Wal-Mart not sponsoring Jeff Gordon

[John Gregorio]

Walmart has issued a statement that they will not be sponsoring Jeff Gordon’s Hendrick Motorsports team.

NASCAR has been the subject of several published reports that the world’s largest retailer was in negotiations with Hendrick Motorsports to sponsor the No. 24 car for next season.

The possible addition of Walmart to the line-up of car sponsors would have been big news for NASCAR, which has had few sponsorship dollars added to the Cup series in the last two years.

The possibility even existed that Walmart may have been able to enter into a sponsorship agreement (with any team) that might have been for less money than the cost of the going rate that was seen just a few years ago.

As an example of the sponsorship reductions, Budweiser has announced that its sponsorship will go to the No. 29 Richard Childress team for next year but only for 20 races.

This is a reduction from the full season sponsorship the Budweiser has had with various teams for many years.

The reduction in sponsorship is in line with the direction the new owner of Budweiser, InBev, (which in July 13, 2008 combined with Anheuser-Busch under the name Anheuser-Busch InBev) has taken.

InBev has been raising money to pay off the debt incurred during the take-over, including selling off A-B assets such as the entertainment division which included the namesake Busch Gardens.

Fox News, citing un-named sources, had reported six companies that already have NASCAR sponsorship connections: Coca-Cola, Kraft, Mars, MillerCoors, Proctor & Gamble and Unilever, had met in early August to talk about advertising possibilities if Walmart entered the NASCAR arena.

On Wednesday August 25, Walmart released a statement as an Editor’s Note to an in-house newsletter that mentioned the “numerous news stories” and concluded with the following sentence, “while we continue to employ a range of marketing initiatives to deliver our message of Save Money Live Better to our customer [sic], this is not one will be doing.”

Source, Bleacher Report | Entertaining sports news, photos and slideshows

 

[canadienhits]

Thanks for the heads-up.....:notworthy:

 

[Mike24]

Makes the most sense.

NASCAR doesn't need/want Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is a highly polarizing corporation. NASCAR does not need more polarization to lose current or potential fans.

Wal-Mart + NASCAR would also have been a marketing nightmare. It has taken NASCAR decades to begin to shed its southern/redneck stereotype...and the connotation of Wal-Mart is exactly that. This kind of deal would set NASCAR back 10-15 years, marketing/public opinion/position in mind-wise.

Also, I could never see Jeff in a wally world car. It doesn't fit him at all.

 

[canadienhits]

Alto....would love to see Kevin Conway in it...(waiting for Friggy's face to turn red...) lol

 

[MattSRD28]

Makes the most sense.

NASCAR doesn't need/want Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is a highly polarizing corporation. NASCAR does not need more polarization to lose current or potential fans.

Wal-Mart + NASCAR would also have been a marketing nightmare. It has taken NASCAR decades to begin to shed its southern/redneck stereotype...and the connotation of Wal-Mart is exactly that. This kind of deal would set NASCAR back 10-15 years, marketing/public opinion/position in mind-wise.

Are you kidding? Nascar would LOVE to have Walmart as a major Nascar sponsor. It's Walmart who's deciding not to be a major sponsor.

And since when is Walmart suddenly associated with southern rednecks? I see all sorts of different people working and shopping in the numerous Walmarts here in SoCal. I think it's great that Walmart's expanded here like they have been, and are employing as many people here as they are. I honestly don't see Walmart being, or bringing Nascar's doomsday at all.

If you want to kick out all the potentially polarizing/stereotypical sponsors, let's tell Bass Pro Shops to take a hike since that place is basically the definition of southeastern redneck hunter types. Probably should get rid of Gunbroker.com too. Sorry Jason White. While we're at it, let's ditch both MillerCoors and A-B/InBev since we don't want to be seen as beer drinkin' rednecks, right? What else...oh, hard liquor should go out with beer so adios Crown Royal. It doesn't get more polarizing than politics and war, so happy trails to the U.S. Army and National Guard as sponsors. I'm sure Newman and Jr. can find others to back them in our wonderful economy. Who's left? You do want more than 4-5 teams to have sponsors right?

Nascar's looking to grow, not shrink. Bringing Walmart on board would be a huge boost both for Walmart, and Nascar's ability to reach a huge market through Walmart and its huge consumer base. So let's see...increased business for Walmart which will in-turn lead to the company reinvesting in itself leading to more jobs available and more job security for its employees, and increased awareness of Nascar that would most likely help its ratings and attendance numbers. You're right, terrible idea.

 

[Fisha695]

Matt I think his opinion may be a little biased based on his region though. Look at where his location is, Boston... There is one thing that's big in Boston (as well as NYC and well the entire state of New Jersey lol) that thankfully Walmart wants no part of. And that is unions.

 

[undedavenger]

Makes the most sense.

NASCAR doesn't need/want Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is a highly polarizing corporation. NASCAR does not need more polarization to lose current or potential fans.

