 2 of top 3 most liked, recalled commercials of the past month (Via Ad Age).
Last week Starbucks got dumped by their main agency of record- Wieden + Kennedy. Today, some details started to come through to unveil reasons behind the split. It seems that Starbucks was such a pain in the ass, WK just said no more.
At first glance, you might think how could you drop a brand like Starbucks? Well, if you look into what is going on recently, it kind of makes sense. Starbucks doesn’t have a large advertising budget, let alone for what they were using WK for ( Starbucks spent 37.6 million in media spending in 2007). Couple that with the struggles Starbucks has been facing, including laying off hundreds of employees and closing some 600 stores. And the topper, as it seems, was the increasing frustration of working with CEO Howard Schultz and his apparent unappreciation for advertising.
The article from Ad Age best sums this whole situation up:
Executives with knowledge of the situation said Starbucks was simply a very frustrating client for Wieden, an agency that other marketers have described as unusually honest in its communication with clients. Other agencies that have worked with Starbucks have felt frustration with the marketer too. Rich Silverstein, co-founder of Omnicom Group’s Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, which did two stints representing Starbucks, said much of the fault lies with the mercurial Mr. Schultz. “He does not appreciate advertising,” he said. “Any agency that comes in has one foot out the door already.”
Will be very intersting to see where Starbuck’s marketing goes from here, and who steps up to become their next agency of record.
Nascar has altered the length of a race to coincide with a new sponsor for the race. The annual event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has always been a 400-mile event. But come 2009, the race is being extended to 427-miles, for the new Shelby 427.