Wal-Mart + NASCAR would also have been a marketing nightmare. It has taken NASCAR decades to begin to shed its southern/redneck stereotype...and the connotation of Wal-Mart is exactly that. This kind of deal would set NASCAR back 10-15 years, marketing/public opinion/position in mind-wise.

Also, I could never see Jeff in a wally world car. It doesn't fit him at all.

No offense, but I find that to be stereotypical and insulting. Walmart is all over the globe, just because it offers low prices and is based in a southern state doesn't make it "redneck". With the economy like it is, I've seen a lot of Mercedes and Porsches parked outside Walmart here in Ohio.

And Jeff Gordon will run whatever sponsor gives him the money he needs to keep racing. I actually think his new image as a veteran/family man would go well with Walmart's recent ad adrives.

 

[David24]

No offense, but I find that to be stereotypical and insulting. Walmart is all over the globe, just because it offers low prices and is based in a southern state doesn't make it "redneck".

Correct. But most people think Nascar is "redneck" too. Is it? No.

 

[Fisha695]

Numbers of Walmart branded stores by state as of July 2010 (sort from Highest to Lowest)
Texas - 443
Florida - 274
California - 210
Illinois - 176
Ohio - 173
Georgia - 158
North Carolina - 158
Pennsylvania - 149
Missouri - 135
Tennessee - 131
Indiana - 119
Alabama - 114
Michigan - 113
Oklahoma - 112
Virginia - 110
New York - 109
Arizona - 107
Louisiana - 102
Kentucky - 99
Kansas -98
Arkansas - 96
Wisconsin - 95
Colorado - 83
South Carolina - 83
Minnesota - 74
Mississippi - 73
Iowa - 66
New Jersey - 63
Maryland - 56
Washington - 52
Massachusetts - 49
Utah - 49
Nevada - 48
New Mexico - 44
West Virginia - 42
Connecticut - 36
Nebraska - 33
New Hampshire - 31
Oregon - 30
Maine - 25
Idaho - 20
Montana - 15
North Dakota - 15
South Dakota - 14
Alaska - 12
Wyoming - 12
Delaware - 10
Hawaii - 10
Rhode Island - 10
Vermont - 4

That is 4,240 Walmart Branded locations within the 50 states


Driver Home-states (number represents how many drivers from said state)
California - 7
North Carolina - 5
Virginia - 5
Wisconsin - 4
Indiana - 4
Missouri - 3
Georgia - 3
Kentucky - 3
Florida - 2
Arizona - 2
Nevada - 2
Texas - 2
Washington - 2
Ohio - 2
New York - 2
New Jersey - 1
Kansas - 1
Vermont - 1
Pennsylvania - 1
Tennessee - 1
Arkansas - 1

So that is 21 states where NASCAR drivers are from (using the image on NASCAR media, and including the PA driver that was left off).
Those 21 "NASCAR Driver" states have a total of 2,831 Walmart branded stores in the 21 states that 2010 Cup drivers hail from.

2010 Cup track locations
California
Nevada
Arizona
Texas
Kansas
Illinois
Indiana
Michigan
New York
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Delaware
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Florida
Tennessee
Georgia
Alabama

That's 19 states that make up the 2010 Cup seasons 36 race schedule. Those 19 states have a total of.... 2,641 Walmart branded locations.

There are 4,240 Walmart Branded locations within the 50 states, the NASCAR Cup series has state-ties via Driver or Track to over half of the Walmart branded locations in the USA.



Now depending on how bored I get Friday I may do a similar thing for Target, Lowes, Home Depot, Bass Pro, Dollar General, and well every other retail store involved in the Cup series.


Yeah that's right I took the time to do that :twitcy::notworthy::GEEK:

 

[MattSRD28]

Wow. I had no idea CA was in the southeast and that I'm a redneck.

Yay inaccurate stereotyping!!!

 

[dalejrgamer]

Change that to "those living in the Inland Empire" and there you go. Otherwise, false.

I don't like Walmart, either, but for different reasons (like how they're actually hurting the economy rather than helping it)

 

[MattSRD28]

Yeah. Keeping thousands of people employed really brings the economy down.

 

[Mike24]

Seems I ruffled a few feathers with my earlier post.

Let me clarify.

I am speaking from a marketing standpoint, not my own, in regard to the demographic I see around me and that demographic's reaction to the terms Wal-Mart and NASCAR.


Living in the northeast, when you ask the average person what they think about NASCAR (or just racing in general...F1, Indy, etc...), the standard reply is usually, boring, southern, redneck. That's just the northeast demographic for you. The same can be said of Wal-Mart.

I've read newspaper articles in the past that say that a town has voted against a new wal-mart, with people rallying against it because it will bring down "property" values of adjacent neighborhoods. If you ask people in the northeast how they feel about Wal-mart, or ask them who the typical person who shops or works at Wal-mart is...you will probably get an answer very close to that of their reply to NASCAR. Its just a sad and unfortunate truth.

The polarizing part of Wal-mart in my post, has very little to do with its stereotyped customer demographic. Wal-mart has been at the center of a lot of controversy, mainly from people who want more workers rights, benefits, and better quality merchandise, etc. Wal-mart has been, not sure if it still practices this way, notorious for not taking care of its employees...that and its reckless globalization.


Marketing is all about a brand's power in the mind, and in the northeast, at least, both NASCAR and Wal-mart do not have the best positioning in the average consumer's mind. This position has been changing, as I have noticed, with NASCAR with all of the things Sprint has done, and the increased exposure of the drivers...but if you pair it with Wal-mart, which still viewed negatively, with the demographic representation of the NASCAR of old...NASCAR would have taken several steps back in positioning themselves positively in the minds of consumers here in the northeast. A marketer's nightmare.




Again, I am not trying to offend anyone. I am just calling it how I see it, based on my observations of my regional area, and how the average...read average, joe off the street here in the north east reacts to both of these brands. This is not my personal opinion on wal-mart's demographic, I don't hold anything against the store, personally...I am just trying to speak from a marketer's point of view, looking at how this affects appealing to the northeast market of potential fans.

 

[dalejrgamer]

Don't forget, the town of Garden Grove opposed the opening of Walmart. Their prices are ridiculously low that could make any small business cry for help.

Inglewood didn't like the idea of having a Walmart there, too.

 

[PepsiRacer4]

No offense, but I find that to be stereotypical and insulting. Walmart is all over the globe, just because it offers low prices and is based in a southern state doesn't make it "redneck". With the economy like it is, I've seen a lot of Mercedes and Porsches parked outside Walmart here in Ohio.

And Jeff Gordon will run whatever sponsor gives him the money he needs to keep racing. I actually think his new image as a veteran/family man would go well with Walmart's recent ad adrives.

Yeah so you're calling us Ohioans rednecks? There lots of top of the line Mustangs, Mercedes, BMW's and all in Ohio.

 

[The Captain]

Yeah so you're calling us Ohioans rednecks? There lots of top of the line Mustangs, Mercedes, BMW's and all in Ohio.

The car you drive doesn't necessarily remove you from the redneck pool.

 

[canadienhits]

Even though I'm in Canada...originally from Kansas..even tho 1/4 Japanese...I consider myself a redneck...and am proud of it!

 

[undedavenger]

Walmart also did not attract all that hate publicity until they passed KMart as the biggest retailer. Microsoft was everyone's favorite rags-to-riches success story until they got huge. Then they were Satan incarnate. Bottom line, the guy at the top of the heap takes the most potshots.

I'm sorry, but having worked for Walmart for quite a while, I can tell you in my personal experience, all that junk about making people work off the clock and unequal pay for women and all that garbage is just that: GARBAGE. Walmart actually skews the other way. Working off the clock is grounds for immediate termination and Women seem to get promoted far more readily than men.

The truth is, Walmart (and retail in general) is a high-pressure business with limited pay. So Walmart starts floor associates at lower pay scale because there's an 80-90% cance they won't be able to handle it. I worked there 4 years and went from $7.50 an hour to $13.75. What companies do you know that give $6 in raises in 4 years? If you can take the work and work hard, you get rewarded. that's how America worked before so many unions got overpowered and forced companies to increase pay for below-average workers. And once you make the leap from Associate to Department or Assistant Manager, your pay shoots up quite a bit. My store manager was making nearly $150k a year. Why? His store was one of the top 10 in the company. And he started out pulling freight at 16 for $3 an hour.

Walmart rewards merit, not union strong-arm tactics. I'm not saying they don't have their faults, but as someone who is working a crappy job after my job with GM got liquidated, I have seen firsthand what happens when a company loses control of itself to an out-of-control union. And I appreciate being able to get more for my money, since thanks to GM and UAW, my income has been greatly reduced. Leave Walmart alone. If the people of your area are goofy enough to chase out the biggest company on Earth and pay higher prices because of some mindless prejudice, more power to you. Your loss.

Sorry if I sound a bit angry, but when I worked for the company, I traveled often to many stores around the country to help with remodeling and things like that. Walmart people (employees and customers alike) are for the most part good, hard-working people.

 

[JRRacing64]

Living in the northeast, when you ask the average person what they think about NASCAR (or just racing in general...F1, Indy, etc...), the standard reply is usually, boring, southern, redneck. That's just the northeast demographic for you.

I really don't know why they try to get out from under that stigma. There is no amount of marketing that will ever be enough to change the minds of most people that NASCAR is not associated with the redneck image. Ignorant people will still be ignorant...

 

[Johnson #48]

Yeah. Keeping thousands of people employed really brings the economy down.

It may partly be a fact of globalistation, but multinationals destroying countless Small to Medium Enterprises and deskilling jobs to the absolute minimum does bring the economy down.